Elektra, Shrinkwrapped
It may have transpired that I’m quite fond of large-scale music from the late-romantic era. Given that, it may be odd that I’ve had a really hard time coming to terms with one of the more progressive works from that period, Richard Strauss’ opera Elektra. I really like Strauss’ music for its exuberant (some might say: excessive) expressivity, so that’s not the issue.
It’s the singing. Yes, me, an opera fan, has a problem with an opera because of the singing. In Elektra, the majority of the cast is female. That, in itself, is also not the issue (oh please, what a stupid idea), but it’s the type of singer that is typically taking the stage in late-romantic large-scale opera music. Those voices aren’t exactly lyrical and soft, but voluminous and blaring, and combined with the high pitches that has an unnerving characteristic. This is fine in a mix with male voices, but when, say, 90 % of the singing is done by female voices in this style, and the overall mood in the piece is more on the high-drama side of things, it’s hard (for me) to appreciate the music. Sorry, Richard; sorry, sopranos and altos.
Happily for me, conductor Manfred Honeck and arranger Thomas Ille have had the glorious idea of distilling the 100-minute opera into a 30-minute symphonic poem (of which Strauss has written several) without any singing. I came across this when my favourite radio station, DLF, broadcast a documentary in which Honeck was explaining the piece.
It’s wonderful: this version has all the high expressivity and drama, but none of the unnerving aspects. I can finally admire, appreciate, and access the piece in a way that enables me to approach the actual opera again.
There’s a YouTube video. Give it a try, the performance is amazing.
Tags: music