Elektra.25 - Atalaya Teatro

The starting point is Sophocles' Electra but also Elektra from Hugo von Hofmannsthal's version of Strauss' opera in a production by the Atalaya Company.

The character of Orestes is introduced at the beginning, as in the classical texts, and also at the end, after executing his revenge, pursued by the Erinias, so that his crime is not left unscathed and even less glorified. This novelty generates greater tension in the audience, since the protagonists (Elektra, Chrysothemis and Klitemestra) are unaware of his presence. The production also introduces a new chorus, made up of the palace maidens, most of whom are suspicious of Elektra. The fast pace, in which the action incorporates music and movement, make this production an exciting piece in which the chorus takes on a special role.

Performers (in order of appearance):

Elektra: Silvia Garzón
Klitemestra: María Sanz
Crisótemis: Lidia Mauduit
Raúl Vera as Aegisthus
Javier Domínguez as Orestes
Garazi Aldasoro as Coreuta
Coreuta: Imasul Rodríguez
Coreuta: Ángela González
Chorus of Erinias, Chorus of Mycenae, Chorus of women, Chorus of maidens and other choruses...

The central theme of the play is the spiral of violence (death-revenge-death) that is perpetuated in the house of the Atridas. Agamemnon returns to Mycenae after the Trojan War with a concubine; before leaving he had sacrificed his daughter Iphigenia. Agamemnon is killed, it is not known whether by his wife Klitemestra or by Aegisthus, her lover. Elektra, daughter of Agamemnon and Klitemestra, seeks revenge with the help of her brother Orestes.

The myth of Electra belongs to the Trojan cycle and is present in the three great poets of classical Greek antiquity: Aeschylus (within Coephoras), Sophocles and Euripides. It has been the inspiration for great works, among others Shakespeare's Hamlet, which has a similar structure.