ELEKTRA: Enter Klytämnestra
from Seattle Opera Podcasts Hosted by Seattle Opera
One of the great entrances in all opera is surely that of the haunted Klytämnestra in Strauss’s ELEKTRA. According to stage directions by librettist Hugo von Hofmannsthal, “Klytämnestra appears in the window. Her sallow, bloated face appears in the lurid glare of the torches, still paler over her scarlet robe. She is leaning on her trusted companion, who is draped in dark violet and on a begemmed ivory staff. A jaundiced figure, with black hair combed back, like an Egyptian woman, with smooth face resembling a rearing snake, carries the train of her robe. The Queen is covered all over with gems and talismans; her arms are full of armlets; her fingers bristle with rings. The lids of her eyes are larger than is natural, and it seems to cost her an unspeakable effort to keep them from falling. Elektra raises herself to her full height. Klytämnestra opens her eyes suddenly; trembling with rage she comes to the window and points with her staff at Elektra. KLYTÄMNESTRA: What do you want? Just look at that, how she hisses at me! And I let that run wild in my house…” Lawrence Renes conducts the orchestra of Seattle Opera, with Janice Baird as Elektra, Irmgard Vilsmaier as Chrysothemis, and Rosalind Plowright as Elektra. Photo by Rozarii Lynch.
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