"Orestes" was Cunningham's only overt excursion into a realm that provided the subject matter for so many of Martha Graham's dances, Greek tragedy. The work showed Orestes torn with the decision of whether or not he should kill his mother. Cunningham and Cage may have intended the work to be “part of a suite of dance and music” that would include “many more scenes of the life of Orestes,” but no such project was undertaken. The dance was sometimes performed in silence, because, Cage said, his music was not suitable for "such dramatic subject matter."