Clytemnestra, Queen of Thebes, has murdered her husband with the help of her lover Aegisthus. Electra, her daughter, has taken her younger brother Orestes to safety in a foreign country where he is being raised to avenge his father. Whilst the palace residents (including Chrysothemis, Electra’s sister) have come to terms with the new situation, Electra keeps the memory of her father’s murder alive, waiting for the day of retribution. Hugo von Hofmannsthal’s opera is based on Sophocles’s Electra, with music by Richard Strauss magnificently performed by Leonie Rysanek (Elektra), Astrid Varnay (Clytemnestra), Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (Orestes) and members of the Konzertvereinigung Wiener Staatsopernchor. Karl Bohm conducts the Wiener Philharmoniker. Sung in German. A booklet containing a synopsis is included.
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How to watch
Collection
In ACMI's collection
Credits
Collection metadata
ACMI Identifier
304615
Language
German
Audience classification
G
Subject categories
Music & Performing Arts → Operas - Film and video adaptations
Sound/audio
Sound
Colour
Colour
Holdings
VHS; Access Print (Section 1)