The best laid plans often go awry… Strauss’ soaring opera is divinely comical and deeply enchanting.
ARIADNE AUF NAXOS
Music by Richard Strauss
Libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal
A New Production
Combining slapstick comedy and beautiful music in a competition of “high” and “low” art, Ariadne auf Naxos is a cock-eyed tale about art, love, and infidelity. A wealthy patron commissions two pieces of entertainment for a party—an opera based on the Ariadne myth and a comedy by a song and dance troupe. Shortly before the performances are to begin, he orders that they be performed simultaneously in order for a fireworks display to begin on time. What follows is a class war in Strauss’ brilliant opera based on a Molière comedy.
“A tale of everyday farce and mythical fantasy.” The New York Times exclaims Ariadne auf Naxos is “plush and lyrical.”
Inside the Opera pre-show talk begins 1 hour before curtain at The Barns
Performance running time: 2.5 hours including one intermission
Sung in German with projected English translations