Customer Reviews

Richard Strauss: Elektra

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Solti's Elektra was the very first recording to remove all cuts from the score (as with all the Maestro's recorded work). For many listeners such as myself, it is perhaps the definitive Elektra on disc, not only for the high voltage intensity of the singing, but also for Solti's energetic conducting of the score and the magnificent detail at which the entire sound picture of Elektra is revealed in this recording. Although I love Karajan's 1965 Elektra at Salzburg with Astrid Varnay and Jeffrey Tate's 1990 recording from Geneva with Gwyneth Jones and Leonie Rysanek, this recording captures what is perhaps one of the most compelling performances of the opera on record. There is first of all Birgit Nilsson's command performance in the title role. There has never been a soprano who had Nilsson's uncanny ability to sing what is perhaps Strauss' most difficult role for soprano with the kind of ease and power that we can hear in this recording. Perhaps one would wish that a darker timbre and a more "agonized" sound would have taken the role, but Strauss' vocal writing simply poses no hurdles for the soprano as she hurls the high notes that made her famous. It is also note complete, so we get to hear whatever notes and texts we don't hear in the theatre. A brilliant performance, and perhaps one of Nilsson's greatest achievements in the studio. She is partnered by the Klytämnestra of Regina Resnik, who offers a grotesque interpretation that rightly contrasts well with Leonie Rysanek's erotic, theatrical assumption many years later. Resnik makes a caricature out of the role that may either satisfy the listener of displease him depending one whether one wants something more realistic or more extreme. Marie Collier, likewise, sings Chrysothemis with all the theatrical effects that would have been avoided by Leonie Rysanek many years earlier in the theater. I find that this great artist (who we lost when she was so tragically young) imbues her character with the right kind of psychological madness that all the more tips the already tipsy boat in the opera. Gerhard Stolze makes the already grotesque Aegisthus more grotesque than he already is. Tom Krause sings Orest with conviction, although one could wish for someone like Hans Hotter to sing the role in order to convey the nobility and grandeur of the character.

Solti leads the Vienna Philharmonic in the frenzy that this score truly typifies. I still wish that they had asked Karajan to do this opera in the studio since he was able to bring so much out of Strauss' score, but we at least have these gargantuan forces to contend with in the absence of a Karajan studio recording.

A truly mad and demented performance if there ever was one, but you should look at Gwyneth Jones' 1990 performance from Claves records to hear what a theatrical Elektra should sound like.
Richard Strauss: Elektra

Make no mistake about it, next to Schoenberg's twelve tone operas, Strauss' Elektra is probably the most difficult of all operas for the neophyte to listen to. Most neophytes who love Salome upon first listening, cannot tolerate Elektra...it 'drives them up the wall'! Composed just after Salome, Elektra, from a musical standpoint, is light years more developed than Salome and considered to be the most 'Strausserian' of all Strauss operas. Strauss saw where music was evolving and didn't have the heart to venture into the new dissonant territory. He went right up to the borderline of dissonance, but never crossed it, and Elektra is the work that epitomizes Strauss' innovations. After Elektra, Strauss did an 'about face' and never returned to the stark, blood and guts that make these works so mesmerizing. Personally, I think it a shame, for his subject matter progressively became more and more insubstantial, depending more and more upon the strength of his music to support an otherwise bland storyline.
For the seasoned listener, this recording is the definitive Elektra. There is no need to listen to any others, for none can surpass this! Over the years I have listened to this recording more than a hundred times and I never tire of it.
Solti conducts the Vienna Philharmonic with such intense energy it requires almost as much from the listener as it does from the performers. First time listeners be forewarned: give this recording your undivided attention and you will spend the rest of your day in a trance!
Regina Resnik IS the quintessential Clytamnestra. Her singing, while brilliant in sound, carries with it all the torture and torment of this demented woman, while her hysterical laughter, when hearing Orestes is dead, can never be equaled; likewise is her shriek of pure terror when Orestes strangles her to death. Resnik has here set the standard for all subsequent Clytamnestras to follow.
Birgit Nilsson sings an angry, aggressive Elektra obsessed for revenge.
This is a fairly standard interpretation but what makes Nilsson stand out from all others is a voice that can shatter a 20 pound diamond!
Marie Collier is not to be outdone as the gentle, feminine Chrysotemis. Other reviewers have criticized her for howling when she hears that Orestes is dead, but I think it adds wonderfully to the overall drama and suspect that her howl was, in fact, Solti's innovation.
Tom Krause's Orestes is dark, sinister, and foreboding; In a word, perfectly cast.
Likewise is Gerhard Stolze. His portrayal of Aegisth is beautifully gullible, cowardly and stupid.
To reiterate: for me, this is the one and only audio recording of Elektra. All others pale by comparison. If the listener has an interest in Strauss at his absolute best, get this recording.....you'll never be sorry!
For those interested, please check out my fully illustrated libretto of Madama Butterfly now available on Amazon.The Fully Illustrated Libretto of Puccini's Madama Butterfly (Madam Butterfly or Madame Butterfly) (Graphic Novel) (Illustrated Opera Librettos and Graphic Novels, Volume 1)

Ideally, I'd have given this recording 4.5 stars (the thing that bothers me is Marie Collier's howling and crying as Chrysothemis: much as it is indeed called-for in the score, it seems overdone...); since that's not available, let it have the full 5 as it otherwise deserves it. This is particularly so given its presenting the full uncut musical text of the opera (apparently all the other recordings, with the possible exception of the Sawallisch, have the same 6-7 cuts that are usually made with staged performances); in any case, the performances (particularly those of Solti and the Wiener Philharmoniker, as well as of Nilsson and Krause - what power!!!) make this recording an absolute must in any serious classical music collection - especially with any Straussians! People, do your best to get this recording - when most others are cut, this is then an essential item in one's recording library - be one an opera-lover, musician (be it as a singer or as an instrumentalist), or simply a music-lover.

Now, hearing that this latest re-issue is supposed to be better-still (compared to its predecessor) in terms of bringing out the full riches of the original 1967 LP recording, one can be all the more enthusiastic in acquiring it!

This review will eventually be replaced by more informed, informative reviews. I just wanted to offer a placeholder to tell opera neophytes and curious listeners that this is the latest and surely greatest (sonically) incarnation of Solti's recording of this opera. Gramophone has called it, "undoubtedly one of the greatest performances ever on record."

Amazon is still selling the first CD release at a much higher price. This is the one to get. The same is true with Solti's equally estimable recording of Salome.

Happy Listening,
G.

This Elektra has been acclaimed since the day it was released four decades ago -- it represents the pinnacle, along with Gotterdammerung, of Solti's collaboration with the Vienna Phil. and Decca producer John Culshaw. Much of Solti's catalog languishes, yet his electro-shock approach, which causes other music to thrash about, is perfeclty suited to Strauss's lurid idiom in Salome and Elektra.

The lengthy five-star reviews already give the salient points about Nilsson's commanding assumption of the title role, but attention should be paid to Tom Krause's magnificent Orest -- the two are unsurpassed in the recognition scene. Dazzled as everyone was by Nilsson's power and accuracy, she's also quite touching, a feature of her portrayal often overlooked. Marie Collier is shaky in her singing of Chrysothemis, yet her quavery tone makes her sound movingly vulnerable.

As to the sonics, unlike Solti's Rosenkavalier, this opera has always sounded good on CD, but its latest remastering (done for a Solti Strauss edition in the 90s) is warmer and softer on top. In any case, this is the Elektra every collection should contain.

This is one of the greatest Operas of 20th century and for many the best from Strauss production.
It has wonderful achievements through Karl Böhm and Sir Georg Solti's performances, but Solti stands
absolutely remarkable to stratospherical levels through an incandescent and very agressive baton. The
Wiener Philharmoniker plays terrific under his baton. Furthermore, he counts on an overwhelming Birgit
Nilsson in his vocal staff that makes the definitive difference. This is an Elektra for all ages.

I bought this Elektra on LP when it first appeared in about 1967 and have treasured it ever since. The reason is Birgit Nilsson as Elektra. The reviewers who said it's one of the great all time recorded performances are not exaggerating. Strauss wrote a work with an enormous orchestra in the pit, but the soprano singing the lead part has to be heard. What Strauss heard in his imagination and put on paper creates serious challenges for the lead. She needs extraordinary stamina, a superb upper register, volume, acting ability, good diction, and physical credibility in her death dance at the conclusion. Everything, in other words, except coloratura.

Nilsson is commanding throughout. She sings all the notes (there are no cuts in this version), sings them in tune, gets in the character's skin. The role of Elektra has most of its other exponents sounding strained because of Strauss's demands. However, Nilsson's gleaming high register and extraordinary stamina allowed her to sing and act the part without forcing. Her subtle characterization matches the febrile intent of the libretto and music. Her exchanges with Klytaemnestra, taunting her with what will happen to her when Orest returns, are extraordinary--the diction, command of the notes, and the rapid tempo give a feverish and intense feeling, topped with a tremendous high C and B at the end of the scene. The recognition scene is equally compelling in its own way. Later, as her brother Orest strikes the fatal blows at Klytaemnestra offstage, Elektra's cry for her brother to strike yet again is, well, electrifying. (Sorry about the pun). And those high notes! Was there anything ever like them? No swooping, no cheating, no cutting them off, no wobble. This is an extraordinary performance because it fully realizes what is in the score, and the human dimension implied in the libretto. Comparably great performances in recorded opera are few--very few. I've heard the other Elektras on CD; many have great virtues, but none puts the whole package together as Nilsson does.

Decca/London's opera sets of the 60s during the John Culshaw era were theatrical for sure, and this one is no exception. It seems clear that this hyperdramatic opera was an irresistable temptation for the producer to go all out with vivid sound effects. Many of them are effective, but one can take or leave some of them. Marie Collier has a tense tone and overplays the neurotic side of Chrysothemis. Her electronically enhanced wailing at one point seems overdone. The bottom of the barrel echoes around Regina Resnik's voice as she cries "Lichter, mehr Lichter" (Lights! More lights!) after her scene with Elektra are fairly extreme, too. Resnik is magnificent nonetheless as the creepy Klytaemnestra. If you know Gerhard Stolze from the Solti Ring or Salome you know what to expect of him as Klytaemnestra's lover Aegisth. He plays Aegisth as an effete weakling. It's pretty campy, but it works.

Solti is Solti. Give a conductor who loves drama a score like this, a unique lead soprano who can meet his demands, plus the Vienna Philharmonic, and fasten your seatbelt.

Can you tell I like this recording?

I am a huge fan of this opera. I have been listening to this version for over 20 years and have never tired of it. If you enjoy very dramatic operatic music that is well paced and sounds modern but is still very melodic then you will love this recording. Don't expect to enjoy it all at the first listening. After 20 years I am still exploring its riches. Don't miss it!

Elektra is a masterpiece the effect of which is very difficult to articulate. When done really well, it is just overwhelming. You will be in tears, you will scream; its power is really astonishing. This performance deserves every bit of praise given it by the other reviewers. I won't go on, other than to say that if you love this opera, you can't be without this.

Ordinarily, I'm not a great fan of Nilsson the singer, though I thought Nilsson the person was a fabulous character (I've seen her interviewed many times, and she was smart and FUNNY). Yes, she had vocal power of the rarest kind, but was it beautiful? I think her Turandot is just awful, In Questa Reggia sung without a clue about the shape and beauty of Puccini's music. But somehow, this is different. Perhaps it's the influence of Solti, another irresistible force, who just made her sing the Recognition Scene (one of those incomparable Strauss moments that will have tears running down your face, like the Presentation of the Rose and the final Trio from Rosenkavalier, or the last 10 minutes or so of Ein Heldenleben) with incredible tenderness.

Regina Resnik is a big star in this. I'm not a soprano, but Chrysothemus sounds almost as demanding as Elektra, and only Deborah Voight matches Resnik in this role, in my experience.

But I think the ultimate credit goes to Solti. He's sometimes written off as a bulldozer (I remember a review in the NY Times of a guest-conducting stint with the NY Philharmonic, in which he was accused of turning the orchestra into an "assault weapon") and I think there have been times when it was deserved (some of his Chicago performances of the Mahler 5th were amazing orchestral playing but had nothing to do with Mahler). But in this, I think he's found a near-perfect balance between intensity and lyricism.

I would add that the recorded sound is wonderful, and this recording was made many, many years ago. They knew something about recording in 1967.

If any opera recording will be around for all time this is the one. Nilsson was the Elektra of the century, we are not likely to hear a voice like that again anytime soon. Solti is full attack mode throughout and never once holds back to orchasrta, nor does he have to because all the singers are up to their parts. On this point I disagree with most other reviewers, I think Marie Collier sounds great as Chrysothemis, her voice is big and full. Some say she sounds nervous, well, being in the situation that Chrysothemis is in wouldn't she be nervous? I think she is especially good in the Orest, Orest ist tot, she sounds so full of despair and utter helplessness. Solti was out to make this the Elektra recording of all time, would he have picked her for the part if he didn't think she was good enough and could hold up to Nilsson. She was already being used by many conductors, she is on at least 15 other CDs, one with Marie Callas, would Callas just sit by and record with a singer she didn't think was up to her standards? No, nor would Nilsson. Collier is good. Resnik is really one of the two all time great Klytamnestra's, her laughing is blood curdling. The other is Varnay in her later career. So, this is the Elektra to have, it will blow you away.