And who better to sing than she for whom the role was created - the incomparable dramatic soprano Hildegard Behrens: inimitable portrayer of women of legend and myth - ever feminine yet strong, at times heroic, sometimes vulnerable, at other times tragic; a distinctly radiant voice of womanly power, capable of soaring to great heights and of plumbing the depths of despair; supreme artist of the stage - the "Duse of Opera."

Hildegard Behrens comes to Salzburg this summer following performances of some of her acclaimed signature roles: in April, as Marie in the Metropolitan Opera's production of Alban Berg's Wozzeck; in late May, as Isolde in Richard Wagner's Tristan und Isolde at Munich's Prinzregententheatre; and in June, as the obsessed Senta in Deutsche Oper Berlin's production of Wagner's Die fliegende Holländer. Earlier in the year she sang a series of concert performances which included: a spectacular Gala Concert at the Teatro Real where she sang works by Richard Wagner (Liebestod and Brünnhildes Schlussgesang) and by Richard Strauss (Elektras Monolog and Salomes Schlussszene); and a concert tour of Japan with Maestro Seiji Ozawa and the New Japan Philhamonic Orchestra in which she sang excerpts from Wagner's Götterdämmerung. Many of Ms. Behrens' performances have been recorded on compact disc by major labels and a number have either been taped on video or telecast in the US and Europe.

Ms. Behrens is of course not new to the halls of the Salzburg Festival. It was her riveting performance here as Richard Strauss' Salome in 1977, following her now famous "discovery" by the late Maestro Herbert von Karajan, that catapulted her to international stardom. There have been many other stellar performances since. Her most recent operatic appearance was a ravishing Elektra, also by Strauss, at the Grosses Festspielhaus (Large Festival Hall) in the 1996 Festival, with Lorin Maazel conducting the Vienna Philharmonic in one of their best moments, direction by the noted Japanese director Keita Asari, and costumes by the famed Haute Couture Japanese designer Hanae Mori. As in the past, the Festival will be a popular venue for Ms. Behrens’ performances well into the milennium. On August 14, following Cronaca, she will sing a recital of songs by Berg, Brahms, Strauss and Wagner accompanied by the pianist Ken Noda, to be held at the Large Festival Hall. And already in her calendar of future performances are: a Gala Concert in the year 2000 and her role debut as Kostelnicka in Leos Janacek's Jenufa in 2001.

Over the years Hildegard Behrens has been the recipient of many high honors, of which Germany's Bundesverdienstkreuz and Bayerische Kammersängerin, Austria's Österreichische Kammersängerin, and most recently, Denmark's Léonie Sonning Musikpris awards stand out. Cronaca del luogo marks another milestone in her brilliant career. After all, when was the last time an opera was created for a particular voice? It is interesting how she will approach this, her first operatic role by a composer of the avant-garde, but it can be said for certain that R is as exciting for her as it surely will be for the audience on opening night. And if her legendary performances of both the distant and recent past are prologue, she will bring to the role a fresh vitality born of a musical and dramatic acuity that is uniquely hers. Indeed, it is through the voice of Hildegard Behrens resounding, that R will "ignite the memory" and bring to life Luciano Berio's azione musicale.