Mourning Becomes Electra is the title for a trilogy of plays by Eugene O'Neill, first performed in 1931. In 1947 the play was made into a movie by Dudley Nichols. In 1967, the Metropolitan Opera gave the world premiere of an operatic version, composed by Martin David Levy to the libretto of Henry Butler. Both film and opera retain O'Neill's title. Eugene Gladstone ONeill (October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953) was a Nobel and Pulitzer Prize-winning American playwright. ... 1931 (MCMXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link is to a full 1931 calendar). ... // Events May 22 - Great Expectations is premiered in New York. ... Dudley Nichols (April 6, 1895 – January 4, 1960) was an American screenwriter who first came to prominence after winning and refusing the screenwriting Oscar for The Informer in 1936. ... The Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, seen from Lincoln Center Plaza A full house at the old Metropolitan Opera House, seen from the rear of the stage, at the Metropolitan Opera House for a concert by pianist Józef Hofmann, November 28, 1937. ... Henry Butler (born c. ...

It updates the Greek myth of Orestes to the family of a Northern general in the American Civil War. Agamemnon is now General Ezra Mannon, Clytemnestra is his second wife Christine, Orestes is his son Orin, and Electra is his daughter Lavinia. As an updated Greek tragedy, the play features murder, adultery, incestuous love and revenge, and even a group of townspeople who function as a kind of Greek chorus. Though fate alone guides characters' actions in Greek tragedies, O'Neill's characters have motivations grounded in 1930s-era psychological theory as well. The play can easily be read from a Freudian perspective, paying attention to various characters' Oedipus complexes and Electra complexes. The bust of Zeus found at Otricoli (Sala Rotonda, Museo Pio-Clementino, Vatican) Greek mythology is the telling of stories created by the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world and their own cult and ritual practices. ... Orestes Ορεστης is a Greek name, literally he who stands on the mountain, or mountain-dweller. Orestes can refer to: In Greek mythology, the son of Agamemnon. ... This article is becoming very long. ... The so-called Mask of Agamemnon. Discovered by Heinrich Schliemann in 1876 at Mycenae. ... Clytemnestra (Eng. ... Electra at the Tomb of Agamemnon In Greek mythology, Electra was daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra. ... Tragedy is one of the oldest forms of drama. ... In early tragedy, no parts were played by a single actor; because the actor left the stage often to change roles, the chorus was especially dominant. ... For other uses of Fate, see Fate Destiny refers to a predetermined course of events. ... The 1930s (years from 1930–1939) were described as an abrupt shift to more radical and conservative lifestyles, as countries were struggling to find a solution to the Great Depression, also known in Europe as the World Depression. ... Psychology is an academic or applied discipline involving the scientific study of mental processes such as perception, cognition, emotion, personality, behavior, and interpersonal relationships. ... Sigmund Freud His famous couch Sigmund Freud (May 6, 1856 - September 23, 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of the psychoanalytic school of psychology, a movement that popularized the theory that unconscious motives control much behavior. ... The Oedipus complex in Freudian psychoanalysis refers to a stage of psychosexual development in childhood where children of both sexes regard their father as an adversary and competitor for the exclusive love of their mother. ... The Electra complex is an ambiguous psychiatric concept which attempts to explain the maturation of the human female. ...

Mourning Becomes Electra is divided into three plays with themes corresponding to The Oresteia trilogy by Aeschylus. In order, the three plays are titled Homecoming, The Hunted, and The Haunted. However, these plays are never produced individually, but only as part of the larger trilogy. Each of these plays contain four to five acts, and so Mourning Becomes Electra is extraordinarily lengthy for a drama. In production, it is often cut down. Also, because of the large cast size, it is not performed as often as some of O'Neill's other major plays. The Oresteia is a trilogy of tragedies about the end of the curse on the House of Atreus, written by Aeschylus. ... This article is about the ancient Greek playwright. ...

The 1947 film version starred Rosalind Russell, Michael Redgrave, Raymond Massey, Katina Paxinou, Leo Genn and Kirk Douglas. It was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Michael Redgrave) and Best Actress in a Leading Role (Rosalind Russell). Originally released at nearly three hours, it was eventually edited down to 105 minutes (losing more than an hour) after it performed poorly at the box office and won no Oscars. It has since been restored to its full length. 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1947 calendar). ... Rosalind Russell (June 4, 1907 - November 28, 1976) was a four-time Academy Award nominated and Tony Award winning American film, stage actress. ... Michael Redgrave and Margaret Lockwood in The Lady Vanishes (1938) Sir Michael Scudamore Redgrave, KBE (March 20, 1908 — March 21, 1985) was an English actor and the son of the Australian silent film star Roy Redgrave and the actress Margaret Scudamore. ... Raymond Massey photographed by Carl Van Vechten Raymond Hart Massey (August 30, 1896 – July 29, 1983) was a Canadian actor. ... Katina Paxinou (17 December 1900 - 22 February 1973) was an Academy Award-winning Greek film and theatre actress. ... Leo John Genn (August 9, 1905 – January 26, 1978) was an English actor on stage and in films. ... Kirk Douglas (born Issur Danielovitch Demsky December 9, 1916) is an American actor and film producer known for his gravelly voice and his recurring roles as the kinds of characters Douglas himself once described as sons of bitches. He is also father to Hollywood actor and producer Michael Douglas. ... Academy Award The Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are the most prominent and most watched film awards ceremony in the world. ... The Academy Award for Best Actor is one of the awards given to actors working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; nominations are made by Academy members who are actors and actresses. ... // The Academy Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role is one of the awards given to actresses, working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; nominations are made by Academy members who are actors and actresses. ...

A notorious Oscar upset occurred in connection with the film. All who saw it had taken it for granted that Rosalind Russell would win for her performance as Lavinia, to the point that Russell actually began to rise from her seat just before the winner's name was called. However, it was Loretta Young, and not Ms. Russell, who was named Best Actress (for her performance in The Farmer's Daughter). Loretta Young in 1935 Loretta Young (January 6, 1913 – August 12, 2000) was an Academy Award-winning American actress. ... The Farmers Daughter is a 1947 movie which tells the story of a Minnesota farmgirl who ends up working as a maid for a Congressman and his politically-connected mother. ...

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Mourning Becomes Electra

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