Saturday December 13, 2008 - The problem with giving Richard Strauss's ELEKTRA in a concert setting is two-fold. First, it is such a dramatic work and so time-specific (though of course it's a favorite of up-daters); you do not really want to see the wretched serving maids in evening gowns, or the miserable Elektra elegantly coiffed and bejeweled. You want to see the horrific nature of her existence, and the comings and goings of the characters who play out the drama of her final day on Earth.
But even if you can forget all that, there is still the problem of having the gigantic orchestra onstage and playing at full-tilt while hoping to hear the singers at least some of the time. I can't imagine anything more taxing vocally than the title-role of Elektra unless it is to sing it with a hundred musicians behind you blazing away. Of course for pure sonic thrills the effect of the orchestra - and especially of such a glorious orchestra at the NY Phil - being unleashed is worth the cost of admission. Vocally however the evening was not terribly inspiring.
With one exception: mezzo-soprano Jane Henschel as Klytemnestra. She managed to sing over, around and thru the sonic onslaught with great success while taking full advantage of the possibilities afforded by the more sustained, less frantic vocal passages. She sang with full and alluring tone, cunningly pointed diction and a real feeling of the world-weariness of the doomed Queen. Henschel made quite an impression as Die Amme in FRAU OHNE SCHATTEN at the Met a few seasons ago; they should ask her back.
Deborah Polaski has a beautiful, powerful voice - up to a point. Her top range has never been easily-produced and has often tended to flatten. Now, after many seasons of singing Strauss and Wagner, the tone is also very spread above the staff. Her full-voice assaults on the higher notes were often unpleasant; things went better when she tried some rather nice piano effects. But there's no question she knows and feels the role thoroughly; and so there were pages and pages of impressive, meaningful singing in the mid-range.
Anne Schwanewilms has a clear, silvery sound and plenty of power behind the lyricism; she gave a very attractive and often exciting performance as Chrysothemis though at times she seemed pushed to her vocal limit. Julian Tovey at first seemed a really impressive Orestes but as his scene with Elektra progressed he seemed to fade a bit dramatically - the voice was fine throughout. Richard Margison, formerly a leading tenor at the Met, was a strong Aegisth. The lesser roles were sung well enough.
Loren Maazel's triumphant reading of the score was in itself thrilling and it recalled a performance of ELEKTRA I saw him lead at Carnegie Hall several years ago where the Vienna Philharmonic were onstage and Eva Marton, Elizabeth Connell and Mignon Dunn were the leading singers. Here as then, Maazel let the orchestra unfurl and let the singers manage as best they could.
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