The production of Elektra on October 21st in Carnegie Hall moved and inspired me more than any other production I have ever watched. The performance was brilliantly organized. The orchestra was positioned on stage in a semicircle formation with an open pathway in the right side of the semicircle for the characters/performers to walk in and out of the scene. This staging and organization wasn’t like the production of Othello in the Met; however, it was more engaging. While in Othello, the orchestra was on a platform separated from the stage in which the performers acted and sang on; this was not the case in the production of Elektra, in which the orchestra and opera singers performed on the same stage. This specific difference made the experience all the better.
Elektra entered the scene wearing an elegant, red dress, enticing every human eye. It is interesting that only Elektra was flamboyant in her bright dress and no other character dressed in flashy colors. Personally, the red dress that Elektra wore symbolized the blood of Agamemnon’s murderers that she yearns to see. Agamemnon is Elektra’s father, and in the first scene it is revealed that Agamemnon was killed by Aegisth, Elektra’s mother’s lover. Throughout the duration of the entire production, Elektra was mourning her father’s death and yearning to find retribution. She was so steadfast in her thoughts that nothing could’ve changed her mind. The scenes, as they were beautifully acted out, were kind of ironic. Elektra’s mother was involved in Agamemnon’s murder, and she fears Elektra is going to avenge her father’s death. Elektra grew up under the nurturing of her mother. Her mother would advise her throughout her life. However, when Agamemnon was murdered, everything changed paradoxically. The mother now feeds off the nurturing of her daughter, Elektra, and sometimes, in a way, receives advice from her daughter as she constantly lives under the fear of vengeance. Elektra’s brother, Orest, had disappeared for a long amount of time and returns towards the end of the production. Elektra has a strong connection with her brother since she hopes that Orest will return to help her kill their mother and lover.
The theme of family was very vibrant in this production of Elektra. Every character is connected to each other in a unique way. Elektra experiences living with a dysfunctional family. In addition, Chrysothemis, Elektra’s sister, is separated from the entire family, and she also turns to Elektra for inspiration of becoming an independent woman and having children of her own. Elektra, on the other hand, is the driving force of the family. She is already independent as revealed by her way of dressing and acting. She monitors the family’s mobility and durability through her goals in life and with the help of her brother, Orest. Just like Agamemnon, Elektra becomes the next person in the lineage to take control into her own hands in search of justice.
My most favorite part of the entire production was the way the characters called each other. The names were said and sung so clearly that you can hear every syllable of each name. I realized that every time a name was said, the orchestra members played a strong, harmonious chord enticing the audience to listen the characters’ names and actually bond with the feelings of the characters with sympathy. The most interesting thing about this production was that the orchestra was actually part of the play. The orchestra was on stage with the characters and that had a great effect on the production in that the music played by the orchestra was integral to the progression of the scenes of the play leading up to the justice served at the end, especially with the repetitive musical phrase of ‘Agameeeeeeeeemnon’! In addition, I felt personally connected to the production itself because of the fact that it was performed in Carnegie Hall. Last year, I had the privilege, too, to perform in Carnegie Hall with many choirs in New York and with the world-renowned violinist, Itzchak Pearlman. Throughout the entire production of Elektra, I found myself engaged and fully participated and involved in the performance as it made me nostalgic on my wonderful experience on the very same stage.
Sometheing that I find interesting in your discussion is how the inclusion of the orchestra on the stage improved your experience of the opera as a whole. I disagree with you and believe that the Otello performance was more engaging. I’m not saying that you’re preference is wrong, but in my opinion, having the orchestra alongside the singers seemed congested to me. While I did enjoy actually being able to witness the talented musicians that were performing the fantastic score, they seemed to take away from the singers. The performers seemed to be restrained to the small portion of the stage and this left a majority of the scenes’ settings and actions to be assumed and interpreted by the audience. Personally, it’s harder to follow the happenings of the opera as opposed to a performance conducted as Otello was. In Otello, performers were given the whole stage which allowed them to express all their emotions and nonverbal gestures, making the opera more enjoyable for me.