Elektra Is March 17, 2018, Met Opera Saturday Matinee Broadcast

Summary: The March 17, 2018, Met Opera Saturday matinee broadcast is Elektra by German composer Richard Strauss.

Elektra cartoon by French-born graphic artist Emmanuelle Ayrton: METOrchMusicians @METOrchestra, via Twitter Feb. 19, 2018

Elektra, a one-act opera about mythological Greek King Agamemnon and Queen Clytemnestra’s revenge-filled daughter by German late Romantic and early modern composer Richard Strauss (June 11, 1864-Sept. 8, 1949), is the March 17, 2018, Metropolitan Opera Saturday matinee broadcast.

Austrian dramatist and librettist Hugo von Hofmannsthal (Feb. 1, 1874-July 15, 1929) wrote the German libretto. He adapted the libretto from his 1903 drama Elektra. Hofmannsthal’s play premiered Oct. 30, 1903, at Reinhardt’s Little Theatre in Berlin. Richard Strauss attended one of the play’s performances in 1903 and subsequently convinced the playwright to adapt his drama for the operatic stage. A collaboration on five more operas ended with Hofmannsthal’s death.

Strauss’s Elektra premiered Jan. 25, 1909, at Semperoper in the historic center of Dresden, Saxony, east central Germany. The premiere took place in the opera house’s second building, a Neo-Renaissance-styled replacement for the first building which was destroyed by fire in 1869. The Second World War’s aerial bombing of Dresden, which occurred between Feb. 13 and Feb. 15, 1945, gutted the second building. The current, third Semperoper was completed Feb. 13, 1985, exactly four decades later.

Six performances of Elektra are scheduled for the 2017-2018 Met Opera season. Opening night, Thursday, March 1, 2018, at 8 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, marks the opera’s 109th performance at the Metropolitan Opera. Two additional performances also have EST start times: Monday, March 5, at 7:30 p.m. and Friday, March 9, at 8 p.m.

The month’s fourth performance, Monday, March 12, begins at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The March 17 Saturday matinee, which starts at 1 p.m., marks the opera’s fifth performance during the 2017-2018 Met Opera season. Closing night is Friday, March 23, at 8 p.m. Closing night marks Met Opera's 114th performance of Elektra.

Estimated run time for the one-act opera is 1 hour 44 minutes. There is no intermission.

The Metropolitan Opera’s Music Director Designate Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts the first five of the opera’s six performances, including the March 17 Saturday matinee broadcast. His birthplace is Montreal, Quebec, eastern Canada. The Canadian conductor debuted New Year’s Eve, Dec. 31, 2009, in the Metropolitan Opera’s 946th performance of Carmen by French Romantic Era composer Georges Bizet (Oct. 25, 1838-June 3, 1875). In the 2017-2018 Met Opera season, he also conducts Parsifal by German composer and librettist Richard Wagner (May 22, 1813-Feb. 13, 1883).

Yannick Nézet-Séguin shares the conductor’s podium with Paul Nadler, who conducts the closing night performance Friday, March 23. The American conductor debuted Nov. 25, 1989, in the Metropolitan Opera’s 654th performance of Rigoletto by Italian opera composer Giuseppe Verdi (Oct. 10, 1813-Jan. 27, 1901).

Christine Goerke appears in the title role in all performances. Her birthplace is New York state. The American dramatic soprano debuted April 3, 1995, as a Woman with Baby in the Metropolitan Opera’s eighth performance of The Ghosts of Versailles by American classical composer John Corigliano (born Feb. 16, 1938).

Update: Sabine Hogrefe sings the title role for the performance Monday, March 12, to replace Christine Goerke, who is ill. Her birthplace is Lübeck, Schleswig-Holstein, northernmost Germany. The Germany soprano's March 12 appearance marks her Metropolitan Opera debut. (Update via Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera's Twitter tweet March 12, 2018.)

Elza van den Heever appears as Chrysothemis in the first five of the opera’s six performances, including the March 17 Saturday matinee broadcast. Her birthplace is Johannesburg, Gauteng, northeastern South Africa. The South African soprano debuted New Year’s Eve, Dec. 31, 2012, as Queen Elizabeth I in the Metropolitan Opera’s premiere performance of Maria Stuarda by Italian bel canto composer Gaetano Donizetti (Nov. 29, 1797-April 8, 1848).

Elza van den Heever shares the role with Allison Oakes, who appears in the closing night performance, Friday, March 23. The British dramatic soprano’s closing night appearance as Chrysothemis marks her Metropolitan Opera debut.

Michaela Schuster appears in all performances as Klytämnestra. Her birthplace is Fürth, northern Bavaria, southwestern Germany. The German operatic mezzo-soprano’s appearances as Klytämnestra mark her Metropolitan Opera debut.

Jay Hunter Morris appears in all performances as Aegisth. His birthplace is Paris, Lamar County, northeastern Texas. The American operatic tenor debuted Feb. 14, 2007, as Steva in the Metropolitan Opera’s 44th performance of Jenufa by Czech composer Leoš Janáček (July 3, 1854-Aug. 12, 1928).

Mikhail Petrenko appears in five of the opera’s performances as Orest. In addition to the March 17 Saturday matinee broadcast, he also appears in performances on March 1, 5, 12 and 23. His birthplace is Saint Petersburg, northwestern Russia. The Russian bass debuted Feb. 14, 2002, as a Valet in the Metropolitan Opera’s premiere of War and Peace by Soviet composer, conductor and pianist Sergei Prokofiev (April 23, 1891-March 5, 1953).

Mikhail Petrenko shares the role of Orest with Dwayne Croft, who appears in the Friday, March 9, performance. Dwayne Croft’s birthplace is Cooperstown, Otsego County, Central New York Region, New York. The American baritone debuted April 18, 1990, as Fiorello in the Metropolitan Opera’s 442nd performance of Il Barbiere di Siviglia by Italian composer Gioachino Rossini (Feb. 29, 1792-Nov. 13, 1868). In the 2017-2018 Met Opera season, Dwayne Croft also appears as Peter in Hansel and Gretel by German composer Engelbert Humperdinck (Sept. 1, 1854-Sept. 27, 1921); Sharpless in Madama Butterfly by Italian opera composer Giacomo Puccini (Dec. 22, 1858-Nov. 29, 1924); Capulet in Roméo et Juliette by French composer Charles-François Gounod (June 17, 1818-Oct. 18, 1893).

Met Opera’s 2017-2018 staging of Elektra revives the 2015-2016 Met Opera season’s new production directed by Patrice Chéreau (Nov. 2, 1944-Oct. 7, 2013). The French opera and theatre director’s new production debuted April 14, 2016, in the opera’s 102nd performance at the Metropolitan Opera. The production team comprises Vincent Huguet, stage director; Richard Peduzzi, set designer; Caroline de Vivaise, costume designer; Dominique Bruguière, lighting designer.

The opera’s setting is in Mycenae, eastern Peloponnese peninsula, southern Greece, after the Trojan War. Patrice Chéreau’s new production places the opera in an unspecified contemporary setting.

Elektra appears as the 16th of the 2017-2018 Met Opera season’s 23 Saturday matinee broadcasts. Semiramide was the season’s 15th Saturday matinee broadcast. Semiramide aired Saturday, March 10, 2018, at 1 p.m.

The season’s 17th Saturday matinee broadcast is Puccini’s Turandot. Turandot is scheduled for March 24, 2018, at 1 p.m.

Online database Operabase places Richard Strauss in 10th place in a worldwide ranking of 1,281 composers for the five seasons from 2011/2012 to 2015/2016. Russian late Romantic Era composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (May 7, 1840-Nov. 6, 1893) and German-born French composer Jacques Offenbach (June 20, 1819-Oct. 5, 1880) occupy ninth and 11th places, respectively.

Elektra occupies place 64 in the worldwide list of 2,658 most popular operas. Places 63 and 65 are held by 19th century German composer Richard Wagner’s Die Walküre and by 19th century French composer Charles-François Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette, respectively.

Elektra’s Metropolitan Opera debut took place Dec. 3, 1932. Prior to the 2017-2018 Met Opera season, Elektra’s most recent Met Opera performances occurred during the 2015-2016 season.

The Metropolitan Opera’s Repertory Report provides statistics for the opera house’s operatic performances. Elektra is in place 58. Places 57 and 59 are occupied by 19th century Italian bel canto composer Gaetano Donizetti’s La Fille du Régiment and 19th century Italian opera composer Giuseppe Verdi’s Macbeth, respectively.

The takeaways for Elektra as the March 17, 2018, Metropolitan Opera Saturday matinee broadcast are that the 2017-2018 Met Opera season’s 16th Saturday matinee broadcast serves as the season’s second opera conducted by Music Director Designate Yannick Nézet-Séguin and affirms the transfixing appeal of Greek myths, even when cast in expressionist and modernist stylings.

Met Opera's Music Director Designate Yannick Nezet-Seguin in rehearsals with cast of Richard Strauss's Elektra, which opens March 1, 2018; Photos by Jonathan Tichler/Metropolitan Opera.: The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera, via Facebook Feb. 14, 2018

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Elektra cartoon by French-born graphic artist Emmanuelle Ayrton: METOrchMusicians @METOrchestra, via Twitter Feb. 19, 2018, @ https://twitter.com/METOrchestra/status/965582119853527041

Met Opera's Music Director Designate Yannick Nezet-Seguin in rehearsals with cast of Richard Strauss's Elektra, which opens March 1, 2018; Photos by Jonathan Tichler/Metropolitan Opera.: The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera, via Facebook Feb. 14, 2018, @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOpera/posts/10160130872675533

For further information:

"Composers: Composers Ranked by the Number of Performances of Their Operas Over the Five Seasons 2011/2012 to 2015/16." Operabase > Opera Statistics.
Available @ http://operabase.com/top.cgi?lang=en

“Debut: Dwayne Croft.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 300040 Il Barbiere di Siviglia {442} Metropolitan Opera House: 04/18/1990.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=300040

“Debut: Elza van den Heever.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 354759 Metropolitan Opera Premiere Maria Stuarda {1} Metropolitan Opera House: 12/31/2012.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=354759

“Debut: Jay Hunter Morris.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 351852 Jenufa {44} Metropolitan Opera House: 02/14/2007.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=351852

“Debut: Paul Nadler.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 298610 Rigoletto {654} Metropolitan Opera House: 11/25/1989.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=298610

"Debut: Sabine Hogrefe." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 356913 Elektra {112} Metropolitan Opera House: 03/12/2018.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=356913

"Debuts: Hector Vásquez . . . Christine Goerke . . ." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 319890 The Ghosts of Versailles {8} Metropolitan Opera House: 04/3/1995.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=319890

“Debuts: Anna Netrebko . . . Mikhail Petrenko.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 350257 Metropolitan Opera Premiere War and Peace {1} Metropolitan Opera House: 02/14/2002.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=350257

“Debuts: Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Richard Eyre, Rob Howell, Irene Bohan, Elizabeth Caballero, Maria Kowroski, Martin Harvey.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 353274 New Production Carmen {946} Metropolitan Opera House: 12/31/2009.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=353274

Marriner, Derdriu. “Semiramide Is March 10, 2018, Met Opera Saturday Matinee Broadcast.” Earth and Space News. Monday, March 5, 2018.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2018/03/semiramide-is-march-10-2018-met-opera.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Yannick Nézet-Séguin Conducts Strauss and Wagner in 2017-2018 Season.” Earth and Space News. Monday, July 10, 2017.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2017/07/yannick-nezet-seguin-conducts-strauss.html

METOrchMusicians‏ @METOrchestra. "Coming to #Elektra? Those Wagner tubas sound glorious, even though they aren't so easy to play!" Twitter. Feb. 19, 2018.
Available @ https://twitter.com/METOrchestra/status/965582119853527041

Metropolitan Opera ‏@MetOpera. "For this evening’s (3/12) performance of Elektra, Sabine Hogrefe sings the title role, replacing Christine Goerke, who is ill. #CastChange." Twitter. March 12, 2018.
Available @ https://twitter.com/MetOpera/status/973276628439715840

The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera. "The Metropolitan Opera added 3 new photos. Elektra rehearsals are underway! Music Director Designate Yannick Nezet-Seguin worked with the cast in this early rehearsal. Opens March 1 starring Christine Goerke, Soprano in the title role. Tickets: bit.ly/2DBXcFh Photos by Jonathan Tichler/Metropolitan Opera." Facebook. Feb. 14, 2018.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOpera/posts/10160130872675533

Mueller, Martin. “Hofmannsthal’s Electra and Its Dramatic Models.” Modern Drama, vol. 29, no. 1 (Spring 1986): 71-91.

“New Production: Elektra.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 356433 New Production Elektra {102} Metropolitan Opera House: 04/14/2016.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=356433

"Performances Statistics Through October 31, 2016.” MetOpera Database > The Metropolitan Opera Archives > Repertory Report.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/Database%20Opera%20Statistics.xml