Die Ägyptische Helena

Deborah Voigt brings sumptuous vocalism and dramatic presence to the title role of Strauss and Hofmannsthal’s re-imagination of the Helen myth. Set in the aftermath of the Trojan War, the story is based on the premise that the Helen who came to Troy was a phantom, while the real, faithful one was spirited away. After the war, she is reunited with her husband, Menelas, sung by Torsten Kerl. Diana Damrau is Aithra, the sorceress who helps Helen regain Menelas’s love, and Wolfgang Brendel sings Altair, a desert chieftain who falls in love with Helen. Fabio Luisi conducts the ravishing score.