a ripsnorting performance

July 15, 2006 performance reviewed by Dave Conlin Read.

Even though the Shed wasn't the most comfortable room in the Berkshires Saturday night (thanks to high heat and humidity), still it was the best place for a music fan to be, because that's where Maestro James Levine conducted the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra in a ripsnorting performance Richard Strauss' Elektra.

It was a concert performance with supertitles and featured leading vocalists, soprano Lisa Gasteen (Elektra), soprano Christine Brewer (Chrysothemis), mezzo-soprano Felicity Palmer (Klytemnestra), bass-baritone Alan Held (Orest), and tenor Siegfried Jerusalem (Aegisth). The Tanglewood Festival Chorus, John Oliver, conductor, also performed in what was this year's Leonard Bernstein Memorial Concert.

The performance comprised one transcendant moment after another. Especially memorable was a passage where the orchestra builds toward a crescendo around Klytemnestra as her aria draws to a close; when she reaches her last line and the orchestra has all met on a high madding note, Klytemnestra's voice blasts forth, coming to feel like the only sound on earth, having consumed all others.

This is Elektra's story, and Lisa Gasteen was wonderful, the audience loved her, and in the audience was her cousin who travelled from England for this performance. (more about)

Felicity Palmer gave an unforgettable performance; her Klytemnestra was scary, never still for a moment, wracked with guilt and fear, her slight body rocking feverishly side to side.

Maestro Levine was a brilliant model of economy, (and casual, too, sporting what resembled an old golf shirt from his college days). Has any conductor ever gotten so much music from so few gestures? Imagine a painter slowly drawing his brush across a bare canvas and leaving behind a panoply of color and form.

Throughout the nearly two hour performance, he was perched on the right side of his chair but for the last 8 seconds, when he stood and with a great reach of his arms collected all the musicians for a blistering finale, then sat again, as the audience rose with a great roar of applause.

"...one of the most memorable evenings of our lives"

We received the following e-mail last January from Colleen Gasteen-Fry:

"I noticed a relative of mine is performing in the concert performance of Strauss' opera Elektra this year and I would like to attend this concert in July. Please could you tell me how I could go about aquiring tickets. I am living in England. Also could you please tell me where exactly Tanglewood is and how far from the airport this would be. Thank you in advance for your advice over this matter."

After a post-concert note of thanks from Colleen, we asked her to write something to accompany this review, and she sent the following:

The Berkshires and the Leonard Bernstein Memorial Concert was a must for us this year. Lisa Gasteen is a distant relative of mine and would be making her Tanglewood debut in the role of 'Elektra.' This would be our very first visit to Tanglewood and this part of the world. Both my husband and I hoped we might have the opportunity of meeting Ms. Gasteen after the concert.

My various enquiries put me in touch with Dave Read of NewBerkshire.com who was very helpful and genuinely interested in my efforts for a successful evening. Friendly too! I went ahead and booked our lawn tickets and accommodation for our stay at The Berkshires.

Six months later the evening of the Concert arrived and I have to tell you that the evening was to turn out to be one of the most memorable evenings of our lives. We settled down on the lawn with what seemed everything but the kitchen sink, along with all the thousands of others doing the same. We were accompanied by relatives from New York who we met for the first time that evening. Great deal of catching up to do! The very moment the concert began all talking ceased and you could have heard a pin drop. During the concert there were times when emotions ran high and the singing and music just got to me and sent shivers down my spine – electrifying!

Having never been to a concert such as this we found the whole experience to be awesome. The setting of Tanglewood amongst The Berkshires beautiful scenery is truly magnificent.

At the end of the concert we made our way to the side of the shed as advised and as luck would have it, we did meet Lisa who has a great personality. She greeted us very warmly and is so friendly and natural. She introduced us to her husband who is likewise. We were invited along to Seranak to finish off the evening.

Our long-awaited and hoped-for meeting was a joy and a privilege for us. A truly unbelievable evening, and an unforgettable experience. Without a doubt we've taken The Berkshires and Tanglewood very much to our hearts and, of course, Lisa and 'Elektra!'

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