Opera

Elektra

Richard Strauss

For years Elektra has been awaiting the fateful hour when she can avenge the death of her father Agamenon, murdered by his wife Klytaemnestra and her lover Aegisth. Every day Elektra nurtures her hatred, while her sister Chrysothemis vainly hopes to escape from their icy home and Klytaemnestra, plagued by feelings of guilt, is unable to sleep.

However, when Orest finally arrives to take revenge, Elektra’s life also loses its only meaning. On stage, a chamber play; from the pit, orchestral fireworks: In »Elektra« the audience is gripped by an unfolding family tragedy of violence and depravity that is also a psychological study of guilt and redemption, forgiveness and revenge, and the question of justice. Richard Strauss wrote »Elektra« in 1909 for Dresden’s Royal Opera House as the successor to his »Salome«. Together with the poet Hugo von Hofmannsthal, he threw a modern and savagely incisive light on this ancient mythological tale. Director Barbara Frey has staged Strauss’s opera as a thrilling drama. 

Tragedy in one act
Libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal

Performed in German with German and English supertitles

Premiere
19. January 2014,

No further performances in the current season.

Please note: Some biographies reflect the information available at the time of the respective premiere date and are not necessarily updated on an ongoing basis.

Premiere cast

Sächsischer Staatsopernchor Dresden
 Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden

Generously supported by the Semperoper Foundation


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Elektra

For years Elektra has been awaiting the fateful hour when she can avenge the death of her father Agamenon, murdered by his wife Klytaemnestra and her lover Aegisth. Every day Elektra nurtures her hatred, while her sister Chrysothemis vainly hopes to escape from their icy home and Klytaemnestra, plagued by feelings of guilt, is unable to sleep. However, when Orest finally arrives to take revenge, Elektra’s life also loses its only meaning. On stage, a chamber play; from the pit, orchestral fireworks: In Elektra the audience is gripped by an unfolding family tragedy of violence and depravity that is also a psychological study of guilt and redemption, forgiveness and revenge, and the question of justice. Richard Strauss wrote Elektra in 1909 for Dresden’s Royal Opera House as the successor to his Salome. Together with the poet Hugo von Hofmannsthal, he threw a modern and savagely incisive light on this ancient mythological tale. Director Barbara Frey has staged Strauss’s opera as a thrilling drama. 
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