I obtained this a while ago and forgot to review it. I'm perplexed regarding another's review of the sound. I found no issue and, in fact, think it's more than acceptable. There was a while I wanted to hear no other. The singing is consistently committed and exciting and Keen's conducting creates quite a blaze. This is a great perfomance. It's also interesting to me that Stapp really delivers. My first experience with her was in the 70's as Anna Bolena in a New York City Opera ( at Lincoln Center ) She was great in that. This taken into account, I wonder what a Callas Elektra would have been?

Olivia Stapp did not have much of a recording career. Except for a disc of Griffes songs with Sherrill Milnes and a RAI Cyrano de Bergerac (Alfano), she is remembered by her "pirates". Opera Depot has her Lady Macbeth and Komponist (Ariadne auf Naxos). I've heard a Tosca from the Met and now this Elektra. What a shame she wasn't recorded professionally! The voice is steady from top to bottom, the high notes very secure, the middle well-projected. She always conveys what she is singing about. Her Elektra is one of the best I've heard. Chookasian sings with that full contralto sound that made her so popular. She isn't as imaginative with the words as some others (Resnik, Ludwig, etc.), but her laughs are terrifying as are her offstage screams (it certainly sounds like she does her own screams). Natalie Costa is a name new to me; she is an excellent Chrysothemis, singing with purpose without going overboard. Richard Cross is a fine Orest with his steady, manly bass. Alan Crabbe provides a strong Aegist. The supporting cast is good though their German is a little American-sounding. Keene demonstrates why he was so well-regarded in musical circles at the time. The sound is basically good stereo, but has a habit of sliding from one channel to another (especially on disc 1) that is annoying. There is a better sounding copy available on the Yves St.Laurent label, but it is much more expensive. Recommended to all Elektra fans and especially Stapp fans!

Wide-spectrum stereo sound does justice to Strauss' writing -- as does the cast. Olivia Stapp certainly has the Hochdrammatische chops for Elektra. Unfortunately, she hews to a monochromatic ferocity which works well for much of the score, but something for is demanded of say, the Recognition Scene. Listen to Borkh, Varnay and Nilsson to hear what is missing. Lilli Chookasian lacks nothing as Klytaemnestra, whose grotesquerie she manages to convey in purely musical terms, voiced in a true, booming contralto. Nancy Costa's Chrysothemis is appealing and owns more variety than Stapp but conductor Christopher Keene too often swamps her. Richard Cross is a good Orest of the basso persuasion, if somewhat lacking in individuality. The Aegisth of Alan Crabbe almost quivers with cowardice before Elektra. Conductor Keene seems to be striving for a Brucknerian monumentality, at the expense of some unwarranted gear shifts. There's plenty of vivid detail from the orchestra, even if the singers are sometimes left to their own devices. The sound is a bit "fuzzy" but generally so sumptuous that one is hard-pressed to complain.

Unbelievable...a super-high-voltage performance beyond my expectation. If you love Strauss' Elektra, do not miss this version!not only three sopranos' great singing, but also Christopher Keene' sharp conducting and the superior orchestra (Syracuse Sym?) are quite impressive.

Passionate performance.

Truly one of the best performances of this opera I've heard.

Disappointing in large part because the orchestra was so poor and the sound wasn't very good. I'm a huge Lili Chookasian fan and while she was in good voice her dramatic instincts were largely defeated by the orchestral performance. A performance of Elektra without a great orchestral performance cannot be very satisfying