Strauss: Elektra

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Product Description ------------------- In 1903, Richard Strauss attended a performance of Elektra, a play by the Viennese poet Hugo von Hofmannsthal based on the tragedy by Sophocles. Three years later, Strauss came to an understanding with Hofmannsthal on a lyric adaptation of his play. The operatic premiere in Dresden in January 1909 initially drew a tepid response, but quickly won over audiences and today occupies an enviable place in the repertoire of opera houses worldwide. It remains one of the most scathing masterpieces of the whole lyric repertoire. The last production staged by Patrice Chéreau, this Elektra will remain as the most striking lyrical Aix-en-Provence event of recent years. German soprano Evelyn Herlitzius portrays Elektra, Waltraud Meier and Adrianne Pieczonka portray Clytemnestra and Chrysothemis respectively. Everyone's loneliness and struggles are Chéreau's favored themes. Esa-Pekka Salonen conducts the Orchestre de Paris. "Patrice Chéreau's staging of Strauss' chilling opera is a triumph...'. - Financial Times HHHHH Review ------ "Chereau makes one character of the Overseer and Confidant and one of the Second Maid and Trainbearer, and he usually has extra characters onstage, peering from the shadows, observing and overhearing. The payoff is immense these people understand what's happening, and therefore the suffering is widespread. The entire royal house becomes engulfed in a profound communal tragedy. At the end, the underlings show acute distress; Elektra, danced out and emotionally spent, stares blankly; Orest, shell-shocked, staggers off toward a grim future as Chrysothemis desperately calls his name." --Mark Mandel, The Critic's Choice