In the prologue, Laius asks the oracle about his son’s fate and, when he learns that his son will kill him and marry his mother Jocasta, he orders Creon to kill his son. Creon, however, abandons the child in a forest instead, where he is found by a shepherd named Faggiolino, who brings the infant to the king of Corinth, Polybus. The action of the play starts twenty years later. Oedipus consults the oracle about his fortune and he learns what was already predicted and told to Laius: he will kill his father and marry his mother. Oedipus goes in search of his true parents and, on the way there, he fights Laius and kills him. Upon his arrival in Thebes, Oedipus solves the riddle of the Sfinge (Sphinx) who then kills herself. In return for his victory, Oedipus is made king of Thebes and the widowed Jocasta, his mother, becomes his wife. The gods, irritated by this incestuous union, start an epidemic in Thebes, which lasts until the prophet Esone explains its cause. Upon learning the truth, Oedipus, horrified, gouges out his own eyes and kills himself.

Glove-puppet

Not specified

Italy

Bologna

Handwritten summary

Greek mythology

Parricide

Incest

Oracle

Destiny

Tragic

Angelo Cuccoli, Edipo Re di Tebe (front page)

Italian

King

Laius

Queen

Jocasta

Creon

Oedipus

Minister

Priest

Fagiolino

Shepherd

Augur

General

Prologue

Duel scene

Unveiling

Self-mutilation

Suicide on stage

Edipo Re di Tebe con Faggiolino pastore

Oedipus king of Thebes with Faggiolino the shepherd