Noch einmal!
This 1994 Metropolitan Opera performance has never been commercially available and is being released on DVD as part of James Levine: Celebrating 40 Years at the Met – DVD Box Set
From her opening “Allein, Weh ganz allein!” to her final exhausted collapse the great Hildegard Behrens dominates this performance in a way few singers dare. And let’s just get this out of the way now, Behrens was a “kunst” diva, not a “stimm” diva. (See Demented: The World of the Opera Diva by Ethan Mordden.) Though she was capable of great vocal beauty and lyricism, particularly in her incredibly resonant upper resister, she was never afraid to use harsh sounds to express a character’s emotional distress. At the time of this telecast Behrens was the world’s preeminent German dramatic soprano and she brings all of her fierce intelligence, vocal resources and remarkable stagecraft to bear. Fortunately for us the camera and microphone were there to catch every last minute.
Wide of girth and radiant of voice Deborah Voigt is glorious as Chrysothemis, the sister trapped with Elektra in this nightmare or murder, vengeance and incipient madness. Considering the out of tune, over bright, driven sound she now employs, it is a shock to hear just how warm and beautiful her voice once was.
The camera does not do the over-the-top Klytämnestra of Brigitte Fassbänder any favors. Even in a theater the size of the Met it was, to put it mildly, a gigantic performance given when the German mezzo’s vocal resources were not what they once were. On video it veers perilously close to caricature and it is only through her fierce—and I mean fierce—commitment to every note, word, move and gesture that she ultimately makes it work.
As the brother returning to exact vengeance for his father’s murder, Donald McIntyre was a little old in 1994 to play Orestes, but he makes up for it with his still-impressive vocalism and committed acting. The great James King makes a brief appearance as Aegistheus, the man who helped murder Elektra’s father.
I was even impressed by the maids in the production. In the treacherously difficult opening scene every part is strongly sung with clearly defined characters and rock solid musical preparation. Mezzo Jane Shaulis is particularly good.
The production by Otto Schenk is in most ways standard fare – lots of collapsed statuary, cracked stone walls, and uneven steps – but it serves the action well and provides lots of playing areas that are fully exploited by both Schenk and lighting designer Gil Wechsler. (I particularly liked the half-seen torches inside the castle as Klytämnestra and her coterie make their way out to confront Elektra.)
Last but not least is the conductor whose career is being celebrated by this release. Seldom have I found Maestro Levine more persuasive than he is here. Elektra is one of the great orchestral scores and is massive in both size and complexity. The Maestro is in complete control of his forces, unleashing a fury of sound and emotion that never ceases to amaze.
I have such mixed feelings about HB. On the one hand, I applaud her commitment as an actress and her honesty as a musician. But the voice – no. The mushy middle, the sometimes glorious, sometimes screechy top, the lack of plush or spin anywhere. And the voice is a just soooooo gray and plain. Any silver was used up by 1982. (When I think of what was going on in the music business during that horrible period – 80-2000 time period, I just cringe.)
As a singer, she is not for me in the final analysis.
I would also point out that HB was not alone in her misfortunes. I am sure you could find valid reasons for bad performances on the part of other artists too. . . .
I dunno about the silver being gone by 1982. There’s plenty of it in this clip. (Ostensibly, the clip is about Norman’s “O herstes Wunder” which is wonderful but I love how Behrens sounds with her unforced, brilliant tone).
Mother of god, Hildegard and Jessye were sooooooooooooo wonderful. I just love it!
“Richard Strauss’s brilliantly disturbing Elektra was first performed at the Dresden State Opera in 1909, and arrived in America in 1931 with – and this will kill you – Nelson Eddy as Orestes. ”
It won’t kill me because the overall statement is untrue.
(“Es ist nicht WAHR!”)
The US premiere of ELEKTRA was February 1, 1910, at the Manhattan Opera Company, with Belgian soprano Marette Mazarin apparently achieving major Diva Catharsis in the lead. Jeanne Gerville-Reache, the creatrix of Debussy’s Genevieve, sang Klytemnestra.
Thanks for the correction, Krunoslav. The review should have read that the first American performance in German was in 1931, etc.
MGM really missed their chance. ELEKTRA with Marlene Dietrich as Elektra, Jeannette MacDonald as Chrysothemis, Sophie Tucker as Klytemnestra, Nelson Eddy as Oreste and Edward Everett Horton as Aegisth. Directed by Von Stroheim or (for a lighter European touch) Lubitsch.
If only….
Having just heard Nina Stemme give a totally dispiriting colourless Nuits D’Ete in her rather depressing hausfrau mode,with many glances at the score placed on a lecturn well below her knees,one is left with great respect for such dedicated great artists as Behrens.It was hard to believe this was the same Stemme who a few years ago at Glyndebourne was a passionate and thrilling Isolde…and speaking of artists I admire,someone of a very different school,I would like to wish a very happy birthday tomorrow to Ruth Ann Swenson.She seems to have withdrawn since her very successful Musettas at the Met.I hope she is in good health and will soon be returning to the stage.
From the accounts I’ve read here, Stemme’s recent San Francisco Brünnhildes were thrilling, so perhaps the Berlioz didn’t inspire her (or she was having an off night).
The lady has taste!
It sounds like Stemme was having an off night. It happens. Her Brunnhilde this past June in SF was nothing less than thrilling and completely committed.
I was out for dinner and missed Stemme’s Nuits d’ete, which I would have listened to otherwise. Come to think of it, though she is an impressive singer in many respects, her sound — while rich and, in places beautiful — is rather thick and charmless for these songs. Behrens actually recorded them, didn’t she, for Decca in the early 80s? Not a recording to challenge Crespin’s, so I hear …
Funnily enough, Behrens’s recording of Les Nuits D’Ete is my favourite, even though I am not, as Nerva Nelli asserts earlier in the thread, a ‘devoted fan’. I don’t deny that I admire her a great deal, and, like many others have said, am always sort of routing for her and want to like what she does, but I resent the implication that I would go into raptures over her every utterance no matter what. I am in posession of critical faculties, a certain amount of intelligence, opera going experience (including Behrens live several times) and opera performing experience too. Anyway, her recording of the Berlioz has more atmosphere than any other I have heard, including Crespin. I’m not going to say it’s better sung, and it is true that the French is fairly mangled and so one can’t claim that there is much nuance in the pronunciation of the text going on. There is, however, an incredible amount of sensitivity to what she is saying which translates into the phrasing, and the impact is magical. That plangent, child like timbre she had that made her such an ideal Salome is employed in the most intimate passages and the result is extremely touching.
I’d never in a million years say it is the greatest performance of the songs you could ever hope to hear in the generally understood sense of such statements, but for me it is the most moving and the one I prefer above all others I have heard.
Kind of glad I skipped the Stemme prom…
My favorite recording of Nuit d’ete is the Crespin but there are so many other wonderful recordings of it.
I heard Lorraine Hunt Lieberson sing them with the Philharmonia Baroque in the late 1990′s in Berkeley which totally blew me away. If only I could get a tape of that performance.
IF ONLY!!!!!!
The Crespin Ansermet is, for me at least, the greatest Nuits d’Ete. If only for her last “souffle” which is worth the price of the entire CD.
Then there are Veronique Gens, Brigitte Balleys, and Baker live from the 70s. Much better than the mannered Barbirolli on EMI. These guttural R’s were very much in vogue in the 70s and I can’t stand them (i.e. Christianne Eda-Pierre in almost anything).
The “souffle” at the end of the Crespin Nuits is absolutely wonderful. No one sings it like that. I’m afraid to admit that I have a soft spot for Steber’s recording, even though her French is totally unidiomatic. Another favorite is Susan Graham.
I always thought Behrens sounded better in live recordings. That laser-like quality of her glorious upper-register really shines under the dramatic pressure- not so much in the studio work. Such an unusual voice. I think she was pretty much a goddess. It’s a gtreat performance, I’ve seen parts on youtube…
Well, I know quite a few people don’t like la Behrens- I’m not one of them. I love the Walkure and Tosca on DVD with her and so of course I’m going to go after this one as well. Lovely to read “the review” etc- thanks guys.
Does anybody else notice a strange phenomenon in most of Behrens’ later recordings (eg after the Met Walkuere?), both studio and live? It’s a pop-up sound similar to the sound produced by cracking joints, and it’s evident in the “money notes”, from say A upwards. Maybe it’s an outcome of her unique way of producing those notes, by pulling the chin downwards and thus widening the cavity. Anyway first few times I’ve heard it it felt very strange, then I got used to it and noew I expect in in most of Behrens’ recorded performances.
BTW I love the Ozawa Elektra, it sounds very french in a way, almost Ravellian, the gulf between french Impressionism and german Expressionism not so wide after all. I’d be very happy to get the Met Elektra separately, from what I’ve seen on Utube. His conducting back with Nilsson and Rysanek leaves a lot to be desired. Behrens seems to draw a special brand of lyricism from him. Good.
Does anybody know where I can get the old Kuchta / Resnik film? Everytime I watch these excerpts I have the feeling THIS is just the way it should be done, with almost Mozartean delicacy and understatement, yet with the big guns held in check for the big moments. I love the honest, lived-in prodution. Much better than the Friedrich stylized nightmare. and Resnik was absolutely stunning, a truly great actress.
Glad I’m not the only one to love the Ozawa Elektra. It may not be the greatest night of her life, but it’s still tremendously worthwhile.
Not sure what you’re referring to in the sound – is it similar to the crackles right through the middle of some of Freni’s top in her later recordings, eg the Levine Onegin?
Exactly!
I think it is the sound of the breath support engaging at the same time the soprano is widening her pie hole, errr I mean mouth.
The Ozawa Elektra took a long time to grow on me, but now it’s my go-to, vocal foibles and all.
I have that one, a cd of the Met Elektra broadcast, and a performance from Montpelier with Rysanek as Klytemnaestra. I love them all, but the Ozawa recording is the standout.
The thing about HB is, was, and will always be that either you like what she’s giving you or you don’t. I’ve yet to run into anyone who is ambivalent. We all (or most of us) make compromises with our favorites. Do I wish HB had stronger middle and better technique in general? Of course I do. Would I trade that for the amazing top? No way in hell. For better or worse, her sound grabbed my attention like 16 years ago and I’ve been hooked since.
I don’t think I could explain to anyone why. My love for HB is as mystifying to some as others’ love for Renaaaaaaaaaaaayyyy is to me.
I’m not of the mind that you need a huge sound to be an effective Elektra or Salome and in fact I’m generally put off by those voices. I want nuance and feeling, and if sound is sacrificed in the process, well then so be it. And there are always those who will point out that Singer X can do all that AND has a big voice. And to them I say bravo, but they’re not my preference.
I long ago stopped trying to justify my likes and dislikes to people. It’s all subjective.
I’ve listened to that Elektra a thousand times (probably literally, I regularly listen to the monologue on my morning commute) but have never noticed the crackles. Maybe I need to take a look at the Met Ring dvds tonight and check it out.
My old voice teacher, Contralto Eunice Alberts, used to do the same thing. I always assumed it was her dentures rattling.
Berlioz was no RVW or Elgar, but the vest performance of the cycle is of course Dame Janet’s. She has *such* qualities! Minton and Burrows are highly laudable.
HB’s Les Nuits D’ete is not exactly idiomatic but I do like it. Frankly I don’t have a favorite; I’ve yet to hear a truly impressive performance. Too bad Christa Ludwig didn’t record it.
“she was never afraid to use harsh sounds to express a character’s emotional distress. ”
Well, Frau Behrens didn’t have much of a choice about sounding harsh, did she? Worst Sieglinde *ever*; give me Margaret Curphey any time!
Just for the record, regarding Behrens’ proficiency in the French language. Her mother was from Metz (capital of Lorraine[Lothringen]), hence a native French speaker. Little Hildegard spoke French before she spoke German. After her Duesseldorf Studio years, she made Paris her residence, until she moved to New York in 1982. During her Paris years she was introduced to one Regine Crespin by Pierre Berge, and became promptly good friends, and worked with Regine on a number of roles. When Hildegard Behrens sang her spectacular Lieder Recital with Christoph Eschenbach on the piano, in 1996 at Carnegie Hall, Regine Crespin made a grand entrance into the hall, and subsequently visited her backstage, full of praise and admiration. Another backstage admirer that evening was none other than Dame Gwyneth Jones and her husband, who had also attended the concert. Hildegard never had anything but admiration for Dame Gwyneth, as an exceptionally warm and generous colleague and friend.