The MusicWeb Message Board: Re: Richard Strauss' later operas

Sorry, Lee; while I thank you sincerely for your kind words, I do not accept for one moment the idea that "Strauss's muse seemed to have abandoned him after 'Die Frau ohne Schatten' in 1919" when I consider the merits of "Arabella", "Die schweigsame Frau" and "Capriccio". Yes; there is an argument for maintaining that there is a perceptible dip in quality overall but their best moments are as great as anything he ever wrote and even his most popular opera, "Der Rosenkavalier", has its longueurs. It seems to me that Strauss was simply experimenting with a subtler development of the genre rather than repeat himself and they require a little more flexibility, receptivity and effort on the part of the listener. Certainly those last two works you cite are imperishable masterpieces and in no way evidence of decline. If anything, he was clearly trying to move his idiom along to adapt to changing tastes - although personally I have absolutely no time for the two "modernistic" operas you mention and would take "Capriccio" every time; I find it captivating throughout.

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It is curious, isn't it, how Richard Strauss's muse seemed to have abandoned him after Die Frau ohne Schatten in 1919, with just a brief reappearance right at the end of his life with Metamorphosen and The Four Last Songs ? Of course, there are the occasional, brief moments of magic in between, but it has to be said the remaining operas aren't quite on the consistently high level as before. Then again, I have also claimed in my Conspectus that the premiere of Turandot in 1926 was also the last great Italian opera too (see: https://musicwebinternational.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Puccini-Turandot-survey-LD.pdf ). I suppose with the premieres of Wozzeck in 1925 and Lady Macbeth in 1934, the genre had shifted and Strauss was aware and all too self-conscious that he had been left behind musically.

That said, I'm sure I speak for many in expressing an appreciation of your own Conspectuses, Ralph, a true labour of love, and am looking forward to the latest one.

LD

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As a Strauss opera devotee and the producer of surveys of all of his major operas, you will understand that I became increasingly slack-jawed as I read my colleague Stephen Barber's verdict on the later works and the Naxos Arabella DVD he has just reviewed. He writes, " I care neither for the story nor the music of Der Rosenkavalier , think Ariadne auf Naxos charming but silly, Intermezzo a Zeitoper which has become very much a period piece and Capriccio , apart from the lovely Prelude, rather repetitive and sentimental."

Arabella is then condemned as "a disappointing work", suffering from a libretto which was not one of Hofmannsthal's better efforts, Arabella herself as "a cipher", the male roles unattractive and the music as fluent but unmemorable, containing too many longueurs with an over-protracted denouement. Phew!

SB is of course wholly entitled to express such opinions, and like him I certainly have my dislikes and even lacunae - I can, for example, rarely tolerate Liszt in any form - but as a result, I tend to avoid reviewing anything for which I have as great an antipathy as he demonstrates towards that work.

I am sure he is quite right about the failings of the performance itself and I am equally sure that his recommendation of Janowitz and Solti is sound, but I rarely watch opera DVDs myself; it is not a medium I much enjoy, preferring either the audio or a live performance. However, I would still like to put in a word for a work which I love; several of the duets are among the finest Strauss ever wrote. For my own views and recommendations, I refer you to the aforementioned survey.