Salome/Elektra
Salome/Elektra by Richard Strauss, published by Overture Publishing in February 2011, is a comprehensive guide that serves as an ideal companion for opera enthusiasts. This edition, written in English and spanning 148 pages, features stimulating introductory articles alongside the complete texts of both operas in English and their original languages. The guide highlights Strauss’s transition from orchestral tone-poems to opera, focusing on his first two masterpieces, which are distinct in subject and treatment despite their similarities.
Readers will find insightful articles that delve into the unique aspects of each opera. “Salome,” inspired by Oscar Wilde’s play, showcases a vibrant orchestral palette and culminates in the dramatic “Dance of the Seven Veils,” while “Elektra,” based on ancient Greek tragedies, explores themes of neurosis through its collaboration with poet Hugo von Hofmannsthal. This guide not only presents the operas’ texts but also offers context within the realms of music, performing arts, and classical scores, making it a valuable resource for those interested in opera and its intricate narratives.
Official synopsis Publisher
English National Opera Guides are ideal companions to the opera. They provide stimulating introductory articles together with the complete text of each opera in English and the original. Richard Strauss, already known for his wonderful orchestral tone-poems, projected his genius at the turn of the 20th century to opera, and this Guide contains the texts and introductions to his first two masterpieces in what was, for him, a new genre. Despite obvious similarities both operas consist of one Act, centered upon one female title role the articles included here reveal that the operas are really quite different in subject and treatment. “Salome,” based on Oscar Wilde’s notorious play, has a kaleidoscopic range of orchestral color and a lurid climax in “The Dance of the Seven Veils,” an episode which has challenged generations of sopranos to dance as well as sing. Elektra was derived from the tragedies of the Ancient Greeks by the Austrian poet Hugo von Hofmannsthal, and is the first of his many collaborations with Strauss. It is also a study in neurosis, ripe for Jungian comparative analysis.”
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