Elektra is not an easy opera to get right. It is a modern, expressionistic interpretation of Sophocles and, as such, demands not only great singers, but great actors. Freidrich had both in Leonie Rysanek, whose Elektra will knock your socks off. Watching her, one is amazed with what facility she communicates the detailed psychological patchwork of that tragic heroine, and manages the sudden shifts in mood and motivation. She is not merely an outraged spirt, caught up in single-minded pursuit of vengeance over the murder of her Father, but a woman who is all too aware of what she has sacrificed in the process. One sees this in every scene, but to get the full effect, watch Rysaneks Elektra as she awaits Orestess dispatch of their Mother. In her face and voice, there is simultaneous determination and pain. Rysanek is well matched by an equally great Klytamnestra in Astrid Varnay (herself once a celebrated Elektra), who holds all the power as the opera begins, but is apparently vulnerable, chiefly because of unrelenting torment and fear of her son Orestes. Varnay gives us a debilitated, but highly dangerous, Klytamnestra, ready to strike out in any direction to end her nightmares. The rest of the cast is uniformly excellent. By the way even if Elektra is a single-act opera and shorter then some of the longest acts of Wagners three act operas, the Elektra-role is one of the most demanding in opera history. youtube/watch?v=jq1qfG0r4LE
Posted on: Fri, 12 Dec 2014 16:21:06 +0000