A guide to the operas of Richard Strauss on DVD. (DVDs).

Richard Strauss (1864-1949), a prolific composer for the stage, composed 15 operas during his lifetime. Today, nearly half of these are regarded as standard repertoire, including Salome, Elektra, Der Rosenkavalier, Ariadne auf Naxos, Die Frau ohne Schatten, Arabella and Capriccio, and all but one (Capriccio) are available on DVD.

The Met's production of Arabella, Strauss's tip of the hat to Viennese operetta, is one of the company's most handsome and opulent, with detailed direction by Otto Schenk, authentic-looking sets designed by Gunther Schneider-Siemssen and the sumptuous period costumes of Milena Canonero.

The raison d'etre for the Deutsche Grammophon video was clearly a desire to document Kid Te Kanawa in one of her most beguiling and compatible roles. With her patrician beauty and bearing, and the creamy effulgence of her voice, she is an ideal interpreter of the cool and poised Arabella. The other principals do not quite reach her level, but the supporting cast is first rate, with the young French operatic sensation, Natalie Dessay, negotiating the hurdles of the Fiakermilli's mindless coloratura with ease.

If you are a Strauss fan, the recently released Deutsche Grammophon DVD of Ariadne auf Naxos is not to be missed. The late American mezzo, Tatiana Troyanos, is outstanding in the title role, singing with passion and unfaltering voice. Soprano Kathleen Battle sings Zerbinetta with an incomparable sweetness of tone, and James Levine's conducting is both loving and insightful. But what is truly extraordinary is the full, sumptuous singing of soprano Jessye Norman. Yes, she does have the occasional problem with pitch, but it hardly matters. To listen and watch her sing Ariadne's great aria, "Es gibt ein Riech," is spine-tingling.

The two videos of Elektra are of equal interest but for different reasons. The Pioneer release stars legendary Swedish soprano Birgit Nilsson. Taped in February 1980, these performances marked the 61-year-old diva's return to the U.S. and to the Met. Unfortunately, though, this DVD will remain primarily of interest to hardcore fans and opera historians. Nilsson's voice was a pale reflection of its former self.

Rysanek, who sang Chrysothemis for 36 years, turns in her usual thrilling and dramatic performance, but she, too, was beginning to sound and look somewhat matronly. American mezzo Mignon Dunn (a fine artist who, to my mind, was taken for granted at the Met), undertakes the crucial role of Klytemnestra with aplomb. However, the overall sound on the DVD is variable at best, with the voices sounding hollow and distant. The best part is the curtain calls, which are shameless and enormous fun to watch.

The other Elektra DVD (from Image Entertainment), on the other hand, is one of musical and theatrical interest The avant-garde production (directed by Harry Kupfer with designs by Hans Schavernoch) is unrelenting in its gloomy oppressiveness and emotional intensity. The stage, dominated by an enormous toppled statue of the murdered Agamemnon, looks like an abattoir, with servants piling stacks of raw meat into carts. The singers are also weighed down by heavy, padded surcoats and daubed with rather extreme make-up. In short, a disturbing, visceral production with considerable dramatic punch.

The superb cast is led by the indefatigable Hungarian dramatic soprano Eva Marton, triumphant as the obsessed Elektra. Brigitte Fassbaender is both terrifying and piteous as Klytemnestra, while Cheryl Studer is an affecting, vulnerable Chrysothemis. Conductor Claudio Abbado and the Vienna Philharmonic turn in a powerful, harrowing performance of elemental force.

Filmed during performance at the 1992 Salzburg Summer Festival, a new Decca DVD of Gotz Friedrich's impressive, uncut production of Die Frau ohne Schatten offers untold riches for eye, ear and mind. Instead of focusing upon the fantastic or fairy-tale elements of the libretto, the designer aimed for a Zen-like sparseness and simplicity that underscore the universality of the work.

Cheryl Studer sings the demanding role of the Kaiserin with steadiness of tone, beauty of sound and classic poise. Eva Marton takes on the all-important role of the Dyer's Wife. She sings with incredible force and dramatic intent, but it can sound somewhat relentless after a while. Distinguished Wagnerian bass-baritone Robert Hale makes a warm and appealing Barak; tenor Thomas Moser, although a shade stiff dramatically, conquers the demanding music of the Emperor with considerable success. The star of the production, however, remains Marjana Lipovsek's full-blooded account of the complex character of the Nurse.

Although Sir Georg Solti was nearing his 80th birthday when he led these Die Frau performances in Salzburg, there is no sign of age. And what fun to see a young Bryn Terfel at the beginning of his career, singing the small role of the Spirit Messenger.

As Strauss is best known for his echt-Viennese opera, Der Rosenkavalier, it is perhaps not surprising there are currently three videos of the opera available, Of them, I would heartily recommend the Deutsche Grammophon DVD conducted by Carlos Kleiber. Although the elusive Carlos, the son of the great Erich Kleiber, is known for his eccentric behavior and a tendency to cancel, his relatively few public performances have taken on legendary status. And in this passionate performance, taped at the Vienna State Opera in 1994, one can clearly see why. He displays a remarkable fluidity of line, flexibility of meter and feeling for the contours of Strauss's long lines-all topped with an uncanny ability to shape, pace and build to staggering climaxes.

This video is the second of two Kleiber has made of the opera, both of which outclass the competition. I prefer the casting of the earlier version (not yet available on DVD), but you cannot go wrong with the video/ DVD starring Felicity Lott (Marschallin), Anne Sofie von Otter (Octavian) and Barbara Bonney (Sophie).

The von Karajan 1984 production on Sony is relatively well cast, but it pales in comparison to the Kleiber version. Tempi are much more measured, although it, too, has the luscious Vienna Philharmonic in the pit. Recorded at the 1984 Salzburg Festival, the production stars Anna Tomova Sintow as a somewhat reserved Marschallin, Janet Perry as a bland Sophie and Agnes Baltsa as a forceful Octavian.

The third DVD, from Image Entertainment, is something of an oddity, as one does not usually think of Der Rosenkavalier and Palermo together. In fact Der Rosenkavalier is rarely performed in Italy. Taped in the newly renovated Teatro Massimo in 1998, this elegant Pier Luigi Pizzi production features a largely unknown cast. That said, the results are surprisingly good. Australian soprano Elizabeth Whitehouse is a more than creditable Marschallin. Hungarian mezzo Ildiko Komlosi, after a rather tremulous opening, sings the role of Octavian with fervor and passion, while the French soprano Desiree Rancatore (Sophie), who was only 21 at the time of the recording, is somewhat thin and nasal in the Mady Mesple tradition of French singing. Even the orchestra, conducted by John Neschling, is much better than I had anticipated.

Strauss's first major success in the theatre (after his early operas Guntram and Feuersnot) was Salome. The only version currently available on DVD is of a co-production from the Royal Opera, Covent Garden, starring that magnetic American singing actress, Maria Ewing. The indefatigable soprano, who was married to the director Sir Peter Hall at the time, throws herself into the role with total commitment. Her Salome is much less manic than most, and in fact, she is often seen sitting absolutely still or moving with slow determination. But watching her, one can virtually hear what is going through her mind at any given moment. While she sings Salome with a certain vocal unevenness, it does nothing to undermine her enormous dramatic contributions. This searing production has travelled world-wide since it made its debut in London.

RELATED ARTICLE: FEATURED STRAUSS OPERAS ON DVD

ARABELLA

Te Kanawa, Brendel, McLaughlin. Metropolitan Opera Orchestra & Chorus, Christian Thielemann, conductor. Live performance: Metropolitan Opera, New York, 1994. Deutsche Grammophon 073 005-9 (178 minutes)

ARIADNE AUF NAXOS

Norman, Battle, Troyanos. Metropolitan Opera Orchestra & Chorus, James Levine, conductor. Live performance: Metropolitan Opera, New York, 1988. Deutsche Grammophon 073 028-9 (154 minutes)

ELEKTRA

Marton, Fassbaender, Studer. Vienna State Opera Orchestra & Chorus, Claudio Abbado, conductor. Live opera: Vienna State Opera, Vienna, 1998. Image Entertainment ID9303RADVD (108 minutes)

ELEKTRA

Nilsson, Rysanek, Dunn. Metropolitan Opera Orchestra & Chorus, James Levine, conductor. Live erformance: Metropolitan Opera, New York, 1980. Pioneer PC 11420D (110 minutes)

DIE FRAU OHNE SCHATTEN

Studer, Marton, Hale, Moser. Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra & State Opera Chorus, Sir Georg Solti, conductor. Live performance: Salzburg Summer Festival, Salzburg, 1992. Decca 071 425-9 (203 minutes)

DER ROSENKAVALIER

Lott, von Otter, Bonney. Vienna State Opera Orchestra & Chorus, Carlos Kleiber, conductor. Live performance: Vienna State Opera, Vienna, 1994. Deutsche Grammophon 073-008-9 (193 minutes)

DER ROSENKAVALIER

Tomowa-Sintow, Baltsa, Perry. Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra & Chorus, Herbert von Karajan, conductor. Live performance: Salzburg Festival, Salzburg, 1984. Sony SVD 48313 (199 minutes)

DER ROSENKAVALIER

Whitehouse, Komlosi, Rancatore. Massimo Theatre (Palermo) Orchestra & Chorus, John Neschling, conductor. Live performance: Massimo Theatre, Palermo, 1998. Image Entertainment ID6924ERDVD (202 minutes)

SALOME

Ewing, Devlin, Riegel. Royal Opera, Covent Garden Orchestra, Edward Downes, conductor. Live performance: Covent Garden, London, 1992. Kultur D1494 (103 minutes)