Elektra

Chrysothemis interrupts Elektra’s thoughts with a warning. Clytemnestra and Aegisthus plan to imprison her in a tower. She begs Elektra to abandon her thirst for revenge, but Elektra refuses.

Clytemnestra arrives with her entourage. Haunted by nightmares, she seeks to appease the gods. Desperate for relief, she asks Elektra what sacrifice might bring her peace. Elektra’s answer is unwavering. Only one sacrifice will suffice. When the queen eagerly asks what it is, Elektra declares that Clytemnestra herself must die. She vividly describes the queen’s impending death at Orestes’ hands. Suddenly, two strangers arrive, requesting an audience with Clytemnestra. Without a word to Elektra, she departs.

Chrysothemis returns with dreadful news. Orestes is dead. Desperate, Elektra realises that the sisters must now avenge their father’s murder themselves. But Chrysothemis recoils in fear and refuses. She leaves, and Elektra is left to act alone.

One of the strangers has lingered in the palace for some time. He claims to be a friend of Orestes, bringing word of his death. Elektra presses him with questions. As she reveals her name, the visitor is taken aback. She does not recognise him until the servants suddenly fall to their knees. The stranger is Orestes, who had feigned his own death to infiltrate the palace.

Elektra is torn between joy and sorrow. She embraces her long-lost brother, but the sadness of her chosen isolation remains. Orestes’ old guardian interrupts their reunion. The moment of revenge has arrived. Orestes must do what he came to do.

Orestes enters the palace. Elektra listens and hears Clytemnestra’s scream. “Strike again!” she calls, and the queen draws her final breath.

Panic erupts. The servants, hearing the screams, scatter in terror. Aegisthus returns from war, unaware of what has taken place. Elektra greets him with eerie cheer. Night has fallen, and she offers to light his way. Moments later, Aegisthus’ cries echo through the darkness. He too meets his fate.

Chrysothemis rushes to Elektra with news of Orestes’ return and the deaths of Clytemnestra and Aegisthus. Elektra teeters on the brink of ecstasy and madness. She declares that their liberation must be honoured with silence and dance. In a frenzy of emotion, she dances wildly until she collapses. Vengeance was never hers to claim.

Orestes slips away from the palace, alone and in silence.