Elektra stars soprano Nina Stemme – unmatched today in the heroic female roles of Strauss and Wagner – who portrays Elektra’s primal quest for vengeance for the murder of her father, Agamemnon.
Legendary mezzo soprano Waltraud Meier is chilling as Elektra’s formidable mother, Klytämnestra. Soprano Adrianne Pieczonka and bass baritone Eric Owens are Elektra’s troubled siblings, her gentle sister Chrysothemis, and her long-lost brother Orest.
Renowned director Patrice Chéreau’s musical collaborator Esa-Pekka Salonen conducts Strauss’s mighty take on Greek mythology. Chéreau (From the House of the Dead) didn’t live to see his great Elektra production, previously presented in Aix and Milan, make it to the stage of the Met, but his overpowering vision lives on in this, his final work.
This acclaimed staging of Strauss’s tragic opera comes to the Met with Salonen leading a cast headed by Nina Stemme in her first Met performances of the bloodthirsty princess.
Chéreau directed the staging at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence in 2013, where it was conducted by Salonen and also starred two principal singers who will reprise their performances at the Met: Meier as Klytämnestra and Pieczonka as her sister. The same three artists starred in an acclaimed series of performances of the production at La Scala after Chéreau’s death. The Met cast also includes German tenor Burkhard Ulrich in his Met debut as Aegisth, Klytämnestra’s lover.
The Met staging features Vincent Huguet in his company debut as the stage director executing Chéreau’s vision, with sets designed by Richard Peduzzi, costumes designed by Caroline de Vivaise, and lighting designed by Dominique Bruguière in her Met debut.
In celebration of 10 years of The Met: Live in HD being shown on cinema screens around the world, including Cinema Nouveau, this season has included 11 opulent, full-length operas, including six new productions and a special encore.
In addition to the production, lovers of opera are invited behind the scenes with the Met’s stars. The special intermission feature during Elektra is presented by Renée Fleming.
Elektra has limited screenings exclusively at Cinema Nouveau and select Ster-Kinekor theatres countrywide from Saturday, 28 May, including: Gateway Nouveau in Durban; V&A Waterfront Nouveau in Cape Town; Ster-Kinekor Somerset Mall in Somerset West and Garden Route Mall in George; Rosebank Nouveau and Ster-Kinekor Bedford Centre in Joburg; and at Brooklyn Nouveau in Pretoria.
The running time is approximately 2 hours and 10 minutes, including an interval. The local screening dates and times are: 28 May, 7 and 9 June at 5pm; 29 May at 2.30pm; and on 31 May and 8 June at 11.30am.
For booking information on The Met: Live in HD season, go to www.cinemanouveau.co.za or www.sterkinekor.com. Download the Ster-Kinekor App on any Nokia, Samsung Android, iPhone or Blackberry smart phone for updates, news and to make bookings. Follow on Twitter @nouveaubuzz and on Facebook at Cinema Nouveau. For information, call Ticketline on 0861-Movies (668 437).
For more information on the latest big screen releases, go to www.writingstudio.co.za
