| Character | 1984 | 1989 | 1994 |
| Elektra | Ingrid Bjoner | Hildegard Behrens | Janis Martin |
| Chrysothemis | Sabine Hass | Sabine Hass | Sabine Hass |
| Klytämnestra | Astrid Varnay | Christa Ludwig | Leonie Rysanek |
| Orest | Hans Sotin | Hans Günter Nöcker | Ekkehard Wlaschiha |
| Aegisth | Fritz Uhl | Fritz Uhl | Kenneth Riegel |
| Die Aufseherin | Cornelia Wulkopf | Cornelia Wulkopf | Marita Knobel |
| Mägde | Gudrun Wewezow
Helena Jungwirth Christel Borchers Marianne Seibel Carmen Anhorn |
Gudrun Wewezow Anne Pellekoorne Birgit Calm Julia Faulkner Annegeer Stumphius |
Astrid Weber Isabel Jung Anne Pellekoorne Caroline Maria Petrig Annegeer Stumphius |
| Pfleger des Orest | Karl Christian Kohn | Karl Helm | Karl Helm |
| 1984 | 1989 | 1994 | Before the curtain rises: Upon his return home from Troy, Agamemnon, King of Argos and leader of the Greek forces in the Trojan war, was murdered by his wife Klytemnestra and Aegisthus, his enemy, whom Klytemnestra had taken as a lover. It is now many years since their father's murder and Elektra and her sister Chrysothemis, have led miserably unhappy lives., Their brother Orestes is living in exile where is being groomed to be his father's avenger. Elektra is haunted with the memory of the murder of her father and spends her time obsessed with the idea of revenge for his death. The drama takes place in the courtyard of the palace at Mycenae. The house servants speak scornfully of Elektra. |
| 05:50 | 06:37 | 06:05 | Elektra enters and enacts her daily ritual of calling up Agamemnon's spirit. She relives the murder and imagines the day when she will have vengeance and dance in triumph. |
| 14:40 | 16:27 | 15:08 | Chrysothemis enters and pleads for Elektra to calm down so as not to cause further irritation to Klytemnestra and Aegisthus. She expresses her desire to have a normal woman's life complete with a husband and children. |
| 25:29 | 28:19 | 26:00 | Klytemnestra approaches with her entourage, preparing for sacrificial slaughter of beasts to help rid her of her tortured dreams. She dismisses her companions and approaches Elektra, asking if she knows of a cure for her nightmares. Elektra paints a vivid picture of how Klytemnestra herself must die in order to be cured. Klytemnestra's confidante enters and whispers into her ear, after which she calls for her servants and joyfully makes her way back into the palace. |
| 48:52 | 54:30 | 52:02 | Chrysothemis rushes out of the palace crying "Orest ist tot" (Orestes is dead), explaining Klytemnestra's joyful departure. Elektra, struck by the news, realizes that if there is to be revenge for Agamemnon's death, she must do it herself. She tries, to no avail, to persuade Chrysothemis to help her, explaining she has kept and buried the axe used to murder their father. Chrysothemis hurries off, horrified. |
| 60:30 | 66:15 | 64:23 | Elektra digs for the axe and is approached by a stranger who is shocked to find that she is Klytemnestra's daughter. He then reveals that he is Orestes and he is here in disguise so that he can avenge his father |
| 80:48 | 87:00 | 86:29 | Orestes enters the palace and Klytemnestra's cries of death can be heard.
Aegisthus returns from his hunt and hurries into the palace where he, too is
killed by Orestes. Elektra is ecstatically happy and dances in triumph, at the
climax of which she falls lifeless to the floor. Chrysothemis pounds on the door
|