Ariadne auf Naxos

The richest man in Vienna suddenly orders comic and tragic plays to both be performed at the same time – sending the young composer of the tragedy Ariadne into great turmoil. There’s nothing that can be done to stop it: after all, the gracious gentleman is host to, and pays for, the entire spectacle. And so the contradictory worlds of tragedy and comedy intertwine in the gentleman host’s private performance: the world of Ariadne, frozen in grief and shamefully abandoned by Theseus, and the world of the light-hearted Zerbinetta with her lively Commedia dell’arte troupe. According to Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Richard Strauss’ congenial partner, Ariadne auf Naxos is all about «one simple life problem: that of faithfulness. To hold onto that which is lost, to preserve eternally until death – or to live, to transform and to hold onto oneself in that transformation.» Whether in the prelude, which is a bitter reckoning with the daily routine of the theater, or in the opera itself – the figures in Ariadne are in a constant state of limbo between casting aside their own personalities and accepting the roles assigned to them.
In his last season as Artistic Director at the Opernhaus Zürich, director Andreas Homoki takes on Ariadne auf Naxos, one of the most beautiful and profound operas Richard Strauss wrote. The work requires a highly skilled ensemble. Daniela Köhler, whose turn as Sieglinde in Homoki’s Zurich production of Walküre was a success, debuts in the title role. Joining her are Brandon Jovanovich (Bacchus), Martin Gantner (Music teacher), and Lauren Fagan (Composer). The highly talented young Chinese soprano Ziyi Dai takes on the breakneck role of Zerbinetta. Conductor Markus Poschner once again demonstrates his particular penchant for the German repertoire. [opernhaus.ch]