On October 21, 2015, the Boston Symphony Orchestra performed Elektra at Carnegie Hall. Since it was an opera, I was expecting it to be like Otello in which the orchestra was below the main stage while the singers were on stage with props and an elaborate set design. When the show started, I realized that it was not at all like Otello aside from it having music and having opera singers. In Elektra, the orchestra was on stage with the singers. There was very little room for movement and everyone on stage seemed cramped up together. It might have seemed that way to me since I too was cramped up in my tiny seat all the way up in the balcony with my classmates. I was sort of disappointed with the opera since the presence of the orchestra on stage with the singers took away from fiction of the story. It was weird seeing the singers having to carefully maneuver around the orchestra members and their rather large (yes, I’m looking at you Mr. Double Bass Player) and presumably expensive instruments. This made the performance seem all jumbled up, lacking the smoothness I experienced while seeing Otello. Despite all of this, the singers put on an impressive and powerful display of vocals especially, Christine Goerke who portrayed the title character of Elektra. Her voice was able to display the emotions of Elektra, enhancing the story and the character development. I loved the foil that was apparent between her and Jane Henschel who portrayed Elektra’s mother Klytamnestra. I enjoyed the parts in which the two would go back and forth in singing their parts as it created a nice vocal effect.
Now onto the interesting things. Throughout the performance, I could not help, but compare the story and the characters of Elektra to those of the Star Wars films (the original trilogy, not those other three films). The story of Elektra reminded me of Star Wars in that it was about the main characters confronting the main antagonists for killing their fathers. In Elektra, Elektra was seeking revenge for the death of her father, Agamemnon (or as most of us know him, Agaaaaameeeemnon!) while in Star Wars, Luke Skywalker was seeking revenge for the death of his father, Anakin Skywalker. Both deaths were caused by a family member of the main character. In Elektra, her mother (Klytamnestra) killed her father. In Star Wars, Darth Vader “killed” Luke’s father. (SPOILER ALERT for those of you who have not seen Star Wars before. Anyways, Darth Vader turns out to be Luke’s father and so, Anakin Skywalker is Darth Vader. Anakin turned to the dark side, becoming Darth Vader and no, Anakin did not actually die. Obi-Wan Kenobi only told Luke that his father was killed by Darth Vader because he was trying to be creative in convincing Luke to become a Jedi. Spoiler over.) In the opera, when Klytamnestra was entering the stage with her many servants, I kept thinking of Darth Vader entering a scene in Star Wars with a bunch of his Stormtroopers. When the servants were all lined up behind the orchestra during one of the scenes, I kept thinking of how the Stormtroopers would line up uniformly and obediently behind their master, Darth Vader.
In addition, the music in Elektra reminded me of the soundtrack in Star Wars (shoutout to John Williams). The music in both is characterized by periods of calmness and sudden suspense that add to the dramatic effect. Also, the music in Elektra and Star Wars relies heavily on the fast movement played on string instruments, the low sounds of the brass instruments, the sudden melodic riffs from clarinets, the rolls of the snare and timpani drums, and the crash of the cymbals. Important scenes in both are accompanied by distinct music that is specific to that scene. For example, Darth Vader entered the scene like a boss while the famous Imperial March played in the background. Similarly, when Klytamnestra entered the scene, there was distinct music played by the orchestra to announce her arrival. The beginning of Star Wars is notable for its opening music which is characterized by its sudden loudness (and epicness, might I add). Similarly, the beginning of Elektra is notable for its opening music as well which is characterized by the sudden loudness that rings out Agamemnon’s name multiple times.
I really wonder if Star Wars was based off Elektra. The similarities were uncanny to me. Maybe it was due to the fact that I watched the trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens the night before seeing Elektra. Either way, I think someone should try to get Electra and Klytamnestra a couple of lightsabers so they can duke it out and settle their issues.
I really enjoyed reading your review; you had unique, interesting interpretations of the opera. Who would’ve thought that Elektra could be related to Star Wars? Even though I haven’t seen all the Star Wars movies, I know the characters, and I definitely agree with you about the role of music in both Elektra and Star Wars. It is important how characters like Klytamnestra and Darth Vader have their own background music to emphasize their superiority. Also, the opening tunes of both make the whole performance/movie memorable. Overall, I found your review pretty convincing that Star Wars overlaps some ideas in Elektra.
I’m glad I saw your review because the connection you made to Star Wars hadn’t crossed my mind, and I wish it did. I see the relationship between the two stories now, and you are probably right about Star Wars being based off of Elektra. I guess I missed it because Star Wars has a thicker story and plot. Luke and Leia didn’t know they were brother and sister, and no one (except Obi Wan) had any idea that Darth Vader was a Skywalker. It’s really cool that you were watching and making connections. I like to think I do the same, but I obviously didn’t during this performance. I was mostly wondering what I would have to do to be a 6th chair trumpet player and only have to play 3-4 times during the performance. Seems like such a great job.