"Elektra" by Richard Strauss - Orchestral Version for Würzburg 2023
On January 25, 1909, the Straussian score was premiered in Dresden with a massive orchestral ensemble of more than 120 musicians.
In addition to this original version, Strauss had a second version created by Otto Singer for a reduced ensemble published, explicitly with "those theaters that do not have an orchestral ensemble of the size required by the composer" (Singer's note quoted by Strauss himself) in mind.
This abridged version renders the spirit and sound of the score while forgoing the basic colors of many Sonderinstrumente: there are no Wagnertuben, Basstrompete, Kontrabassposaune, Heckelphon and Bassetthörner. The solos and general attacks of these instruments are rendered using the color of other instruments in the traditional ensemble. Important Wagnerian tubas interventions, for example, are entrusted to the trombone group, and so similarly occurs throughout the score for all the missing instruments.
On this version, and with the orchestral parts of the Schott Mainz edition, my version for Würzburg 2023 is based. Starting with absolute respect for this edition, however, I considered it essential to reintroduce some of the fundamental interventions of these Sonderinstrumente. The Wagnerian tubas, a fundamental color for Klytämnestra's monologue but especially for the dramaturgical definition of Orest's character, are reintroduced at these points with the original text of the original version, as are the great solos of the contrabass trombone, bass trumpet and basset horn.
The particular spatial arrangement of the different groups of wind instruments designed by me for this production further emphasizes the dialectical links of the individual entrances of the characters with the corresponding instrumentation, also giving it scenic significance: an example would be the clarinets at Aegisth's entrance, or precisely the Wagnerian tubas for Orest.
Other important solos, such as the contrabassoon solo, however, are already present in the abridged version: in this case, I arranged to split the third bassoon/contrabassoon part (in the abridged version entrusted to a single musician) with two performers, thus being able to reintroduce additional contrabassoon interventions sacrificed in the abridged version.
In order to adjust the overall sound of the orchestra to the sonic result of this operation, and also in view of the concrete acoustics of the Theaterfabrik Blaue Halle (temporary home of the Mainfranken Theater during the theater's restoration work), I adjusted the string ensemble, halving from the original version the number of violas (from 18 to 9), cellos (from 12 to 6) and double basses (from 8 to 4), and slightly reducing the number of first, second and third violins (from a total of 24 to a total of 18). This also entailed reformulating the many solo interventions, managing to render almost completely the intentions of the original Straussian ensemble.
The orchestral staff of the Würzburg 2023 version includes 72 musicians.
Enrico Calesso
