MUSIC: Jean Madeira's Final Opera Appearance (As Klytemnestra, Metropolitan Opera 1971)

Jean Madeira's Final Opera Performance

Richard Strauss

ELEKTRA

Matinee Broadcast
27 February 1971

Elektra.................Birgit Nilsson

Chrysothemis............Leonie Rysanek

Klytämnestra............Jean Madeira [Last performance]

Orest...................Thomas Stewart

Aegisth.................Robert Nagy

Overseer................Carlotta Ordassy

Serving Woman...........Batyah Godfrey Ben-David

Serving Woman...........Shirley Love

Serving Woman...........Gwendolyn Killebrew

Serving Woman...........Judith De Paul

Serving Woman...........Margaret Kalil

Confidant...............Patricia Clarke

Trainbearer.............Mary Fercana

Young Servant...........Leo Goeke

Old Servant.............Harry Shean

Guardian................Richard Best

Conductor...............Karl Böhm

"One of the great broadcasts in Met history, this performance of Strauss’s stunning one-act drama truly deserves the adjective “legendary.” The incomparable Birgit Nilsson delivers a searing portrayal of the title heroine, the Greek princess obsessed with avenging the murder of her father, Agamemnon. A passionate Leonie Rysanek is her sister, Chrysothemis, who longs for a normal life and begs Elektra to give up her fixation. Thomas Stewart sings Orest, their brother, and Jean Madeira, in her final Met appearance, gives a chilling performance as Klytämnestra, Elektra’s mother. Strauss friend and protégé Karl Böhm conducts with unmatched authority and passion."

The original video I uploaded received a copyright strike. 

You can listen to the whole CD on Spotify. 

https://open.spotify.com/album/6xvPGi4qHmi5ja4NFwwULL

Links

http://www.nytimes.com/1972/07/12/archives/jean-madeira-53-a-met-gontralto-singer-cast-in-major-roles-from.html

http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=224660&limit=500&xBranch=ALL&xsdate=&xedate=&theterm=1970-71&x=0&xhomepath=&xhome=

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