Elektra (Dig)

Richard Strauss (Performer), Hildegard Behrens (Artist), Christa Ludwig (Artist), Seiji Ozawa (Performer), Cynthia Haymon (Performer), Wendy Hillhouse (Performer), Diane Kesling (Performer), Joan Khara (Performer), Marita Napier (Performer), Dominique Labelle (Performer), Brad Cresswell (Performer), Brian Matthews (Artist), Jorma Hynninen (Artist)

Product Details

• Performer: Richard Strauss, Seiji Ozawa, Cynthia Haymon, Wendy Hillhouse, Diane Kesling, et al.
• Audio CD (February 11, 2003)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Decca
• ASIN: B00006LENN
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #297,802 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Strike Again!, March 3, 2005

By	Guntram (PR,Brazil) - See all my reviews

Behrens in wretched voice?I just can't understand these guys...I never heard a better recording by her before(I'm not an admirer Behrens' singing,if you read my others rewiews).I was stupefied by her "Triff noch einmal!",her fierce hate on scene VII,etc.Ludwig is amazing.I just can not put this in words.My biggest surprise;in despite of his respect to Strauss' mozartian idea to perform Elektra,I heard an energetic Ozawa here,so different of his Salome and Carmen.Besides,the best five maids ever(pay very attention on)and this amazing infallible BSO french horn section!Whow!Is this alive?What a lot of fine Elektras on cd's!

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, August 19, 2003

By A Customer

The problem with our generation is that we have been pampered with recordings from the greatest singers of the past. Every recording is compared not only with the best today but with the best in the past 50 years or so. So the better is the enemy of the good. The other problem is that that Great Dame Birgit Nilsson and the great Austrian Dramatic Soprano Leonie Rysanek (not to mention other greats like Astrid Varnay, Kirsten Flagstad [she didn't sing Elektra though], Inge Borkh, Christel Goltz - who unfortunately have few preserved recordings) set standards so impossibly high that everyone subsequent to them seem inadequate.

So the verdict is thus: Behrens is excellent. Anyone who can sing Elektra has to be one of the top singers of her generation. Elektra is a "voice-killer". However, she pales when compared with Birgit Nilsson or Leonie Rysanek or Astrid Varnay or Christa Ludwig in her classic 1964 Orest Recognition Scene under RCA or Inge Borkh or Christel Goltz. Hildegard Behrens sounds like a little kitten playing compared to the tigress of Nilsson, Rysanek or Varnay. Don't misunderstand, Behrens is good. She is no Birgit Nilsson - her voice is not as steady, her voice is not as large and she skims over the last few notes at the end of the Klytamnestra-Elektra Duet. Birgit Nilsson sang those notes magnificently, her voice ringing out gloriously and piercing through the dense orchestration, Behrens sings the notes quickly with less dramatic effect. But one thing Behrens has though are top B's and top C's which 'shine' radiantly, and they are at least solid notes. So that's the advantage that Behrens have. She is one of the few dramatic sopranos who can hit those notes 'fully' and not in strained tones.

Christa Ludwig was already 60 years old when she recorded Klytamnestra here. It's a pity that she didn't record it earlier because she started singing the role when she was 47 in 1975. Her timbre here is still intact but her voice is less opulent than before. However, she gives a predictably characterful and thriling reading. Right at the end of her scene with Elektra, she 'lets loose' - how thrilling that is!! Her characterization is as ever, superb, and it works in this reading!! This set is an excellent document of her artistry and, frankly, I bought this set firstly to hear Christa Ludwig's Klytamnestra and then secondly, to hear Behren's Elektra (Behren's is afterall, one of today's greatest Elektra and I don't want to miss out on that even if she can't match Birgit Nilsson vocally, but who can?).

So, I wouldn't recommend this as a first set or only set if you the best. If you want excellent quality at budget price, I think this set works pretty well esp when you can get it even cheaper by buying it second hand in Amazon. For a first recommendation at whatever price, Birgit Nilsson's Decca set is incomparable or alternatively Astrid Varnay's set with Koch Schwann in super-clear mono sound.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent recording, December 12, 2004

By	Samuel Andreyev (Paris, France) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

It's true that the demented intensity of the Nilsson performance is hard to top, but this is an excellent modern recording and is recommended to all Strauss enthusiasts. It also has the benefit of very clear sound and a strong orchestral performance, both of which are essential if you want to hear every detail of the orchestration.