Strauss's Elektra

[Ricardo Jimenez]

I have tried for a long time to get into this opera, without success.
I went through the most recent bluray with Iréne Theorin recently. The
only thing a really liked was the price ($7.49 at Amazon) and you get
an hour and forty minutes of ArtHaus previews in the bargain. Elektra
remains solidly in the active repertory to my consternation, even
though to me it is just a lot of female screeching and orchestral
cacophony without a moment of lyrical respite. Am I alone in this
impression? Anybody have a tip on how to enjoy it?

[William Sommerwerck]

Elektra ... is just a lot of female screeching and orchestral
cacophony without a moment of lyrical respite.

Isn't that what it's supposed to be?

[Lionel Tacchini]

Post by Ricardo Jimenez
I have tried for a long time to get into this opera, without success.

It worked fine the first time and every subsequent time for me so I
think there's no cure.

[Ricardo Jimenez]

On Thu, 13 Nov 2014 17:54:57 +0100, Lionel Tacchini

Post by Lionel Tacchini

Post by Ricardo Jimenez
I have tried for a long time to get into this opera, without success.

It worked fine the first time and every subsequent time for me so I
think there's no cure.

You mean after the first time you were humming the tunes in the
shower? Just what is there to like?

[Lionel Tacchini]

Post by Ricardo Jimenez
On Thu, 13 Nov 2014 17:54:57 +0100, Lionel Tacchini

Post by Lionel Tacchini

Post by Ricardo Jimenez
I have tried for a long time to get into this opera, without success.

It worked fine the first time and every subsequent time for me so I
think there's no cure.

You mean after the first time you were humming the tunes in the
shower? Just what is there to like?

Theater.

I never cared for tunes. That's what pop songs are about.

[Willem]

Post by Lionel Tacchini

Post by Ricardo Jimenez
On Thu, 13 Nov 2014 17:54:57 +0100, Lionel Tacchini

Post by Lionel Tacchini

Post by Ricardo Jimenez
I have tried for a long time to get into this opera, without success.

It worked fine the first time and every subsequent time for me so I
think there's no cure.

You mean after the first time you were humming the tunes in the
shower? Just what is there to like?

Theater.
I never cared for tunes. That's what pop songs are about.
--
Lionel Tacchini

Then you don't care for Verdi or Puccini or Mozart or Wagner - all men of the theatre and all who wrote some pretty good tunes

[Ray Hall]

Post by Ricardo Jimenez
I have tried for a long time to get into this opera, without success.
I went through the most recent bluray with Iréne Theorin recently. The
only thing a really liked was the price ($7.49 at Amazon) and you get
an hour and forty minutes of ArtHaus previews in the bargain. Elektra
remains solidly in the active repertory to my consternation, even
though to me it is just a lot of female screeching and orchestral
cacophony without a moment of lyrical respite. Am I alone in this
impression? Anybody have a tip on how to enjoy it?

One of the few operas I enjoy. It helps that I love Richard Strauss's
music. What might be cacophony to some, is bliss to others.

I'd suggest forgetting the plot, and just swim with the flow. Richard
Strauss wrote some of the most gloriously sumptious music of them all,
much like Rachmaninov.

More exposure to it maybe? Try Bohm's recording also.

Ray Hall, Taree

[CHSIII]

Well, a line by line following of the libretto the first few times you hear
it would help, as well as a retention of the script thereafter - plus a
desire to see/hear a great or very good soprano tackle a challenge which few
overcome successfully - and sheer delight in Strauss' incredible genius.
Ms. Theorin is wonderful, as was Ms. Nilsson (if of an earlier school of
acting, and very late in her career at age 62!). But for sheer
emotional/visual impact, might I suggest Behrens' Met performance? Totally
convincing, and that diva's last triumph. Another now mostly forgotten but
wonderful Elektra - Ursula Schroeder-Feinen, although what one hears is a
voice in the act of self-immolation, which however, works very well for
Elektra, considering the nature and the fate of the lady.

"Ricardo Jimenez" wrote in message news:***@4ax.com...

I have tried for a long time to get into this opera, without success.
I went through the most recent bluray with Iréne Theorin recently. The
only thing a really liked was the price ($7.49 at Amazon) and you get
an hour and forty minutes of ArtHaus previews in the bargain. Elektra
remains solidly in the active repertory to my consternation, even
though to me it is just a lot of female screeching and orchestral
cacophony without a moment of lyrical respite. Am I alone in this
impression? Anybody have a tip on how to enjoy it?


--- news://freenews.netfront.net/ - complaints: ***@netfront.net ---

[Ed Presson]

Post by Ricardo Jimenez
I have tried for a long time to get into this opera, without success.
I went through the most recent bluray with Iréne Theorin recently. The
only thing a really liked was the price ($7.49 at Amazon) and you get
an hour and forty minutes of ArtHaus previews in the bargain. Elektra
remains solidly in the active repertory to my consternation, even
though to me it is just a lot of female screeching and orchestral
cacophony without a moment of lyrical respite. Am I alone in this
impression? Anybody have a tip on how to enjoy it?

I just thought of Elektra as a Grand Guignol extravaganza, and-on that
basis-I
can enjoy it ever two years or so. Reiner's excerpts are my favorites; he
seems
to get something from his singers and orchestra that capture the perverse
underpinnings
of the work. I like his Salome excerpt for the same reason.

Ed Presson

[Mr. Mike]

The harmonies in much of Elektra are pretty brutal, they strike me as
what having your brains pulled out of your head would be like. The
Bohm DGG version was one of the first LPs that I bought back in the
1960s. It cost something like $11.98! There was no libretto included
in the box and I never found out what was going on till months later.

[DLU]

Post by Ricardo Jimenez
I have tried for a long time to get into this opera, without success.
I went through the most recent bluray with Iréne Theorin recently. The
only thing a really liked was the price ($7.49 at Amazon) and you get
an hour and forty minutes of ArtHaus previews in the bargain. Elektra
remains solidly in the active repertory to my consternation, even
though to me it is just a lot of female screeching and orchestral
cacophony without a moment of lyrical respite. Am I alone in this
impression? Anybody have a tip on how to enjoy it?

I have the same impression of this and other R. Strauss operas.
Was at the SF Opera for La Boheme yesterday. A very good presentation,
not a dry eye in the house at the final. But the main thing is you, at
least I do, come away with this melody in your head. I do not do that
with Strauss operas. Two weeks ago they had a really terrific
presentation of La Cenerentola, and the house laughed continuously.

[Christopher Webber]

Post by DLU
Was at the SF Opera for La Boheme yesterday. A very good presentation,
not a dry eye in the house at the final. But the main thing is you, at
least I do, come away with this melody in your head. I do not do that
with Strauss operas. Two weeks ago they had a really terrific
presentation of La Cenerentola, and the house laughed continuously.

The answer is, that some people go to the opera for something different
from a good laugh and a bit of crying. And that's no disrespect to
either Puccini or Rossini. I think 'La bohème' is a great opera, too.

As it happens, I went to 'Elektra' at the Proms, and I've rarely seen an
audience roar its approval at the end so vehemently, or for so long, at
what was - for me - a soul-searing experience. For RJ it's just "a lot
of female screeching". Tough luck to him, because he's missing the point
completely. Which is something to do with excess, monstrosity of sonics
and extreme human behaviour. A 20th rather than 19th century ethos.

You see, we can all come up with personal anecdotes. They don't prove a
thing. Fortunately, music theatre is a broad church and there's plenty
of room for everyone.

[Willem]

Post by Christopher Webber

Post by DLU
Was at the SF Opera for La Boheme yesterday. A very good presentation,
not a dry eye in the house at the final. But the main thing is you, at
least I do, come away with this melody in your head. I do not do that
with Strauss operas. Two weeks ago they had a really terrific
presentation of La Cenerentola, and the house laughed continuously.

The answer is, that some people go to the opera for something different
from a good laugh and a bit of crying. And that's no disrespect to
either Puccini or Rossini. I think 'La bohème' is a great opera, too.
As it happens, I went to 'Elektra' at the Proms, and I've rarely seen an
audience roar its approval at the end so vehemently, or for so long, at
what was - for me - a soul-searing experience. For RJ it's just "a lot
of female screeching". Tough luck to him, because he's missing the point
completely. Which is something to do with excess, monstrosity of sonics
and extreme human behaviour. A 20th rather than 19th century ethos.
You see, we can all come up with personal anecdotes. They don't prove a
thing. Fortunately, music theatre is a broad church and there's plenty
of room for everyone.

Yes and when the subject matter is myth it goes much much deeper than the tubercular little seamstress. (Although I do live Puccini)

[g***@gmail.com]

Post by Ricardo Jimenez
I have tried for a long time to get into this opera, without success.
I went through the most recent bluray with Iréne Theorin recently. The
only thing a really liked was the price ($7.49 at Amazon) and you get
an hour and forty minutes of ArtHaus previews in the bargain. Elektra
remains solidly in the active repertory to my consternation, even
though to me it is just a lot of female screeching and orchestral
cacophony without a moment of lyrical respite. Am I alone in this
impression? Anybody have a tip on how to enjoy it?

This description of the Nilsson/Solti recording may be of interest:

https://books.google.com/books?id=TMQF9tRD8zEC&pg=PA748&dq=not+all+music+is+supposed+to+be+digested+in+one+sitting.++sometimes+music&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjW4vyAhKrlAhVQqZ4KHXY1D8cQ6AEwAHoECAUQAg#v=onepage&q=not%20all%20music%20is%20supposed%20to%20be%20digested%20in%20one%20sitting.%20%20sometimes%20music&f=false

[g***@gmail.com]

Post by Ricardo Jimenez
I have tried for a long time to get into this opera, without success.
I went through the most recent bluray with Iréne Theorin recently. The
only thing a really liked was the price ($7.49 at Amazon) and you get
an hour and forty minutes of ArtHaus previews in the bargain. Elektra
remains solidly in the active repertory to my consternation, even
though to me it is just a lot of female screeching and orchestral
cacophony without a moment of lyrical respite. Am I alone in this
impression? Anybody have a tip on how to enjoy it?

This description of the Nilsson/Solti recording may be of interest:

https://books.google.com/books?id=TMQF9tRD8zEC&pg=PA748&dq=not+all+music+is+supposed+to+be+digested+in+one+sitting.++sometimes+music&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjW4vyAhKrlAhVQqZ4KHXY1D8cQ6AEwAHoECAUQAg#v=onepage&q=not%20all%20music%20is%20supposed%20to%20be%20digested%20in%20one%20sitting.%20%20sometimes%20music&f=false

[g***@gmail.com]

Post by Ricardo Jimenez
I have tried for a long time to get into this opera, without success.
I went through the most recent bluray with Iréne Theorin recently. The
only thing a really liked was the price ($7.49 at Amazon) and you get
an hour and forty minutes of ArtHaus previews in the bargain. Elektra
remains solidly in the active repertory to my consternation, even
though to me it is just a lot of female screeching and orchestral
cacophony without a moment of lyrical respite. Am I alone in this
impression? Anybody have a tip on how to enjoy it?

My introduction to ELEKTRA came in the form of an old RCA recording of scenes from opera starring Christa Ludwig. The recording included the "Recognition" scene between Elektra and her brother, Orestes. Ludwig's husband at the time was the esteemed bass-baritone, Walter Berry. I just found myself listening over and over again to these two great artists breaking your heart with Richard Strauss creating one of the most memorable scenes in all opera. Around the same time, I attended a live performance of the work at the Metropolitan Opera. The scene that struck me most forcibly was Elektra's entrance...Allein! Weh, ganz allen". Birgit Nilsson's voice bounced all over the walls of the Metropolitan Opera and she was thrilling. The first part of the aria was all narrative with Strauss punctuating her anger, frustration and determination to kill her mother and Aegisth, her mother's lover, for murdering her father. My next aha moment came in a live concert performance of the work with the Syracuse symphony in 1977, when its conductor, Christopher Keene, whom I knew, led the work over two evenings with Olivia Stapp (a marvelous Elektra). Keene had been trying to find a soprano with really strong high Bs. I suggested my friend, Natalie Costa ad the minute he auditioned her, he cast her. Natalie Costa had a shiny, Italian spinto soprano with a blooming top and her Chrisothemis really works (copies of this performance have been ciruulating on line for years). Natalie's stunning performance opened up Chrisothemnis' entrance scene for me and shoed me what a aria that scene really was. Her legato singing in her middle range is gorgeous, and few sing it with this kind of bel canto ease. The toughest scene for me has always been Klyemnestra's confrontation with Elektra. Here is good conductor is absolutely essential. He or she has to have a strong sense of Strauss' narrative composition here. I heard Agnes Baltsa perform this role in Florence, Italy in 2006. She still had a lot of voice and she showed why this isn't a role that can be performed by an aged, character singer. Balsta' clear German diction, that marvelous granular middle voice and those fierce chest tones vividly showed the deterioration of this tortured woman's mind. Christine Goerke was the marvelous Chrisothemis in this Maggio Musicale Fiorentino performance. Six years later, she took on the title role for the first time at the Teatro Real in Madrid with Simon Bychkov conducting. Jane Henschel was the riveting Kytemnestra and she was scary in her intensity and insecurity. At the conclusion of this scene, Strauss and von Hoffmannstaal give Elektra a moment of catharsis as she confronts her mother, telling her exactly how she will die and how Elektra will be witness. Strauss builds the musical tension that is scary and relentless. Up the scale Elektra climbs to a coruscating top C and ends the scene in a blazing top B natural. Goerke is utterly thrilling in this scene--the big C is huge and the B natural is even bigger. It is the role that made her a major operatic star.

It took many years for ELEKTRA to become my top favorite operatic work (DON CARLO, LE NOZZE DI FIGARO, LA FANCIULLA DEL WEST and FALSTAFF round out the top 5). And I literally learned to love it scene by scene. I never tire of it. I own at least 20 recordings of the opera and almost always find something fascinating in it with each new recording. My favorite Elektra's include Stapp, Rita Hunter (immaculate singing), Nilsson, Goerke, Varnay, and Grob-Prandl. I've had a similar response to DIE FRAU OHNE SCHATTEN. Both works reveal their greatness the more you delve into them. At least this is how they revealed themselves to me.

[g***@gmail.com]

Post by g***@gmail.com

Post by Ricardo Jimenez
I have tried for a long time to get into this opera, without success.
I went through the most recent bluray with Iréne Theorin recently. The
only thing a really liked was the price ($7.49 at Amazon) and you get
an hour and forty minutes of ArtHaus previews in the bargain. Elektra
remains solidly in the active repertory to my consternation, even
though to me it is just a lot of female screeching and orchestral
cacophony without a moment of lyrical respite. Am I alone in this
impression? Anybody have a tip on how to enjoy it?

My introduction to ELEKTRA came in the form of an old RCA recording of scenes from opera starring Christa Ludwig. The recording included the "Recognition" scene between Elektra and her brother, Orestes. Ludwig's husband at the time was the esteemed bass-baritone, Walter Berry. I just found myself listening over and over again to these two great artists breaking your heart with Richard Strauss creating one of the most memorable scenes in all opera. Around the same time, I attended a live performance of the work at the Metropolitan Opera. The scene that struck me most forcibly was Elektra's entrance...Allein! Weh, ganz allen". Birgit Nilsson's voice bounced all over the walls of the Metropolitan Opera and she was thrilling. The first part of the aria was all narrative with Strauss punctuating her anger, frustration and determination to kill her mother and Aegisth, her mother's lover, for murdering her father. My next aha moment came in a live concert performance of the work with the Syracuse symphony in 1977, when its conductor, Christopher Keene, whom I knew, led the work over two evenings with Olivia Stapp (a marvelous Elektra). Keene had been trying to find a soprano with really strong high Bs. I suggested my friend, Natalie Costa ad the minute he auditioned her, he cast her. Natalie Costa had a shiny, Italian spinto soprano with a blooming top and her Chrisothemis really works (copies of this performance have been ciruulating on line for years). Natalie's stunning performance opened up Chrisothemnis' entrance scene for me and shoed me what a aria that scene really was. Her legato singing in her middle range is gorgeous, and few sing it with this kind of bel canto ease. The toughest scene for me has always been Klyemnestra's confrontation with Elektra. Here is good conductor is absolutely essential. He or she has to have a strong sense of Strauss' narrative composition here. I heard Agnes Baltsa perform this role in Florence, Italy in 2006. She still had a lot of voice and she showed why this isn't a role that can be performed by an aged, character singer. Balsta' clear German diction, that marvelous granular middle voice and those fierce chest tones vividly showed the deterioration of this tortured woman's mind. Christine Goerke was the marvelous Chrisothemis in this Maggio Musicale Fiorentino performance. Six years later, she took on the title role for the first time at the Teatro Real in Madrid with Simon Bychkov conducting. Jane Henschel was the riveting Kytemnestra and she was scary in her intensity and insecurity. At the conclusion of this scene, Strauss and von Hoffmannstaal give Elektra a moment of catharsis as she confronts her mother, telling her exactly how she will die and how Elektra will be witness. Strauss builds the musical tension that is scary and relentless. Up the scale Elektra climbs to a coruscating top C and ends the scene in a blazing top B natural. Goerke is utterly thrilling in this scene--the big C is huge and the B natural is even bigger. It is the role that made her a major operatic star.
It took many years for ELEKTRA to become my top favorite operatic work (DON CARLO, LE NOZZE DI FIGARO, LA FANCIULLA DEL WEST and FALSTAFF round out the top 5). And I literally learned to love it scene by scene. I never tire of it. I own at least 20 recordings of the opera and almost always find something fascinating in it with each new recording. My favorite Elektra's include Stapp, Rita Hunter (immaculate singing), Nilsson, Goerke, Varnay, and Grob-Prandl. I've had a similar response to DIE FRAU OHNE SCHATTEN. Both works reveal their greatness the more you delve into them. At least this is how they revealed themselves to me.

So are both of those operas like LULU?:

- One of those works that reveals the extent of its quality the longer and more deeply one immerses oneself in it.

https://www.thenation.com/article/an-opera-of-permanent-catastrophe-and-of-hope/

[g***@gmail.com]

Post by g***@gmail.com

Post by g***@gmail.com

Post by Ricardo Jimenez
I have tried for a long time to get into this opera, without success.
I went through the most recent bluray with Iréne Theorin recently. The
only thing a really liked was the price ($7.49 at Amazon) and you get
an hour and forty minutes of ArtHaus previews in the bargain. Elektra
remains solidly in the active repertory to my consternation, even
though to me it is just a lot of female screeching and orchestral
cacophony without a moment of lyrical respite. Am I alone in this
impression? Anybody have a tip on how to enjoy it?

My introduction to ELEKTRA came in the form of an old RCA recording of scenes from opera starring Christa Ludwig. The recording included the "Recognition" scene between Elektra and her brother, Orestes. Ludwig's husband at the time was the esteemed bass-baritone, Walter Berry. I just found myself listening over and over again to these two great artists breaking your heart with Richard Strauss creating one of the most memorable scenes in all opera. Around the same time, I attended a live performance of the work at the Metropolitan Opera. The scene that struck me most forcibly was Elektra's entrance...Allein! Weh, ganz allen". Birgit Nilsson's voice bounced all over the walls of the Metropolitan Opera and she was thrilling. The first part of the aria was all narrative with Strauss punctuating her anger, frustration and determination to kill her mother and Aegisth, her mother's lover, for murdering her father. My next aha moment came in a live concert performance of the work with the Syracuse symphony in 1977, when its conductor, Christopher Keene, whom I knew, led the work over two evenings with Olivia Stapp (a marvelous Elektra). Keene had been trying to find a soprano with really strong high Bs. I suggested my friend, Natalie Costa ad the minute he auditioned her, he cast her. Natalie Costa had a shiny, Italian spinto soprano with a blooming top and her Chrisothemis really works (copies of this performance have been ciruulating on line for years). Natalie's stunning performance opened up Chrisothemnis' entrance scene for me and shoed me what a aria that scene really was. Her legato singing in her middle range is gorgeous, and few sing it with this kind of bel canto ease. The toughest scene for me has always been Klyemnestra's confrontation with Elektra. Here is good conductor is absolutely essential. He or she has to have a strong sense of Strauss' narrative composition here. I heard Agnes Baltsa perform this role in Florence, Italy in 2006. She still had a lot of voice and she showed why this isn't a role that can be performed by an aged, character singer. Balsta' clear German diction, that marvelous granular middle voice and those fierce chest tones vividly showed the deterioration of this tortured woman's mind. Christine Goerke was the marvelous Chrisothemis in this Maggio Musicale Fiorentino performance. Six years later, she took on the title role for the first time at the Teatro Real in Madrid with Simon Bychkov conducting. Jane Henschel was the riveting Kytemnestra and she was scary in her intensity and insecurity. At the conclusion of this scene, Strauss and von Hoffmannstaal give Elektra a moment of catharsis as she confronts her mother, telling her exactly how she will die and how Elektra will be witness. Strauss builds the musical tension that is scary and relentless. Up the scale Elektra climbs to a coruscating top C and ends the scene in a blazing top B natural. Goerke is utterly thrilling in this scene--the big C is huge and the B natural is even bigger. It is the role that made her a major operatic star.
It took many years for ELEKTRA to become my top favorite operatic work (DON CARLO, LE NOZZE DI FIGARO, LA FANCIULLA DEL WEST and FALSTAFF round out the top 5). And I literally learned to love it scene by scene. I never tire of it. I own at least 20 recordings of the opera and almost always find something fascinating in it with each new recording. My favorite Elektra's include Stapp, Rita Hunter (immaculate singing), Nilsson, Goerke, Varnay, and Grob-Prandl. I've had a similar response to DIE FRAU OHNE SCHATTEN. Both works reveal their greatness the more you delve into them. At least this is how they revealed themselves to me.

- One of those works that reveals the extent of its quality the longer and more deeply one immerses oneself in it.
https://www.thenation.com/article/an-opera-of-permanent-catastrophe-and-of-hope/

Not at all, though both require immersive listening to draw you in. I started to appreciate this work in bits and pieces, staring with he great Recognition scene in ELEKTRA where she encounters her brother, Orestes, who after many years of separation doesn't recognize his sister. The music is tense, with Elektra telling the stranger he is not welcome and to go away. This slowly builds to wild orchestral climax that is full of dissonance and then settles down into a lyric period of almost painful beauty as Elektra begins to urge her brother to avenge their father. The music is fascinating in both is lyric repose and savage emotional release. Elektra's opening monologue was the second phase of my appreciation of the score. It helped to see Nilsson sing it at a concert in Carnegie Hall and Nilsson was in top form fearlessly hurling out the high notes. Harold Schoenberg of the New York Times related that Madame Nilsson's voice went up the aisle and out into the lobby of Carnegie Hall where it took a left turn and sailed out over the Hudson River. I was so struck by both the humor and the admiration of his reaction. Chrisothemis' entry aria is quite accessible. But I always had difficulties with the great confrontation between Klytemnestra and Elektra. It has slowly revealed its many fascinating details to me over the years, and I finally gave it to its greatness. The concentratioN of the music and the drama is absolutely stunning.

LULU on the other hand is not a work that I enjoy on recordings. The music is very difficult, despite it's many lyric moments. It think it is best experienced in the theater. Or watching on video. It's theatricality is fascinating and a good Lulu is that rare musical actress who can nail you with her voice and acting skills. I saw Teresa Stratas who struggled with its vocal demands at times. But her theatrical instincts were sheer genius, an she made you a believer. Berg's atonal musical language is complex and does't always makes sense in the context of tonality. I've seen the work only twice (Julia Migines-Johnson, was my other Lulu). I am looking forward to the new production of WOZZECK with Peter Mattei this season. It think the opera is a bit easier to "get" than LULU.

[g***@gmail.com]

Post by g***@gmail.com

Post by g***@gmail.com

Post by Ricardo Jimenez
I have tried for a long time to get into this opera, without success.
I went through the most recent bluray with Iréne Theorin recently. The
only thing a really liked was the price ($7.49 at Amazon) and you get
an hour and forty minutes of ArtHaus previews in the bargain. Elektra
remains solidly in the active repertory to my consternation, even
though to me it is just a lot of female screeching and orchestral
cacophony without a moment of lyrical respite. Am I alone in this
impression? Anybody have a tip on how to enjoy it?

My introduction to ELEKTRA came in the form of an old RCA recording of scenes from opera starring Christa Ludwig. The recording included the "Recognition" scene between Elektra and her brother, Orestes. Ludwig's husband at the time was the esteemed bass-baritone, Walter Berry. I just found myself listening over and over again to these two great artists breaking your heart with Richard Strauss creating one of the most memorable scenes in all opera. Around the same time, I attended a live performance of the work at the Metropolitan Opera. The scene that struck me most forcibly was Elektra's entrance...Allein! Weh, ganz allen". Birgit Nilsson's voice bounced all over the walls of the Metropolitan Opera and she was thrilling. The first part of the aria was all narrative with Strauss punctuating her anger, frustration and determination to kill her mother and Aegisth, her mother's lover, for murdering her father. My next aha moment came in a live concert performance of the work with the Syracuse symphony in 1977, when its conductor, Christopher Keene, whom I knew, led the work over two evenings with Olivia Stapp (a marvelous Elektra). Keene had been trying to find a soprano with really strong high Bs. I suggested my friend, Natalie Costa ad the minute he auditioned her, he cast her. Natalie Costa had a shiny, Italian spinto soprano with a blooming top and her Chrisothemis really works (copies of this performance have been ciruulating on line for years). Natalie's stunning performance opened up Chrisothemnis' entrance scene for me and shoed me what a aria that scene really was. Her legato singing in her middle range is gorgeous, and few sing it with this kind of bel canto ease. The toughest scene for me has always been Klyemnestra's confrontation with Elektra. Here is good conductor is absolutely essential. He or she has to have a strong sense of Strauss' narrative composition here. I heard Agnes Baltsa perform this role in Florence, Italy in 2006. She still had a lot of voice and she showed why this isn't a role that can be performed by an aged, character singer. Balsta' clear German diction, that marvelous granular middle voice and those fierce chest tones vividly showed the deterioration of this tortured woman's mind. Christine Goerke was the marvelous Chrisothemis in this Maggio Musicale Fiorentino performance. Six years later, she took on the title role for the first time at the Teatro Real in Madrid with Simon Bychkov conducting. Jane Henschel was the riveting Kytemnestra and she was scary in her intensity and insecurity. At the conclusion of this scene, Strauss and von Hoffmannstaal give Elektra a moment of catharsis as she confronts her mother, telling her exactly how she will die and how Elektra will be witness. Strauss builds the musical tension that is scary and relentless. Up the scale Elektra climbs to a coruscating top C and ends the scene in a blazing top B natural. Goerke is utterly thrilling in this scene--the big C is huge and the B natural is even bigger. It is the role that made her a major operatic star.
It took many years for ELEKTRA to become my top favorite operatic work (DON CARLO, LE NOZZE DI FIGARO, LA FANCIULLA DEL WEST and FALSTAFF round out the top 5). And I literally learned to love it scene by scene. I never tire of it. I own at least 20 recordings of the opera and almost always find something fascinating in it with each new recording. My favorite Elektra's include Stapp, Rita Hunter (immaculate singing), Nilsson, Goerke, Varnay, and Grob-Prandl. I've had a similar response to DIE FRAU OHNE SCHATTEN. Both works reveal their greatness the more you delve into them. At least this is how they revealed themselves to me.

- One of those works that reveals the extent of its quality the longer and more deeply one immerses oneself in it.
https://www.thenation.com/article/an-opera-of-permanent-catastrophe-and-of-hope/

Not at all, though both require immersive listening to draw you in. I started to appreciate this work in bits and pieces, staring with he great Recognition scene in ELEKTRA where she encounters her brother, Orestes, who after many years of separation doesn't recognize his sister. The music is tense, with Elektra telling the stranger he is not welcome and to go away. This slowly builds to wild orchestral climax that is full of dissonance and then settles down into a lyric period of almost painful beauty as Elektra begins to urge her brother to avenge their father. The music is fascinating in both is lyric repose and savage emotional release. Elektra's opening monologue was the second phase of my appreciation of the score. It helped to see Nilsson sing it at a concert in Carnegie Hall and Nilsson was in top form fearlessly hurling out the high notes. Harold Schoenberg of the New York Times related that Madame Nilsson's voice went up the aisle and out into the lobby of Carnegie Hall where it took a left turn and sailed out over the Hudson River. I was so struck by both the humor and the admiration of his reaction. Chrisothemis' entry aria is quite accessible. But I always had difficulties with the great confrontation between Klytemnestra and Elektra. It has slowly revealed its many fascinating details to me over the years, and I finally gave it to its greatness...

Does this apply?:

- Not only does one not retain all at once the truly rare works, but
even within such works it is the least precious parts that one
perceives first. Less deceptive than life, these great masterpieces do
not give us their best at the beginning.

Proust

[g***@gmail.com]

Post by g***@gmail.com

Post by g***@gmail.com

Post by Ricardo Jimenez
I have tried for a long time to get into this opera, without success.
I went through the most recent bluray with Iréne Theorin recently. The
only thing a really liked was the price ($7.49 at Amazon) and you get
an hour and forty minutes of ArtHaus previews in the bargain. Elektra
remains solidly in the active repertory to my consternation, even
though to me it is just a lot of female screeching and orchestral
cacophony without a moment of lyrical respite. Am I alone in this
impression? Anybody have a tip on how to enjoy it?

My introduction to ELEKTRA came in the form of an old RCA recording of scenes from opera starring Christa Ludwig. The recording included the "Recognition" scene between Elektra and her brother, Orestes. Ludwig's husband at the time was the esteemed bass-baritone, Walter Berry. I just found myself listening over and over again to these two great artists breaking your heart with Richard Strauss creating one of the most memorable scenes in all opera. Around the same time, I attended a live performance of the work at the Metropolitan Opera. The scene that struck me most forcibly was Elektra's entrance...Allein! Weh, ganz allen". Birgit Nilsson's voice bounced all over the walls of the Metropolitan Opera and she was thrilling. The first part of the aria was all narrative with Strauss punctuating her anger, frustration and determination to kill her mother and Aegisth, her mother's lover, for murdering her father. My next aha moment came in a live concert performance of the work with the Syracuse symphony in 1977, when its conductor, Christopher Keene, whom I knew, led the work over two evenings with Olivia Stapp (a marvelous Elektra). Keene had been trying to find a soprano with really strong high Bs. I suggested my friend, Natalie Costa ad the minute he auditioned her, he cast her. Natalie Costa had a shiny, Italian spinto soprano with a blooming top and her Chrisothemis really works (copies of this performance have been ciruulating on line for years). Natalie's stunning performance opened up Chrisothemnis' entrance scene for me and shoed me what a aria that scene really was. Her legato singing in her middle range is gorgeous, and few sing it with this kind of bel canto ease. The toughest scene for me has always been Klyemnestra's confrontation with Elektra. Here is good conductor is absolutely essential. He or she has to have a strong sense of Strauss' narrative composition here. I heard Agnes Baltsa perform this role in Florence, Italy in 2006. She still had a lot of voice and she showed why this isn't a role that can be performed by an aged, character singer. Balsta' clear German diction, that marvelous granular middle voice and those fierce chest tones vividly showed the deterioration of this tortured woman's mind. Christine Goerke was the marvelous Chrisothemis in this Maggio Musicale Fiorentino performance. Six years later, she took on the title role for the first time at the Teatro Real in Madrid with Simon Bychkov conducting. Jane Henschel was the riveting Kytemnestra and she was scary in her intensity and insecurity. At the conclusion of this scene, Strauss and von Hoffmannstaal give Elektra a moment of catharsis as she confronts her mother, telling her exactly how she will die and how Elektra will be witness. Strauss builds the musical tension that is scary and relentless. Up the scale Elektra climbs to a coruscating top C and ends the scene in a blazing top B natural. Goerke is utterly thrilling in this scene--the big C is huge and the B natural is even bigger. It is the role that made her a major operatic star.
It took many years for ELEKTRA to become my top favorite operatic work (DON CARLO, LE NOZZE DI FIGARO, LA FANCIULLA DEL WEST and FALSTAFF round out the top 5). And I literally learned to love it scene by scene. I never tire of it. I own at least 20 recordings of the opera and almost always find something fascinating in it with each new recording. My favorite Elektra's include Stapp, Rita Hunter (immaculate singing), Nilsson, Goerke, Varnay, and Grob-Prandl. I've had a similar response to DIE FRAU OHNE SCHATTEN. Both works reveal their greatness the more you delve into them. At least this is how they revealed themselves to me.

- One of those works that reveals the extent of its quality the longer and more deeply one immerses oneself in it.
https://www.thenation.com/article/an-opera-of-permanent-catastrophe-and-of-hope/

Or could they be like the 1939 French movie THE RULES OF THE GAME?:

- This magical and elusive work, which always seems to place second behind Citizen Kane in polls of great films, is so simple and so labyrinthine, so guileless and so angry, so innocent and so dangerous, that you can’t simply watch it, you have to absorb it.

Roger Ebert

[g***@gmail.com]

Post by g***@gmail.com

Post by g***@gmail.com

Post by g***@gmail.com

Post by Ricardo Jimenez
I have tried for a long time to get into this opera, without success.
I went through the most recent bluray with Iréne Theorin recently. The
only thing a really liked was the price ($7.49 at Amazon) and you get
an hour and forty minutes of ArtHaus previews in the bargain. Elektra
remains solidly in the active repertory to my consternation, even
though to me it is just a lot of female screeching and orchestral
cacophony without a moment of lyrical respite. Am I alone in this
impression? Anybody have a tip on how to enjoy it?

My introduction to ELEKTRA came in the form of an old RCA recording of scenes from opera starring Christa Ludwig. The recording included the "Recognition" scene between Elektra and her brother, Orestes. Ludwig's husband at the time was the esteemed bass-baritone, Walter Berry. I just found myself listening over and over again to these two great artists breaking your heart with Richard Strauss creating one of the most memorable scenes in all opera. Around the same time, I attended a live performance of the work at the Metropolitan Opera. The scene that struck me most forcibly was Elektra's entrance...Allein! Weh, ganz allen". Birgit Nilsson's voice bounced all over the walls of the Metropolitan Opera and she was thrilling. The first part of the aria was all narrative with Strauss punctuating her anger, frustration and determination to kill her mother and Aegisth, her mother's lover, for murdering her father. My next aha moment came in a live concert performance of the work with the Syracuse symphony in 1977, when its conductor, Christopher Keene, whom I knew, led the work over two evenings with Olivia Stapp (a marvelous Elektra). Keene had been trying to find a soprano with really strong high Bs. I suggested my friend, Natalie Costa ad the minute he auditioned her, he cast her. Natalie Costa had a shiny, Italian spinto soprano with a blooming top and her Chrisothemis really works (copies of this performance have been ciruulating on line for years). Natalie's stunning performance opened up Chrisothemnis' entrance scene for me and shoed me what a aria that scene really was. Her legato singing in her middle range is gorgeous, and few sing it with this kind of bel canto ease. The toughest scene for me has always been Klyemnestra's confrontation with Elektra. Here is good conductor is absolutely essential. He or she has to have a strong sense of Strauss' narrative composition here. I heard Agnes Baltsa perform this role in Florence, Italy in 2006. She still had a lot of voice and she showed why this isn't a role that can be performed by an aged, character singer. Balsta' clear German diction, that marvelous granular middle voice and those fierce chest tones vividly showed the deterioration of this tortured woman's mind. Christine Goerke was the marvelous Chrisothemis in this Maggio Musicale Fiorentino performance. Six years later, she took on the title role for the first time at the Teatro Real in Madrid with Simon Bychkov conducting. Jane Henschel was the riveting Kytemnestra and she was scary in her intensity and insecurity. At the conclusion of this scene, Strauss and von Hoffmannstaal give Elektra a moment of catharsis as she confronts her mother, telling her exactly how she will die and how Elektra will be witness. Strauss builds the musical tension that is scary and relentless. Up the scale Elektra climbs to a coruscating top C and ends the scene in a blazing top B natural. Goerke is utterly thrilling in this scene--the big C is huge and the B natural is even bigger. It is the role that made her a major operatic star.
It took many years for ELEKTRA to become my top favorite operatic work (DON CARLO, LE NOZZE DI FIGARO, LA FANCIULLA DEL WEST and FALSTAFF round out the top 5). And I literally learned to love it scene by scene. I never tire of it. I own at least 20 recordings of the opera and almost always find something fascinating in it with each new recording. My favorite Elektra's include Stapp, Rita Hunter (immaculate singing), Nilsson, Goerke, Varnay, and Grob-Prandl. I've had a similar response to DIE FRAU OHNE SCHATTEN. Both works reveal their greatness the more you delve into them. At least this is how they revealed themselves to me.

- One of those works that reveals the extent of its quality the longer and more deeply one immerses oneself in it.
https://www.thenation.com/article/an-opera-of-permanent-catastrophe-and-of-hope/

- This magical and elusive work, which always seems to place second behind Citizen Kane in polls of great films, is so simple and so labyrinthine, so guileless and so angry, so innocent and so dangerous, that you can’t simply watch it, you have to absorb it.
Roger Ebert

According to this:

- And yet, we keep returning to the film because it requires years of absorption before one truly appreciates the sophisticated filmmaking at work.

https://deepfocusreview.com/definitives/the-rules-of-the-game/

[g***@gmail.com]

Post by Ricardo Jimenez
I have tried for a long time to get into this opera, without success.
I went through the most recent bluray with Iréne Theorin recently. The
only thing a really liked was the price ($7.49 at Amazon) and you get
an hour and forty minutes of ArtHaus previews in the bargain. Elektra
remains solidly in the active repertory to my consternation, even
though to me it is just a lot of female screeching and orchestral
cacophony without a moment of lyrical respite. Am I alone in this
impression? Anybody have a tip on how to enjoy it?

https://groups.google.com/forum/#!searchin/rec.music.opera/expressionist%7Csort:date/rec.music.opera/X4BAvhi72gk/UdjRizZqBQkJ

[g***@gmail.com]

Post by Ricardo Jimenez
I have tried for a long time to get into this opera, without success.
I went through the most recent bluray with Iréne Theorin recently. The
only thing a really liked was the price ($7.49 at Amazon) and you get
an hour and forty minutes of ArtHaus previews in the bargain. Elektra
remains solidly in the active repertory to my consternation, even
though to me it is just a lot of female screeching and orchestral
cacophony without a moment of lyrical respite. Am I alone in this
impression? Anybody have a tip on how to enjoy it?

(Youtube upload):

Elektra Suite (Arr. M. Honeck & T. Ille) (Live)

[gggg gggg]

Post by Ricardo Jimenez
I have tried for a long time to get into this opera, without success.
I went through the most recent bluray with Iréne Theorin recently. The
only thing a really liked was the price ($7.49 at Amazon) and you get
an hour and forty minutes of ArtHaus previews in the bargain. Elektra
remains solidly in the active repertory to my consternation, even
though to me it is just a lot of female screeching and orchestral
cacophony without a moment of lyrical respite. Am I alone in this
impression? Anybody have a tip on how to enjoy it?

(2022 Youtube upload):

"FIRST recording of Richard Strauss' Elektra (1937 live; Rose Pauly, Huehn, Jagel, cond. Rodzinski)"