# Parsifal or Elektra



## Rady (Oct 5, 2020)

Hello,

Since I am new here and new in the classic opera world please excuse me in advance.
I'm making a surprise gift to my special one and in our National Opera they are staging Parsifal and Elektra in November.

He is quite a fan of classical opera so I do not want to make a fool of myself and I was hoping to hear opinions.

Excuse me again and thanks in advance!

Best Regards,


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Rady said:


> Hello,
> 
> Since I am new here and new in the classic opera world please excuse me in advance.
> I'm making a surprise gift to my special one and in our National Opera they are staging Parsifal and Elektra in November.
> ...


May I suggest that you ask the mods to put this in the opera forum, you look around there, lots of this questions


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

Rady said:


> Hello,
> 
> Since I am new here and new in the classic opera world please excuse me in advance.
> I'm making a surprise gift to my special one and in our National Opera they are staging Parsifal and Elektra in November.
> ...


Hard choice. Both operas make big demands of the listener. For my part I would be happy if my other half bought tickets to either one. Good luck.


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## Granate (Jun 25, 2016)

Ouch. None of them are beginner operas. But I wouldn't take by any chance my partner to an _Elektra_ performance. Did you read the plot? Which are your intellectual backgrounds?


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## Mandryka (Feb 22, 2013)

Rady said:


> Hello,
> 
> Since I am new here and new in the classic opera world please excuse me in advance.
> I'm making a surprise gift to my special one and in our National Opera they are staging Parsifal and Elektra in November.
> ...


A lot of Parsifal is like an oratorio, there's not much drama, it's just a bunch of old people telling stories, and stuff like that.

Electra is very dramatic and also quite short.

Parsifal is a man's opera, I mean the characters are nearly all male.

Elektra is the opposite, most of the characters are women.

Parsifal is totally incomprehensible, it's jam packed with spiritual sexual hocus pocus. You will need to book a session of psychoanalysis after the opera.

Elektra is a good clear simple story, you will just need to go for dinner after the opera.

Parsifal doesn't have many arias, it's mostly long recitative type music.

Elektra doesn't exactly have hummable tunes, nevertheless there are some very memorable numbers.

I think that Parsifal is the greater work, a major summit of western art. Elektra is just a gory little shocker.


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## EdwardBast (Nov 25, 2013)

You could rifle through his CD collection or otherwise find out if he's a Wagner fanatic. If not, pick Elektra.


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## Zhdanov (Feb 16, 2016)

Parsifal runs thrice as long as Elektra, so it makes for a better night at the opera. Elektra - too short.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

This should be a poll.

Edit: having now looked at the synopsis of Elektra, I am 100% for Parsifal.


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## Pure Fool (Jul 30, 2018)

Parsifal. But then, I would say that, wouldn't I? 
Anyway, remember what Nietzsche said about the music of Parsifal: "Has Wagner written anything better?"
Elektra is great, too, although very stark, reflecting the Greek origins of the play.


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## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

Elektra hands down. Even among the most rapid Wagnerphiles, Parsifal is a tough nut. Elektra is thrilling.


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## annaw (May 4, 2019)

Ah, tough. I'm not sure if _Parsifal_ is the best Wagner opera to start with but then _Elektra_ is in my opinion an absolutely crazy and grotesque opera (that's part of its appeal).

Even after having become an ardent Wagnerite, I personally found _Elektra_ a difficult opera to approach. I think that to some extent it can come down to whether you prefer male or female voices. I consider _Parsifal_ to be the greatest musical and philosophical achievement of Wagner and possibly all opera. It's a very dreamy but dramatically intense work.

_Parsifal_ is philosophically very complex, though. It's also rather long but then that's part of Wagner's magic.


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## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

Well, if you buy the tickets for _Elektra_ and find for some reason you can't make the performance ... I'll take 'em off your hands and put 'em to good use.


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## VitellioScarpia (Aug 27, 2017)

I took a date to Elektra as her first opera with a lot of trepidation on my part but for whatever the reasons I had no choice. She absolutely loved it both musically and as theatre. So, my vote is to take your date to Elektra or Salome. Wagner may be too wordy and static of an opera. Be careful though, make sure that you consider that you may end up together for a long time!


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## EdwardBast (Nov 25, 2013)

SixFootScowl said:


> This should be a poll.
> 
> Edit: having now looked at the synopsis of Elektra, I am 100% for Parsifal.


You must not like Greek Classical drama much. It's actually pretty close to Sophocles' version. All of Strauss's skills at text painting, developed through composing the symphonic poems, are put to vivid effect in Elektra, but what was superficial, external description in the orchestral music becomes deadly and terrifying psychological portraiture in the the opera. For example, the way leitmotifs associated with the murder of Agamemnon, the act that torments his wife Clytemnestra with guilt, suffuse her blood soaked nightmares is ingenious, as are the details of the musical imagery: spattering blood, a rolling tide of blood, the neighing of horses and the baying of dogs as they're slain, Cytemnestra's breathless terror as she's pursued by violent death. And there are some good tunes too. What's not to like?


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## Simplicissimus (Feb 3, 2020)

I like Strauss's operas, but even for me _Elektra_ is like an extended bout of screaming, and the story is weird and disturbing. Not good for a date night, IMO. Parsifal is more accessible and uplifting.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

EdwardBast said:


> You must not like Greek Classical drama much. It's actually pretty close to Sophocles' version. All of Strauss's skills at text painting, developed through composing the symphonic poems, are put to vivid effect in Elektra, but what was superficial, external description in the orchestral music becomes deadly and terrifying psychological portraiture in the the opera. For example, the way leitmotifs associated with the murder of Agamemnon, the act that torments his wife Clytemnestra with guilt, suffuse her blood soaked nightmares is ingenious, as are the details of the musical imagery: spattering blood, a rolling tide of blood, the neighing of horses and the baying of dogs as they're slain, Cytemnestra's breathless terror as she's pursued by violent death. And there are some good tunes too. What's not to like?


Yeah, most of that Greek tragedy stuff does not much appeal to me.


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## adriesba (Dec 30, 2019)

Wow, what a choice! If your friend has never heard an opera, I would not recommend either as a first opera, though both are amazing. I would recommend _Carmen _or a Puccini opera for a first time opera listener (again, I'm assuming this person is not familiar with opera), but given these two choices, I'd lean towards _Elektra _since it is shorter and has the potential to propel someone into the action before they can figure whether they like it or not.


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## adriesba (Dec 30, 2019)

SixFootScowl said:


> having now looked at the synopsis of Elektra, I am 100% for Parsifal.


This is similar to how I felt before I heard _Elektra_; it is the sort of opera that can give you nightmares. But after hearing just a tiny bit of the music, I was hooked! It is now one of my favorites!


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## sstucky (Apr 4, 2020)

Elektra by a mile. It is one of the most viscerally exciting works I know.


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## Ulfilas (Mar 5, 2020)

I love Parsifal, but even as a convinced Wagnerian (I think it's the greatest opera ever written possibly), it's not easy to come to grips with, especially for a neophyte. And you really need great singers and conducting for it to work.

Elektra is probably safer? At least it's short, and the impact is undeniable!


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## Reichstag aus LICHT (Oct 25, 2010)

Ulfilas said:


> I love Parsifal, but even as a convinced Wagnerian (I think it's the greatest opera ever written possibly), it's not easy to come to grips with, especially for a neophyte. And you really need great singers and conducting for it to work.
> 
> Elektra is probably safer? At least it's short, and the impact is undeniable!


Agreed. I'm a long-term Wagnerian who loves Parsifal beyond measure, but Elektra would be a better choice for a novice. It's not an easy watch by any means, but it's a shattering theatrical experience.


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