Strauss: Elektra - Lammers, Müller-Bülow, von Milinkovic, Kraus, Evans; Kempe. London, 1957
$8.95
Listen to a Sample:
The cast of this Elektra might not immediately grab you, but the singers in the main roles all rise to the formidable challenges of this work and deliver a performance that is both vivid and sizzles. Gerda Lammers voice may sound a little warmed over at times, but she utilizes the hard-edge quality of her voice to very good effect. Despite the lack of vocal glamor she maintains the integrity of her technique throughout the whole evening both in the outbursts and in the more lyrical passages. As Chrysothemis, Hedwig Müller-Bütow's voice lacks the wild quality of Leonie Rysanek and Marie Collier but she sings the role with a sweet lyricism coupled with a top that blooms. Georgine von Milinkovic as Klytämnestra is by far my favorite of the cast. Again the voice is not a show stopper, in itself but she seems relentlessly committed to the drama delivering nuanced German and a fragility that one rarely associates with this role. Rudolph Kempe displays a keen understanding for both the undulating organic quality of the score as well as the Viennese waltzes interspersed throughout. The sound is fair to good.
OD 10864-2
