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the drama.
he ultimate goal of ancient Greek theater was to create
Tcatharsis: a sense of purging and purifying of the emotions
that was accomplished by raising consciousness to pity, fear,
and terror. As such, the catharsis served to stimulate spiritual
renewal; by sensing the full import of the tragedy, tensions
were released and the audience left not feeling depressed, but
exalted.
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Elektra s dance of transcendence in the final scene
represented her triumph over Klytämnestra and her paramour.
In a broader sense, Elektra s death after the dance symbolizes
the restoration of order and the hope for reconciliation; with
the deaths of Elektra, Klytämnestra, and Aegisth, social
harmony and life s values are restored; Chrysothemis, who
represents love, can seek her desires and aspirations in harmony
with the universe.
Hugo von Hofmannsthal devoted the better part of his
career as Richard Strauss s librettist; as such, he sought to
fulfill his artistic dream to reach into the human soul through
the expressive totality inherent in the theatrical art form.
Hofmannsthal s six literary masterpieces for Strauss s music
achieved his ideal: he believed that words alone had become
exhausted, but he indeed wrote words that Strauss enhanced
through the emotive power of his music.
Freud said, Where psychology leaves off, aesthetics
and art begin. Wagner, anticipating Freud, said, Art brings
the unconscious to consciousness. In Elektra, Hofmannsthal s
words, and Strauss s music, succeed in reaching deep into the
human soul and deep into human mysteries; their artistic goal
was to elevate humanity to consciousness and awareness.
The Strauss-Hofmannsthal Elektra is a unique operatic
experience: after all of its shock, horror, terror, and its assault
on the senses, one indeed leaves the theater exhilarated. Words
provoke thought, but music provokes feeling; Elektra is a
classic music drama whose catharsis reaches into the soul. "
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