‘Demonic, Ecstatic Antiquity’: On the Interpretation of Myth in the Opera ‘Elektra’ by Richard Strauss — Hugo von Hofmannsthal
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St Petersburg State University
Abstract
The opera “Elektra” is of particular significance for Richard Strauss. It opens an ancient line
in his musical and theatrical legacy and is at the same time the culmination of expressionist
tendencies in his work. It also marks the start of Strauss’s collaboration with H. von Hofmannsthal
as librettist. The tragedy of Hofmannsthal focuses on trends typical of the new
understanding of antiquity in the second half of the 19th century. An interest in the archaic,
in ancient cults and rituals representing the irrational aspects of Greek culture, is brought to
the forefront. Hofmannsthal’s “Electra” was one of the first literary works to embody the new image of Greece. In the course of work on the opera, a particular role played the treatise on
matriarchy in the pre-Hellenistic era “Das Mutterrecht” (1861) by J. J. Bachofen. It acquired
unexpected relevance at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries when matriarchy was anxiously
perceived as a resurgent world order. Hofmannsthal’s “Electra” appears as the realm of matriarchy.
The concentration on the image of the title character, the embodiment on the stage of
a short but key segment of her life, the raging of dark passions make Elektra a characteristic
phenomenon of expressionist theatre. In Strauss’s opera the role of Elektra is further expanded.
With the help of sharp stylistic contrasts in the musical characterization of the heroine, Strauss
conveys the dissociation of her personality, her loss of identity. For Strauss, “Elektra” was the
culmination of extreme emotional states that demanded the use of the most daring, within his
style, compositional means. “Elektra” marks a turning point in the composer’s work. His next
opera is “Der Rosenkavalier”, written in an entirely different style. Strauss’s subsequent operas
on ancient themes are also very far from the irrationalist and innovative pathos of “Elektra”.
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Vlasova, Natalia. “‘Demonic, Ecstatic Antiquity’: On the Interpretation of Myth in the Opera ‘Elektra’ by Richard Strauss — Hugo von Hofmannsthal”. Vestnik of Saint Petersburg University. Arts 12, no. 2 (2022): 228–242. https://doi.org/10.21638/spbu15.2022.201 (In Russian)