For many, the German soprano Evelyn Herlitzius is today’s finest Elektra. And the record companies seem to agree: these two releases represent her first appearance in the role on DVD/Blu-ray but her second on CD (the first, a live recording from Amsterdam under Marc Albrecht, was issued on Challenge Classics in 2012).

Those who have not experienced Herlitzius in full flight in the theatre might be best to start off with Bel Air Classiques’ film from Aix-en-Provence. That’s because, in purely vocal terms, divorced from the remarkable physical intensity of her performance onstage, Herlitzius’s voice can take a little getting used to. It’s a slightly curdled sound, which can develop a beat. But the technique, though unusual, is solid, with Strauss’s longer lines filled out in a manner that might be best compared to long bowings on a string instrument. She hardly tires, either, and manages the Recognition scene disarmingly, indeed with beautiful lyrical generosity on both releases. She performs the role with a dramatic commitment that few singers – in any role – can match.

It is Herlitzius’s performance and the finely detailed, well-balanced conducting of Esa-Pekka Salonen (allied to brilliantly clear and exciting playing from the Orchestre de Paris) that are the main selling points of the DVD release. Patrice Chérau’s production (the final one before his death in the autumn) is a touch disappointing. It’s a very grey affair (in a very big, very grey set designed by Richard Peduzzi), which makes excessive and distracting use of the minor characters and extras. Many of the key confrontations become diffident and evasive. And it’s fussily filmed.

One of Chéreau’s innovations is to have Klytemnestra played relatively straight, rather than as the neurosis-addled monster she can be, and Waltraud Meier captures this more subtle character very well, even if the voice is short on mezzo warmth. Adrianne Pieczonka is a terrific Chrysothemis, tearing into the role with luscious tone that thins only occasionally; Mikhail Petrenko is a relatively light-voiced Orest but acts with plenty of brooding menace. The supporting cast is excellent.

DG’s new set is also based on a stage production, at Dresden’s Semperoper at the beginning of this year. This recording, though, was made at a concert performance in Berlin’s Philharmonie. Christian Thielemann brings a little more weight to the score than Salonen but, helped by a Staatskapelle Dresden on supremely responsive – not to mention virtuoso – form, he also conducts with flexibility and clarity. There are no major surprises but, paradoxically, his reading never feels predictable either. By the same token, the playing retains its patrician control throughout while never feeling staid or stuffy – and certainly lacks nothing for bite. This is Strauss-playing of the highest quality.

Against this background, Herlitzius’s vocal performance maybe sounds a little rougher than it might otherwise (it arguably finds a better match in Albrecht’s ultra-vivid conducting in Amsterdam), but remains dramatically compelling. The glassy-voiced Anne Schwanewilms certainly provides contrast as her sister but her soprano is occasionally stretched beyond its limits. The Meier-Herlitzius confrontation is every bit as involving here, too, but René Pape is a more luxurious-voiced Orest than Petrenko. The rest of the cast is first-class.

A few things to note: both performances have the usual theatrical cuts, and Bel Air has opted for a dreadful old singing translation for its English subtitles. Still, with the galvanising dramatic power of Herlitzius at the heart of both releases – and much else besides – I wouldn’t want to be without either.