The Otto Schenk production of Richard Strauss's "Elektra", filmed live at the Metropolitan Opera in January, 1994. Hildegard Behrens stars as Elektra, with Deborah Voigt as Chrysothemis, Brigitte Fassbaender as Klytämnestra, Donald McIntyre as Orest, and James King as Aegisth. James Levine conducts.
Acting
Behrens's Elektra: raw, feral, absolutely unhinged vocal acting.
Production
Schenk's staging: claustrophobic palace ruins, perfect psychological pressure cooker.
Direction
Brian Large captures live opera intimacy without losing epic scale.
Director
Brian Large
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Behrens performed this role over 80 times; Levine called her his 'only Elektra.' This 1994 filming captures their final collaboration.
Strauss wrote Elektra in 1908 at 24, pushing tonality to its breaking point — audiences literally didn't know what hit them.
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