Die ägyptische Helena
Strauss and Hofmannsthal's opera reimagines Helen of Troy's myth.
Richard Strauss's two-act opera Die ägyptische Helena, Op. 75, features a German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal and premiered at the Dresden Semperoper on 6 June 1928. Though Strauss wrote the title role for Maria Jeritza, Dresden management refused her fee, casting Elisabeth Rethberg as Helen of Troy instead.
Quick Facts
- Genre header
- Opera
- Composer
- Richard Strauss
- Librettist
- Hugo von Hofmannsthal
- Language
- German
- Based on
- Helen by Euripides
- Premiere date
- 6 June 1928
- Premiere location
- Semperoper, Dresden
Facts from the source article.
Synopsis
On her island palace, the sorceress Aithra awaits Poseidon's return. Aithra conjures a storm to shipwreck them. Helena has tried to save her marriage, but Menelas cannot forgive her betrayal with Paris and has kept their daughter Hermione from knowing her. On shore, Menelas again plans to stab Helena, but her moonlight beauty makes him hesitate. Aithra sends elves to torment him, making him believe Paris is present, and he rushes out. Aithra restores Helena's youthful beauty and gives her a lotus drink to banish anxiety. When Menelas returns raving about killing Helena and Paris, Aithra gives him the drink too. She tells him that nine years earlier, the gods substituted a wraith for Helena; the real Helena sleeps in her father's castle on the Atlas Mountains. Aithra transports Menelas there, where he can be reunited with the original Helena in a pavilion, using the lotus potion to keep disturbing memories away.
More in Operas Based on Classical Mythology
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced