- Composed between 1906-08, Elektra, Op. 58 was a one-act opera written by Strauss that marked the composer’s first collaboration with librettist Hugo von Hofmannsthal. The libretto for the opera was based on a drama by Hofmannsthal, which was based on the Greek play by Sophocles.
- Elektra was Strauss’s most “modern” opera due to its use of atonality and dissonance, which adds an even more ominous and violent tone to the already dark subject matter.1
- In a bit of musical whiplash, Strauss followed Elektra with the composition of Der Rosenkavalier. Together with his other “modernist” opera, Salome, these two works stand in sharp contrast to the rest of Strauss’s operatic output and reflect the composer’s interest in experimenting with a wide variety of musical styles.
Synopsis via the Metropolitan Opera
Sources
- “Elektra Learning Resources,” Chicago Lyric Opera, accessed November 25, 2024, https://www.lyricopera.org/learn-engage/learning-resources/elektra/.
Cut IDs
26657