Ariadne Auf Naxos
Royal Opera House
- Booking until: Thursday, 15 October 2015
- Running time: 2 hours 50 minutes
Ariadne Auf Naxos description
Ariadne Auf Naxos playfully combines two very different art forms: tragic opera and romantic farce. The result is a richly textured work that examines the role of art in society, and contrasts true love with cheerful promiscuity. Richard Strauss and his librettist Hugo von Hofmannsthal originally conceived the opera as part of a large-scale arrangement of Molière’s play Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme. Though the initial run of performances in 1912 was well received, Strauss and Hofmannsthal decided to rework the piece – the Molière material was abandoned in favour of a new operatic Prologue. This second, fully operatic version had its premiere in 1916 and is now a part of the established repertory.
Playing at Royal Opera House
Important information
Sung in German with English surtitles.
Includes one interval.