Elektra

For this project I reinterpreted the opera by Richard Strauss, "Elektra", as a horror movie, also considering the backstories of each character and their history in the Greek mythology. Some great inspiration came from horror movies themselves, such as Suspiria by Dario Argento and The Cell by Tarsem Singh. In my interpretation of the opera the 'monsters' of the story would be Elektra and Orestes as the ones who really crave death, whilst Apollo would be more demon looking as he would possess and manipulate Orestes to commit matricide. The set would be a mix of various styles reflecting the eclectic and timeless atmosphere I was thinking about; a lot of inspiration came from modernism, surrealism, and the gothic movement but also from more specific buildings such as the Inverted Tower of Sintra. For the characters I was mainly inspired by the contrast between normal vs abnormal and by the fact that they all have a degree of monstrosity that does not make any of them totally compelling for audiences.