Die Frau ohne Schatten
Director Claus Guth reveals the darker elements of Strauss’s exotic fairytale in a striking new production.
When to see it
Booking for 14 March 2014 - 2 April 2014 opens
- Booking opens 14 January 2014 at 10.00am for General Public.
- Booking opens 11 December 2013 at 10.00am for Friends of Covent Garden.
- Booking opens 22 November 2013 at 10.00am for Supporting Friends.
- Booking opens 20 November 2013 at 10.00am for Premium 1 Friends.
- Booking opens 19 November 2013 at 10.00am for Premium 2 Friends.
- Bychkov
- Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
- Botha
- Magee
- Schuster
- Reuter
- Pankratova
- White
- Francis
- Holland
- Hovhannisyan
- Bijelic
- Carby
- de Souza
- Kim
- Royal Opera Chorus
- Bychkov
- Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
- Botha
- Magee
- Schuster
- Reuter
- Pankratova
- White
- Francis
- Holland
- Hovhannisyan
- Bijelic
- Carby
- de Souza
- Kim
- Royal Opera Chorus
- Bychkov
- Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
- Botha
- Magee
- Schuster
- Reuter
- Pankratova
- White
- Francis
- Holland
- Hovhannisyan
- Bijelic
- Carby
- de Souza
- Kim
- Royal Opera Chorus
- Bychkov
- Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
- Botha
- Magee
- Schuster
- Reuter
- Pankratova
- White
- Francis
- Holland
- Hovhannisyan
- Bijelic
- Carby
- de Souza
- Kim
- Royal Opera Chorus
- Bychkov
- Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
- Botha
- Magee
- Schuster
- Reuter
- Pankratova
- White
- Francis
- Holland
- Hovhannisyan
- Bijelic
- Carby
- de Souza
- Kim
- Royal Opera Chorus
- Bychkov
- Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
- Botha
- Magee
- Schuster
- Reuter
- Pankratova
- White
- Francis
- Holland
- Hovhannisyan
- Bijelic
- Carby
- de Souza
- Kim
- Royal Opera Chorus
- Bychkov
- Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
- Botha
- Magee
- Schuster
- Reuter
- Pankratova
- White
- Francis
- Holland
- Hovhannisyan
- Bijelic
- Carby
- de Souza
- Kim
- Royal Opera Chorus
Introduction
The Empress is half-mortal and does not cast a shadow. If she does not acquire a shadow in three days, she will be returned to the spirit world and the Emperor turned to stone. To what lengths will she go to avoid such a fate?
News and features
Spring Season 2013/14
Helpful links and information on booking for forthcoming performances.
Background
Die Frau ohne Schatten (The Woman without a Shadow) was conceived by Richard Strauss and librettist Hugo von Hofmannsthal with the model of Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte in mind: a fairytale with a strong moral dimension. Although the narrative was largely Hofmannsthal’s invention, he drew on a diverse range of sources, from The Arabian Nights to Grimm’s fairytales. The opera was completed during World War I and received its premiere in 1919.
Die Frau ohne Schatten is one of Strauss’s mightiest and most demanding scores. It draws on the resources of a huge orchestra that includes extensive percussion, an organ, thunder and wind machines, as well as a glass harmonica. Musical highlights include a tender, yearning duet for the dyer Barak and his wife, an impassioned solo scene for the Empress as she struggles to maintain her integrity rather than steal a mortal woman’s shadow, and the opera’s ecstatic finale. Claus Guth’s striking production emphasizes the dark undercurrents of Strauss’s opera and powerfully evokes the Empress’s plight as a woman trapped between two repressive worlds.
Thanks to
Generously supported by
The Friends of Covent Garden
A co-production with
La Scala, Milan
Running time
About 4 hours | Including two intervals
Language
Sung in German with English surtitles
Credits
| Director | Claus Guth |
| Designs | Christian Schmidt |
| Lighting design | Olaf Winter |
| Video design | Andi Müller |
Related links
- en.wikipedia.org Wikipedia: Die Frau ohne Schatten
