According to music journalist William Schoelle, the opera contains "a dynamic opening chorus, excellent vocal writing, a major
aria for
Oedipus, and a sublime love duet whose only disappointing factor is its brevity. The
Herald went to say that lead singer
Titta Ruffo, while "impressive" and well suited to the role, "could not restore to life the tremendous figure of the Oedipus Tyrannus of Sophocles killed by the deadly music of Leoncavallo." Some of the music for the opera is taken from Leoncavallo's 1904 opera
Der Roland von Berlin. ==References==