Œdipe à Colone

Opera by Antonio Sacchini (libretto by Nicolas François Guillard, after Sophocles). Originally produced in Versailles, at court, on 4 January 1786, the opera's first Paris performance was on 1 February 1787 at the Opéra. In the story, Polynices engages Theseus to help drive his brother Eteocles from the usurped throne of Thebes, but he feels guilty about having driven his father Oedipus away in earlier years. Polynices seeks reconciliation with his father even at the price of relinquishing his claim to the throne.