Elektra is a one-act opera by Richard Strauss, to a German
libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal adapted from his drama of
1903-the first of many such collaborations between composer and
librettist. It was first performed at the Dresden State Opera on
January 25, 1909. The first United States performance of the opera
in the original German was given by the Philadelphia Grand Opera
Company at the Academy of Music, Philadelphia on October 29, 1931
with Anne Roselle in the title role, Charlotte Boerner as
Chrysothemis, Margarete Matzenauer as Klytaemnestra, Nelson Eddy as
Orest, and Fritz Reiner conducting. Today, the opera remains a part
of the standard repertoire and is performed frequently.
The plot of Elektra is based upon the great Greek tragedy of the
same name by the tragedian Sophocles. The unrelenting gloom and
horror that permeate the original play produce, in the hands of
Hofmannsthal and Strauss, a drama whose sole theme is revenge.
Klytaemnestra (Clytemnestra), helped by her paramour Aegisth
(Aegisthus), has secured the murder of her husband, Agamemnon, and
now is afraid that her crime will be avenged by her children,
Elektra (Electra), Chrysothemis, and their banished brother Orest
(Orestes). Elektra, who is the personification of the passionate
lust for vengeance, tries to persuade her timid sister to kill
Klytaemnestra and Aegisth. Before the plan is carried out, Orest,
who had been reported as dead, arrives, determined upon revenge for
his father's death. He kills Klytaemnestra and Aegisth; Elektra, in
an ecstatic dance of triumph, falls dead in front of her
horror-stricken attendants. This 1967 recording stars Regina Resnik
and Birgit Nilsson. Sir Georg Solti conducts.
Salome is an opera in one act by Richard Strauss to a German
libretto by the composer, based on Hedwig Lachmann's German
translation of the French play Salomé by Oscar Wilde. The
combination of the Christian biblical theme, the erotic and the
murderous, which so attracted Wilde to the tale, shocked opera
audiences from its first appearance. It was first performed at the
Hofoper in Dresden on December 9, 1905, and within two years,
it had been given in 50 other opera houses. The opera is famous (at
the time of its premiere, infamous) for its "Dance of the Seven
Veils". It is now better known for the more shocking final scene,
where Salome declares her love to the severed head of John the
Baptist. This 1995 recording stars Catherine Malfitano and Bryn
Terfel. Christph von Dohnanyi conducts.
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