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Elektra / opera in one act by Richard Strauss ; libretto, Hugo von Hofmannsthal ; producer, Harry Kupfer ; television director, Brian Large ; produced by ORF, BR, Monarda Arts ; in association with the Vienna State Opera/RTP/ABC Australia.
- Format:
- Video
- Author/Creator:
- Strauss, Richard, 1864-1949, composer.
- Series:
- Academic Video Online
- Standardized Title:
- Elektra
- Language:
- German
- Subjects (All):
- Electra (Greek mythological figure)--Drama.
- Electra.
- Operas.
- Genre:
- Operas.
- Televised performances.
- Made-for-TV movies.
- Adaptations.
- Physical Description:
- 1 online resource (108 minutes)
- Place of Publication:
- Halle, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany : Monarda Arts, 1989.
- Language Note:
- Sung in German.
- System Details:
- video file
- Summary:
- This Vienna State Opera production of Strauss's opera of revenge, torment, violence and horror is directed by Harry Kupfer as a tale of tyranny and bloodshed. His bold and terrifying concept is reiterated in Hans Schavernoch's cavernous decor. He opens with an abattoir, the five maids piling dripping chunks of carcasses into borrows, and closes with a more human slaughterhouse as Orestes raises his bloody hands to heaven. Conducting his first Strauss opera, Claudio Abbado wrings a harrowing performance from the peerless Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. The music is infused with an eeriness and neurosis that heightens the emotions on stage. In the title role, Eva Marton gives an uninhibited and exultant performance, matched by that of Brigitte Fassbaender as her mother, Klytemnestra, murderer and widow of Agamemnon. Bejewelled from head to foot and consumed by the flames of guilt-ridden insanity, Fassbaender sings as if truly possessed. The more lyrical role of Chrysothemis is sung by Cheryl Studer, with a ragged and single-minded Orestes played by Franz Grundheber.
- Participant:
- Eva Marton (Elektra) ; Brigitte Fassbaender (Klytemnestra) ; Cheryl Studer (Chrysothemis) ; Franz Grundheber (Orestes) ; James King (Aegisthus) ; supporting soloists ; Vienna State Opera Orchestra and Chorus ; Helmut Froschauer, chorus master ; Claudio Abbado, conductor.
- Notes:
- Title from title screen (viewed January 18, 2022).
- Written in 1908.
- For soloists, mixed chorus, and orchestra.
- Recorded live Vienna State Opera House.
- OCLC:
- 1296403539
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