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^^ yes, it's quite an austere piece.. it's certainly very powerful and attention arresting, but beauty isn't a word which immediately comes to mind... it's artistically light years away from The Rosenkavalier, isn't it?

Jared wrote:^^ yes, it's quite an austere piece.. it's certainly very powerful and attention arresting, but beauty isn't a word which immediately comes to mind... it's artistically light years away from The Rosenkavalier, isn't it?

Rosenkavalier, Strauss´homage to Mozart and Vienna, is quite consciously a very different opera, as Die Frau ohne schatten is from both of them (that is Elektra). Rosenkavalier is a far more lovable opera, and therefore has proven more popular in the long run, but if you have a soprano capable of a credible performance as Elektra, and a sensitive conductor who won´t make the score sound as Heavy Metal, then Elektra can also give rich rewards.

yes I am of course no expert, but I would imagine that the vocal demands made on the soprano in the lead role (Elektra) must be hugely demanding; it really is a tour-de-force of anger, hatred and vitriol... (!)

I have only experienced one version (Linda Watson/ Christian Thielemann on Opus Arte)

Jose Echenique wrote:

fergus wrote:Strauss - Salome - von Karajan....

Salomé is far easier on the ear than Elektra, Fergus. Elektra is so violent, musically violent that is.
And you chose one of the finest Salomés ever recorded. Did you know that it was recorded by DECCA for EMI? That is, they used DECCA engineers and equipment but the recording was expressly made for EMI.

That is very interesting about the recording been made by the Decca Engineers Pepe....I wonder why that was?

The other R Strauss opera that I forgot to mention in my comparison was the beautiful Der Rosenkavalier which also contains beautiful music.

Jose Echenique wrote:

Jared wrote: Rosenkavalier, Strauss´homage to Mozart and Vienna, is quite consciously a very different opera, as Die Frau ohne schatten is from both of them (that is Elektra). Rosenkavalier is a far more lovable opera, and therefore has proven more popular in the long run, but if you have a soprano capable of a credible performance as Elektra, and a sensitive conductor who won´t make the score sound as Heavy Metal, then Elektra can also give rich rewards.

What recommendation would you propose for Elektra so Pepe?

Shostakovich, Symphony No. 1....

fergus wrote:

Jose Echenique wrote:

Jared wrote: Rosenkavalier, Strauss´homage to Mozart and Vienna, is quite consciously a very different opera, as Die Frau ohne schatten is from both of them (that is Elektra). Rosenkavalier is a far more lovable opera, and therefore has proven more popular in the long run, but if you have a soprano capable of a credible performance as Elektra, and a sensitive conductor who won´t make the score sound as Heavy Metal, then Elektra can also give rich rewards.

What recommendation would you propose for Elektra so Pepe?

my recommendation would be that you do Capriccio, Ariadne & Rosenkavalier first... ;-)

Jared wrote:
my recommendation would be that you do Capriccio, Ariadne & Rosenkavalier first... ;-)

Cheers Jared; I was wondering about recommendations for Elektra that might make it a somewhat easier listen - if such a thing exists.

The wonderful sound world of Szymanowski's String Quartets Nos. 1 & 2....

fergus wrote:

Jared wrote:
my recommendation would be that you do Capriccio, Ariadne & Rosenkavalier first... ;-)

Cheers Jared; I was wondering about recommendations for Elektra that might make it a somewhat easier listen - if such a thing exists.

Solti's and Karajan's are the classic versions of Elektra but I'm also very fond of Sinopoli's powerful reading (a great interpreter of Strauss, he also conducted a superb Salome, a very fine Ariadne auf Naxos, a deeply moving Four Last Songs with Cheryl Studer and it is so very tragic we never heard his thoughts on Der Rosenkavalier).  One other version I'm very curious about is Semyon Bychkov's for Profil.