Ariadne auf Naxos by Richard Strauss
conductor Marc Albrecht — stage director Katie Mitchell
Ariadne auf Naxos
Richard Strauss (1864 — 1949)
Opera in one act with a prologue
Libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal
First performed on 4 October 1916 at the Hofoper, Vienna
Additional dialogues by Martin Crimp, translated by Ulrike Syha
Behind the scenes, the richest man in Vienna has commissioned an opera seria from a young composer, as well as inviting a troupe of commedia dell’arte actors… but as the performance must end at 9 pm precisely to be followed by a fireworks, he orders all the artists to perform... simultaneously! Stage-side, the frivolous Zerbinetta tries to convince the tragic Ariadne that the men involved are interchangeable – because they are all the same! Between fidelity and metamorphosis, Richard Strauss and Hugo von Hofmannsthal’s third collaboration is more than a tribute to Molière or Mozart; it is a chamber opera as impertinent as it is irresistible, one that has emerged through the decades unscathed. Their Ariadne auf Naxos returns to the Théâtre de l’Archevêché for a new production by resident director Katie Mitchell, conducted by Marc Albrecht.