Sacred monsters, be
praised! Some time ago I gave up hope
of ever hearing an Elektra with
these singers on disc, having chalked
it up as yet another missed opportunity
due to the short-sightedness of record
companies. But Claves in publishing
this Radio Suisse Romande recording
of a live performance has arguably achieved
better results than any studio recording
with this cast might have produced.
My reasoning is simple – both Dame Gwyneth
and Leonie Rysanek gave of their best
when live, feeding like voracious lionesses
on the impulse of the moment. To my
ears, Elektra fares best as a work when
live too because it feeds from the same
impulse, leading it to simultaneously
enthral and disgust.
Usually people point
to Der Rosenkavalier as the example
of Strauss’s love of the soprano voice,
and there’s nothing wrong with that
– but so too is Elektra: different kinds
of soprano for an altogether more illicit
and dangerous love affair from his youth,
that followed hot on the heals of Salome.
This is unashamedly
a set for the devoted – to the singers
or to the work: Alain Perroux’s notes
enthusiastically document the event
with little more than a paragraph on
the work itself. No libretto is included.
So you better either know the work or
find supporting documentation elsewhere,
but that’s hardly a problem if one is
committed enough to Elektra’s cause.
Dame Gwyneth’s voice
has of course long attracted super-critical
comment (see the recent review of her
Wagner arias disc as an example review).
I can understand the reasons why some
have those views, but I equally know
that many find her way with music so
forceful, that after hearing her in
a role there is no other to even come
close. The point being that she gets
absolutely to the core of the character
and becomes its total embodiment - and
in a role such as this vocal beauty
to the exclusion of all else would be
to the ruin of the work. I strongly
urge you to put any preconceptions aside
– this is singing of power (and not
just in the decibel sense, that she
also was capable of) drive, integrity,
logicality and one of the most gripping
interpretations I can recall from her.
And the voice: I defy you tell me seriously
that it’s not in superb shape and absolutely
100% up to the task. The Recognition
scene blisters with white-hot intensity
from first note to last, but so too
does the whole role in this gloriously
persuasive assumption.
Leonie Rysanek, also
heard here as another age-defying soprano
– is one of the few who actually sings
the fearsome role of Clytemnestra, as
opposed to barking it like so many before
her. It’s understandable I feel that
Alain Perroux’s recollection of the
production is built around these two
‘Dames’ – he does not include Anne Evans
in the Dame ‘club’, though by that stage
she had every right to be. To be honest,
in listening to the performance as we
have it, Dame Anne’s performance, although
assured and musical, does seem somewhat
flatly characterised when placed beside
such fearsome stage animals as Jones
and Rysanek. I get the same feeling
with her Wagner too – there’s something
that doesn’t induce that 1000 volt jolt
of electricity down the spine every
time.
After the women come
the men, and they have a tough act to
follow even if they are to stamp some
authority here. Ronald Hamilton, a tenor
new to me, coped gainfully on the evening,
though in the long-run remains out-sung
by Paul Schöffler (Beecham – see
below) and others found elsewhere on
disc. Wolfgang Schöne’s Orest is
obviously sung by one that has great
experience with works such as Berg’s
Lulu, and his performance fares well
though his careful characterisation.
Jeffrey Tate for whatever
reason never really struck me as a significant
Straussian before hearing this recording
– and although the evidence of one recording
is a slim body to readjust such an opinion
by, this is an interpretation that encompasses
much of what the work requires with
its interweaving of savagery and delicacy.
The pacing works well too as he takes
the one-acter single-mindedly through
its course.
Orchestra and chorus
turn in rather more than creditable
performances, being well drilled but
also aware that on stage something special
is occurring, giving their performances
too that extra spark. The recording
is clear enough for a live performance,
full-toned and thankfully not over-burdened
by stage movements or audience. How
wild the audience went at the end though
- said to have been the longest standing
ovation in the history of the Grand
Théâtre.
Marc Bridle’s excellent
article on the opera (article)
sings the praises of Beecham’s live
account from 1947 (Myto 981.H004), and
I would go along with this – though
there are other fine accounts around
too. If one is after a studio Elektra,
I would seriously consider the new recording
from Semyon Bychkov (Profil Medien PH05022)
that has an interesting cast: Felicity
Palmer as Clytemnestra and Anne Schwanewilms
as Chrysothemis. Only Deborah Polaski’s
Elektra palls for me – though some I
know have suggested she’s better here
than in her assumption for Barenboim
(Teldec 4509-99175-2), but I am in no
position to comment.
Yes, Bychkov and Beecham
might well be versions of choice for
particular aspects of the work or the
realisation of it. But for me this will
be the Elektra that I will return to
most often, therein to venerate sacred
monsters heard at their best, but also
to celebrate remarkable music-making
of a work that maintains as firm a grip
as ever. Having just submitted my selections
for Recordings of the Year 2005, I’ll
put this down already for 2006: it simply
is great drama that demands to be heard.
Evan Dickerson
Chœur du Grand Théâtre de Genève/Jean
Laforge 
