Baus / La Monnaie De Munt

Strauss

Much of the German composer Richard Strauss’s enduring famous is down to his symphonic poems and operas. Deeply influenced by the music of Richard Wagner, Strauss found his own distinctive style in Salome and Elektra, two bold and poignant operas that demand huge orchestration and voices to match. Elektra marked the beginning of the composer's fruitful collaboration with the Austrian librettist Hugo von Hofmannsthal, with whom he also wrote Der Rosenkavalier and Ariadne auf Naxos. Though less avant-garde than Salome and Elektra, these two operas are just as rich and give rise to some of the most captivating female characters in opera.

Craig Fuller

Performance

Garsington Opera

Ariadne auf Naxos

Strauss’s opera-within-an-opera mixing low comedy and high tragedy.

Feature

Strauss, Hofmannsthal and Ariadne

Ariadne holds a historical place in the legacy of the Strauss-Hofmannsthal collaboration. The composer and the librettist wanted to redeﬁne a Gesamtkunstwerk (total work of art) for the twentieth century.

Performance

Irish National Opera

Salome

Oscar Wilde’s play returns to Dublin as Strauss’s sultry, savage and sensuous opera.

Einar Film

Performance

Den Norske Opera & Ballett

LISE

‘Lise Davidsen. Not just a voice. The voice.’ The New York Times

Baus / La Monnaie De Munt

Extract

Der Rosenkavalier

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Mir ist die Ehre widerfahren

Mezzo-soprano Michèle Losier and soprano Ilse Eerens sing the Presentation of the Rose from Act II of Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier.

Garsington Opera

Behind the scenes

Garsington Opera

Bruno Ravella (Director) & Jordan de Souza (Conductor)

Exquisite music, poignant comedy and fairy tale romance: Der Rosenkavalier has it all. For its Garsington premiere, Bruno Ravella transposes what is perhaps Richard Strauss’s most famous opera to the glamorous 1950s. Jordan de Souza conducts the excellent Philharmonia Orchestra and a bravura cast.

Johan Persson

Extract

Der Rosenkavalier

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Hab’mir’s gelobt (Final trio)

Miah Persson (The Marschallin), Hanna Hipp (Octavian) and Madison Leonard (Sophie von Faninal) perform the final trio ‘Hab' mir's gelobt’ of the opera Der Rosenkavalier composed by Richard Strauss.

Extract

Der Rosenkavalier

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The Presentation of the Rose

In one of Strauss’s most iconic theatrical moments, here in Garsington Opera’s 2021 production of Der Rosenkavalier, Madison Leonard and Hanna Hipp sing ‘The Presentation of the Rose’ with Philharmonia Orchestra. From Act II, Octavian and Sophie declare their love for each other.

Elektra, Grand Théâtre de Genève

Extract

Elektra

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Was willst du?

Queen Clytemnestra is plagued by nightmares. Mezzo-soprano Tanja Ariane Baumgartner sings ‘Was willst du?’ (‘What do you want?’) from Richard Strauss' one-act opera Elektra.

Carole Parodi

Behind the scenes

Grand Théâtre de Genève

Introduction to Elektra

Dramaturg Stephan Müller and conductor Jonathan Nott introduce the production of Elektra at Grand Théâtre de Genève.

Extract

Elektra

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Ob ich nicht höre? (Final scene)

Sopranos Ingela Brimberg (Elektra) and Sara Jakubiak (Chrysothemis) interpret the final scene of the opera Elektra. Orestes enters the palace and kills his mother and Aegisthus. Chrysothemis calls Electra back to the palace for the celebration. Electra is exhilarated about herself and her deeds: in a wild voice, she calls for a dance and like a maenad, she dances herself blissfully to death.

Royal Swedish Opera

Extract

Ariadne auf Naxos

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Sein wir wieder gut

Johanna Rudström sings ‘Sein wir wieder gut’ from Strauss's opera Ariadne auf Naxos at Royal Swedish Opera.

Behind the scenes

Royal Swedish Opera

Introduction to Ariadne auf Naxos

Director Katharina Jakhelln Semb and Musical Director Alan Gilbert meet with dramaturg Katarina Aronsson at Royal Swedish Opera before the premiere of Richard Strauss' metaopera Ariadne auf Naxos.

Royal Swedish Opera

Extract

Ariadne auf Naxos

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Zerbinetta's aria (‘Großmächtige Prinzessin’)

Sofie Asplund sings Zerbinetta's aria ‘Großmächtige Prinzessin’ from Strauss's opera Ariadne auf Naxos at Royal Swedish Opera.