Richard Strauss' powerful 1909 one-act opera (his first collaboration with expressionist poet Hugo von Hofmannsthal) is based on Sophocles' tragedy about the titular woman who drove her brother Orest to kill their faithless mother Klytämnestra, after the latter conspired with her lover Aegisth to murder King Agamemnon following his return from the Trojan War. The revenge-obsessed heroine is contrasted with her sister Chrysothemis, who refuses Elektra's demand that she go along with the plot. The Hofmannsthal-Strauss take on the Greek tale combines a compact narrative with music that is both lush and powerful but also contains moments of great delicacy. This 2010 mounting from the Baden-Baden Festival benefits enormously from the energetic playing of the Munich Philharmonic, which delivers the voluptuous but intense score under the supple direction of Christian Thielemann. The singing matches the quality of the orchestral work, with Linda Watson (Elektra) and Jane Henschel (Klytämnestra) both vocally powerful and dramatically expressive in their incredibly demanding roles; the secondary parts are also well filled by Manuela Uhl (Chrysothemis), Albert Dohmen (Orest), and veteran René Kollo (Aegisth). Herbert Wernicke's stark set (dominated by a huge rotating rectangle) and the costumes (which emphasize red and black with touches of gold) complement the action to impressive effect. Featuring superb DTS 5.1 (DTS-HD 5.1 on the Blu-ray version) and LPCM stereo sound, along with excellent visuals, extras include a “making-of” featurette and a cast gallery. Highly recommended. (F. Swietek)
Elektra
(2010) 126 min. In German w/English subtitles. DVD: $32.98, Blu-ray: $45.98. Opus Arte (dist. by Naxos of America). Volume 26, Issue 3
Elektra
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
Order From Your Favorite Distributor Today: