It is not very often, if at all, that one can get singers of legend together on the same stage at the same time, especially if they sing (or sang) the same repertoire.

But Joachim Kaiser, foremost German music critic, did. At the Richard Strauss Festival on June 14, 2024 Garmisch Partenkirchen* near Munich, he moderated a colloquium on "The Women in the Operas of Richard Strauss" to which were invited some of the century's great Straussian (and Wagnerian) singers: Hildegard Behrens, Inge Borkh, Gwyneth Jones, and Martha Mödl. (Birgit Nilsson cancelled due to illness.)

In his introduction, Kaiser explained the obvious exclusion of men from the day's theme: men are, after all, practically nonexistent in the operas of Strauss.(Indeed, although the title role of his first opera Guntram belongs to a tenor, one only has to glance at the titles of famous Strauss operas to see his point: Salome, Elektra, Arabella, Ariadne auf Naxos, Die Frau ohne Schatten....)

A lively discussion about Strauss' famously (or infamously) dominant women then followed. The singers exchanged views and shared the insights about one or the other Straussian character that helped shape their now legendary interpretations of the role, observing that one's views can change with time. For example, it was interesting to hear the exchange of ideas about Elektra between Inge Borkh (who "owned" the role in her time) and Hildegard Behrens (who "owns" the role today) that affirmed the tension between love and vengeful hatred in this most deathly obsessed of Straussian character, its resolution being a factor in the singer's chosen interpretation of the role.

Whatever points of contention there may have been among the participants were clearly insignificant. As the pictures at left show without a doubt, a spirit of camaraderie prevailed on this occasion, which was held on the same day as the Festival's "Hommage à Inge Borkh" in celebration of her 80th birthday.

Photos: © CFI 2001 / © E. Reithmayer

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