Conversations with HILDEGARD BEHRENS
An exploration into ELEKTRA, Richard Strauss' masterpiece
of an opera, with one of the world's great dramatic sopranos and the foremost
interpreter of the role. This interview was held shortly after Ms. Behrens'
performance of ELEKTRA at the Arena di Verona's Teatro Filarmonico
in February 2003.
HILDEGARD BEHRENS
dramatic soprano
Saddened by her passing,
we celebrate her life.
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a TRIBUTE to Frau Behrens.
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Allein,
weh ganz allein - from Elektra's Monologue
Orest!
-from the Recognition Scene
(REAL PLAYER REQUIRED)
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FF: Thank you, Ms. Behrens, for this golden opportunity to talk with
you again about another of your signature roles - Elektra.
Elektra is considered by musicologists to be a seminal piece of work.
It is today accepted as one of Richard Strauss' most successful operas and
one that will likely survive the test of time, notwithstanding the complex
dissonance of the music and the demands it makes of both audience and performer.
Knowing how closely you have come to be identified with Elektra,
can one rightly assume that you agree with this assessment? And if so, why?
HB:
Elektra, Sophocles' tragedy of tragedies, translated by Richard Strauss
into congenial music, is a masterpiece of unimaginable power and complexity.
This piece of art in its lapidary density reminds me of the monolith in Kubrick's
film "2001", which floats through space (to the sound of Johann
Strauss' "Blue Danube") - mysterious, a mystical embodiment of the
ciphers, codes, and secrets of mankind and the human condition. Elektra
is a monolith that floats through eons, propelled by its imminent waltzes,
which swirl the drama onward towards the vortex of destruction, towards the
black hole of dissolution with the force of inevitable fate. It will survive
the test of time.
FF: What in particular drew you to Elektra? And for that
matter, to Strauss' other powerful opera of frenzied obsession, Salome?
HB:
Since the beginning of my career I have been drawn to roles of strong characters
who take responsibility for their actions, pushing the drama forward, faithful
to their conscience and motivated by virtues such as unconditional love and
compassion, following through with uncompromising courage. Leonore in Beethoven's
Fidelio is a prototype of a heroine in an opera about good and evil.
Brünnhilde has the same characteristics and Elektra belongs
to this category as well. Their conflicts are larger than life. Their integrity
is unquestionable. Their courage in overcoming their fears, which is an important
part of true heroism, is exemplary.
FF:
Your celebrated portrayal of Salome under the musical direction of Maestro
Herbert von Karajan catapulted you to stardom early in your career. Yet, although
Elektra is most kindred to Salome than to any of Strauss'
other operas, you did not sing Elektra until years later. Is it true that
Mo. Karajan asked you to sing Elektra not long after you had performed
and recorded Salome with him but that you refused?
HB: Yes. My reservation was that my repertoire would become
too early on unbalanced towards the "big guns". Who is likely to
ask an Elektra or Brünnhilde to sing Mozart. I would have missed out
on too much.
FF: You are well-known for your intensely moving and convincing
performances - indeed in the case of Elektra, one can say without
reservation that "Behrens becomes Elektra" in all her forms - a
trapped "wild animal" darting across the stage, a desperate daughter
at once obsessed with a vengeful desire to kill her mother and consumed with
love for her murdered father, a sister exuding utmost tenderness towards a
long-lost beloved brother, a goddess in an ecstatic dance of death.... How
do you, so to speak, get inside the many layers of Elektra's skin? Is your
interpretation of Elektra rooted in the character's hatred of her mother or
her love for her father?
HB: My way to get inside any role means for me to analyze each moment in terms of circumstances, motivations and emotions. I do this by drawing a roadmap. Elektra's hatred for her mother and the love for her father are two sides of the same coin.
(NOTE: Ms. Behrens then proceeded to elucidate
her roadmap to Elektra. It was an exposition so fascinating that it merits
a page to itself. CLICK HERE TO FOLLOW THE ROADMAP.)
FF:
Has your interpretation varied through the years, and has it always
meshed with the directorial vision?
HB:
My interpretation has not really varied through the years. Since it is in
itself coherent, it can be integrated in many different directorial concepts.
It rather gets enriched with each production.
FF: Do you develop your interpretation of all your other
signature roles in much the same way?
HB: This is and has been my approach to all my roles.
Follow Ms. Behrens'
fascinating ROADMAP to ELEKTRA>>>.
Click HERE to view a slideshow
of scenes from Ms. Behrens' recent performance of ELEKTRA
in Verona, HERE
for a video clip of her ELEKTRA's
MONOLOGUE from the Trier Antikenfestspiele production, and HERE
for a slide show of scenes from ELEKTRA
at the MET.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HILDEGARD BEHRENS: she makes music worth seeing!
PROFILE PORTRAITS PERFORMANCES DISCOGRAPHY AWARDS QUOTESBRÜNNHILDE ELEKTRA SALOME FIDELIO ISOLDE MARIE SENTA
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