Classical Mythology, 7th Edition - obinfonet: dia logou

CLASSICAL MYTHOLOGY IN MUSIC, DANCE, AND FILM 713
cinated by the new revelations made by Sigmund Freud, particularly in his writings
about hysteria. Hofmannsthal, seeing in Electra a classic study of neurosis,
brilliantly adapted Sophocles' play to highlight its psychological insights for
modern times. Sophocles' superb recognition scene between Electra and Orestes
becomes even more overpowering when enhanced by Strauss' music, which
evokes the passion of a love duet. In this scene in Sophocles, Orestes expresses
his concern that Electra's intense emotions might overwhelm her. In the opera,
after the murder of Clytemnestra and Aegisthus and amidst the triumph of
Orestes, Electra actually dies after an ecstatic dance of joy, succumbing to physical
exhaustion and psychological devastation, wrought by cruel injustice, ingrained
hatred, and the engulfing fulfillment of brutal vengeance. Of prime interest
for the creation of this masterpiece is another important opera, Cassandra
by Vittorio Gnecchi (1876-1954), which influenced Strauss.
Strauss and Hofmannsthal again worked together to create the charming
and sublime Ariadne auf Naxos (original version of 1912, redone in 1916); this
opera within an opera focuses upon the desolate and abandoned Ariadne, who
longs for death but finds instead an apotheosis through the love of Bacchus. The
last three mythological operas of Strauss do not deserve the relative neglect they
have suffered. Die Aegyptische Helena (1929, again Hofmannsthal is the librettist)
plays upon the ancient version of the myth that distinguishes between the phantom
Helen who went to Troy with Paris and the real Helen who remained faithful
to Menelaus in Egypt. Daphne (1938, text by Joseph Gregor) is a most touching
treatment of the same subject as that of the very first opera; its final scene
(for soprano and orchestra) depicts a magical and evocative transformation that
soars with typical Straussian majesty and power. Gregor was also the librettist
for Die Liebe der Danae (1940), although he drew upon a sketch left by Hofmannsthal.
The plot evolved from an ingenious amalgamation of two originally
separate tales concerning Midas and his golden touch and the wooing of Danaë
by Zeus in the form of a shower of gold.
English Composers of the Twentieth Century. English composers of the twentieth
century have been prolific in their use of classical themes.
Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) deserves special mention. Young Apollo (1939),
a youthful "fanfare" for piano solo, string quartet, and string orchestra, depicts
in sound the sun-god as a new and radiant epitome of ideal beauty. In 1943,
Britten wrote incidental music for a radio drama by Edward Sackville-West, The
Rescue, based on Homer's Odyssey; and afterwards reworked his score into a concert
version, entitled The Rescue of Penelope. His chamber opera The Rape of
Lucretia (1946) is a taut and concise rendition of the Roman legend; the libretto
by Ronald Duncan is derived from the play by André Obey, Le Viol de Lucrèce.
Britten offers a simple and affecting composition, Six Metamorphoses after Ovid
(1951), for oboe solo {Pan, Phaethon, Niobe, Bacchus, Narcissus, and Arethusa). Britten's
last opera, Death in Venice (1973), based upon the celebrated novella by