Oberes Belvedere

Die Frau ohne Schatten

Wiener Staatsoper
© WienTourismus / Christian Stemper
Wiener Staatsoper

Reintroduction

Conductor: Christian Thielemann
Direction: Vincent Huguet

Not all that many important masterpieces have had their world première at the opera house on the Ring. Richard Strauss and Hugo von Hofmannsthal’s Die Frau ohne Schatten, is one of the few exceptions in this regard. On 10 October 1919 the opera that Strauss regarded as his "last romantic opera" first saw the light of day at the Wiener Staatsoper; since then, it has been a fixture on international schedules.

While they were still working on the piece, the composer said enthusiastically of the libretto: "Unbelievably noble, superb, mature and interesting, with magnificent dramatic, moral problems, marvellous scenic events." In terms of the music and musical drama, Strauss took up some of Wagner’s ideas and expanded them with his own. Mozart’s The Magic Flute was the inspiration for the fairy-tale ambience and the tests which the heroes must undergo.

Current Dates

  • Sat. 14 Oct 2023, 6 p.m.
  • Tue. 17 Oct 2023, 6 p.m.
  • Sat. 21 Oct 2023, 6 p.m.
  • Tue. 24 Oct 2023, 6 p.m.