Die ägyptische Helena

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Die ägyptische Helena (The Egyptian Helen) is an opera in two acts by Richard Strauss to a German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. It premiered at the Dresden Semperoper on June 6, 1928. Strauss had written the title role with Maria Jeritza in mind but, creating quite a sensation at the time, the Dresden opera management refused to pay Jeritza's large fee and cast Elisabeth Rethberg instead as Helen of Troy. Jeritza eventually created the part in Vienna and New York.

[edit] Roles

		Premiere, June 6, 1928 (Fritz Busch)
Helena, wife of Menelaus	soprano	Elisabeth Rethberg
Menelaus	tenor	Curt Taucher
Hermione, their child	soprano
Aithra, the daughter of an Egyptian King: a sorceress	soprano	Maria Rajdl
Altair	baritone	Friedrich Plaschke
Da-Ud, his son	tenor
Servants of Aithra	soprano, mezzo-soprano
Three elves	two sopranos, contralto
The omniscient sea-shell	contralto	Helene Jung