Strauss Elektra [LSO/Gergiev] [Hybrid SACD]

After struggling through this recording from the LSO series of live performances - this one of a performance of Richard Strauss' ELEKTRA - one can only ask why? It looks on paper as though this should be a stunner with Valery Gergiev on the podium, he being the conductor that can generate as much passion and thunder and lightning as anyone these days. But this is for the most part a bland performance, sounding more like a bow to the aging soprano voices who once could do this opera and now have tired.

The first disappointing aspect of the 'recital' is the astonishing powerful voice and intensity of characterization of American soprano Jeanne-Michele Charbonnet in the title role. She is dramatic and convincing in her delivery but the voice itself is shrill and edgy and, well, tiresome. If she is able to harness her innate powers and beautify her sound then she will be a Straussian singer of importance. She is associated here with a tired sounding Angela Denoke as Chrysothemis: it sounds like she knows where she wants to take a line, but just doesn't have the capacity to fill the intentions. And then there is the saving presence of Felicity Palmer as Klytemnestra who sings with great distinction and intelligence. That leaves the role of Orest - and Matthias Goerne is able to be radiant in the few areas of exposure he has.

This is one of the LSO 'contributions that should have been reconsidered. Try it on a few MP3 samples and make your own decision. Grady Harp, September 12

Again and again the same question is asked. Can a cast led by a Russian conductor and with mainly Russian support staff, an American lead singer, only two Germans, and a British orchestra do well such a highly specialized job as performing a German opera?
Why not? Accents aside, it should be doable. The music is the same, the lyrics are there, the orchestra is first class.
My only reference point for Elektra is Sinopoli/Marc/Voight/Jerusalem/Ramey DG (1997). Comparing to this recording, Gergiev is firmly in control but the rest of the cast may seem largely missing at a first glance. There seem to be not enough power, depth, and agitation. One can observe sincere attempts to achieve them, but claim that attempts are not enough for this one of the most dramatically demanding operas.
I remember listening to Sinopoli (with also quite a few non-German singers) when I could not go beyond disc 1 for some time, which ends with "Ich habe keine guten Nachte" duet, and kept on returning the the beginning to listen it again, so profound my impression was. In the case of Gergiev, the whole opera easily went down in one go, with no temptation to return to key moments. Why it was the case?
My answer is that Gergiev's approach to this opera is very different from Sinopoli's. The difference is like between Tchaikovsky's Waltz of Flowers and Wagner's Funeral March. Gergiev emphasizes the human nature of all protagonists, their intrinsic vulnerabilities, and multiple imperfections. And this approach is diametrically different form Sinopoli's version, which is very German, powerful, and self-centric, and makes the whole opera sound unusual, clearly not the way we accustomed to hear it.
All female singers (Ms. Charbonnet, Ms. Denoke, and Dame Palmer) are doing a fantastic job in delivering the passion and terror of the drama, while Mr. Goerne is also maintaining a very fine musical presence. My overall impression of this somewhat lyrical interpretation of Elektra is highly favorable.
Overall, this performance is very different but still convincing. It should be listened to with an open mind.

In general the operatic side of Gergiev's career, which seemed so successful when he was traversing the output of Prokofiev and Rimsky-Korsakov for Philips, has stumbled on LSO Live. Almost always the results have followed the same pattern: Gergiev whips up excitement with the orchestral part, the London Sym. plays magnificently, ensemble and discipline are as good as any studio recording, but the singers fall short. Even when the critics come to the rescue of his opera recordings, as they did for Parsifal and Lucia di Lammamoor, it was hard for me to hear the virtues they praised. In fact, Wagner from Gergiev remains problematic - a long banishment from the Mariinsky during the Soviet regime erased whatever Wagner tradition the theater had, and Gergiev's revival of the Ring and Parsifal struggle to find a convincing style.

I imagine that Strauss was banned, too, but this isn't a Mariinsky performance, and the musicians know how to play him, which leads to the best part of the new recording, the orchestral playing. Captured in quite good sound considering that the venue is Barbican Hall - an ugly duckling that would need demolition to turn into a swan, acoustically speaking - Elektra boasts an astonishing score that has not diminished over the decades. Its mixture of crunching dissonance and yearning melody can be presented as brutally as possible, the way Solti does it in his famous and yet to b3e surpassed Decca recording. Gergiev leans the other way, and he mostly succeeds, especially in the Recognition Scene between Elektra and Orest, but his reluctance to make the Agamemnon motif, announced in the very first bars, sound apocalyptic is a mistake, I think.

One gets the feeling that he is puling back to help his singers, and they need it. One reason that stage directors have risen to prominence over the past thirty years is that singers have declined, and the sad truth is that no stellar dramatic soprano exists who can deliver a world-class Elektra and few who can convincingly carry Chrysotemis's lyrical lines over Strauss's huge orchestra. The last generation who sounded convincing included Cheryl Studer, Deborah Voigt, and Deborah Polaski, and in their prime old-timers were only fairly satisfied. The likes of Inge Borkh, Astrid Varnay, and Leonie Rysanek were gone, not to mention the incomparable Birgit Nilsson.

We slip several notches down with the American soprano Jeanne-Michèle Charbonnet, who has the notes, more or less, and can endure the rigors of a crushingly difficult role, but whose vibrato turns into a wobble under pressure. She lacks the force of true anguish, and you can hear her trying to economize her voice in order to make an impression during Elektra's big moments. Of Nilsson's vocal mastery there is barely a trace. As Chrysotemis Angela Denoke is only good enough, despite her major career in these heavy roles. We have to fall back on veterans like Felicity Palmer and Matthias Goerne before the singing rises to an admirable level.

With so little vocal satisfaction, it's baffling to read the rave reviews that this concert performance receive from the London critics. Gergiev must have stirred up and exciting event, but microphones are cruel, and on disc this Elektra cannot compete with the Solti. For an alternative, also taped live, I am enthusiastic about a recording made with Jeffrey Tate and the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande (of all things) with Gwyneth Jones at her best in the title role.

Jeanne-Michèle Charbonnet (Elektra), Angela Denoke (Chrysothemis), Dame Felicity Palmer (Clytemnestra), Matthias Goerne (Orestes), Ian Storey (Aegisthus)