Strauss's Elektra

Greek tragedy meets modern psychology in Richard Strauss’s audacious opera. Elektra is determined to avenge the murder of her father Agamemnon by her mother Klytämnestra – but will Klytämnestra destroy her first?

Strauss evokes his characters’ larger-than-life emotions through massive orchestral forces and daring harmonies. Wild, violent episodes such as the epic confrontation between Elektra and her mother contrast with moments of exquisite tenderness, as when Agamemnon’s son Orest returns to this most dysfunctional of family homes.

Karina Canellakis conducts the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and an outstanding cast. Leading dramatic sopranos Ingela Bergman and Vida Miknevičiūtė perform the virtuoso roles of Elektra and Chrysothemis.

In the ancient palace of Mycenae, the enslaved princess Elektra mourns her murdered father, Agamemnon, killed by her mother, Klytämnestra, and her mother's lover, Aegisth. Elektra lives only for revenge, obsessively communing with her father's spirit. Her gentler sister Chrysothemis yearns for a normal life and urges Elektra to overcome her hatred. Klytämnestra, tormented by nightmares, asks Elektra for a remedy; Elektra taunts her with riddles about death. Elektra’s brother, Orest, is falsely pronounced dead, only to appear in disguise. Elektra recognises him, and the siblings are reunited. Orest enters the palace and slays Klytämnestra. When Aegisth returns, he too is killed. Elektra, overwhelmed by the completion of the revenge, breaks into an ecstatic dance – and collapses dead.

Presented by Kate Molleson and recorded at Edinburgh's Usher Hall on 23 August 2026.

Richard Strauss: Elektra

Elektra ….. Ingela Brimberg
Chrysothemis ….. Vida Miknevičiūtė 
Klytämnestra ….. Karen Cargill
Orest ….. Günther Groissböck 
Aegisth ….. John Daszak
Orest's tutor ….. Barnaby Rea
Young servant ….. Lucas van Lierop
Old servant ….. Martin Snell
An overseer ….. Lee Bisset
First maid ….. Claudia Huckle
Second maid ….. Maria Schellenberg
Third maid & trainbearer of Klytämnestra ….. Lea Shaw
Fourth maid & confidante of Klytämnestra ….. Eleanor Dennis
Fifth maid ….. Emma Morwood
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Karina Canellakis (conductor)

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