Die Frau ohne Schatten

In Die Frau ohne Schatten, Richard Strauss and Hugo von Hofmannsthal sought to articulate reality in symbolic form, much as Mozart and Schikaneder had done in Die Zauberflöte.

The plot

The plot of Die Frau Ohne Schatten, or ‘the woman without a shadow’ – referring to the inability to bear children – is steeped in symbolism. It centres on the empress – a woman from the spirit realm – and the emperor, a mortal man. In order to become fully human, she must gain a shadow; otherwise, her husband will turn to stone. But when she is offered the chance to buy a shadow from a poor woman, she nobly refuses, which act becomes her salvation.

The creatives

Closing the circle
Die Frau ohne Schatten has special significance for conductor Marc Albrecht, as his immense success with this opera in 2008 led to his appointment as chief conductor of Dutch National Opera and the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra | Netherlands Chamber Orchestra. Its reprise this season marks his farewell as chief conductor, thus closing the circle.

In the role of the empress is the powerful soprano Elza van den Heever. Austrian baritone Josef Wagner debuts in the role of Barak.

Katie Mitchell
Katie Mitchell has made a name as an engaged stage and opera director, attuned to social inequities and sexism, as in her recent staging of Jenůfa. In Die Frau ohne Schatten, Mitchell applies her probing sensitivity to a symbolic opera in which women are reduced to little more than brood mares. Her previous DNO productions are Orest, Written on Skin, Trauernacht, Lessons in Love and Violence and Jenůfa