«Antigone» by Jean Cocteau and Arthur Honegger: innovative artistic concept and critical reception of the artwork

Abstract

Relevance of the study. The 20th century was a time of creative revolution, and Jean Cocteau emerged as a visionary balancing between tradition and the avant-garde. A true polymath—poet, playwright, director, painter—he became a generator of ideas and a catalyst for artistic innovation. His collaborations with figures such as Picasso, Stravinsky, Satie, and Chanel reveal his exceptional talent for uniting different arts, especially within the realm of musical theatre, where his contribution proved one of the most significant of the century.

Among these collaborations, his partnership with Arthur Honegger stands out as a remarkable example of artistic synthesis in interwar French culture. Honegger’s spiritual depth and structural clarity complemented Cocteau’s poetic imagination, resulting in a shared pursuit of new forms of artwork that fused word, music, and stage action. Their joint creation, Antigone (1927), represents the culmination of this unity — an innovative reimagining of musical theatre whose influence and critical reception underscore the enduring relevance of its study.

The main objective of the study is to to explore the innovative artistic concept of the opera Antigone, the peculiarities of its implementation and perception by the audience.

The research methodology: the study involves the use of the following methods: historical (to examine the context in which the opera Antigone was created), comparative (to identify innovations in Jean Cocteau's libretto in comparison with Sophocles' tragedy), structural-analytical, genrestyle and intonational-dramaturgical (to analyse the musical structure of the work), and sourcebased (to study archival critical articles devoted to the staging of the opera).

Results and conclusions. Opera «Antigone» by Jean Cocteau and Arthur Honegger is an exceptional fusion of the playwright and composer's original creative views on the famous ancient tragedy, which led to the creation of a unique innovative artistic concept. The search for expanding the horizons of drama and musical theatre, characteristic of the artists' work, and the perfect balance of immersion in the space of philosophical meanings and contemporary meanings underline the historical significance of the opera. Experiments with words and time, while preserving the deep mysterious ideas embedded in Greek theatrical masterpieces, created a unique example of a musical and theatrical work that gave rise to new artistic pursuits of the twentieth century.

In fact, the embodiment of the artists' artistic concept became an outstanding creative precedent, which later led to the understanding of the phenomenon of metatheatricality and the effects of alienation, and with them to the creation of the following iconic interpretations of Antigone by Jean Anouilh (1944), Bertolt Brecht (1948), Carl Orff (1949) and Rolf Hochhuth (1969).

However, despite the significance of «Antigone» for the art world, which is also clearly reflected in critics' reviews, the work has not yet received a modern performance, which significantly narrows the perception of Arthur Honegger's musical and theatrical work, with its saturation of complex, multi-layered philosophical ideas. «Antigone» needs new productions, to be brought to the stage, and to fulfil its potential as an artistic force capable of influencing the minds of listeners and contributing to a rethinking of reality.