From February 2 until the 18, Elza van den Heever returns to the role of Chrysothemis, Elektra’s meek and accommodating sister, in Richard Strauss’ dramatic opera at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.
Elektra, sung by Nina Stemme, is the Mycenaean princess whose father, Agamemnon, was murdered by her mother, Klytemnestra, Michaela Martens, leaving Elektra hell-bent on revenge. As Strauss’s staggeringly powerful orchestra moves inexorably toward the opera’s hair-raising finale, the music gives you a composer at his zenith—magnificently theatrical and devastatingly moving.
Ms. van den Heever last sang the role last March at the Metropolitan Opera. Operawire described her performance as “a revelation and arguably the scene-stealer of the night”.