Schedule - Deutsche Oper Berlin
Die Frau ohne Schatten
Richard Strauss (1864 – 1949)
The Woman without a Shadow
Opera in three acts
Libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal
First performed on 10th October 1919 in Vienna
Premiere at the Deutsche Oper Berlin on 26 January 2025
4 hrs 15 mins / Two intervals
In German language with German and English surtitles
Introduction in German language - 45 mins before beginning
recommended from 16 years- Conductor
- Director
- Stage-design, costume-design
- Light designOlaf Winter
- VideoJonas DahlManuel Braun
- Children’s choir
- Dramaturgy
- Choir Conductor
- The Emperor
- The Empress
- The Nurse
- Spirit Messenger
- The Guardian of the Temple's Swell
- Shape of a Young Man
- The Voice of the Falcon
- A Voice from top
- Barak, the Dyer
- The Dyer's Wife
- The One-Eyed
- The One-Armed
- The Crookbacked
- 1st Maidservant
- 2nd Maidservant
- 3rd Maidservant
- Children's voices / Voices of an unborn
- Voices of the guards
- Notary (mute appearance)
- Reproductive physician (actor)Björn-Ole Blunck
- KeikobadHarald Heinz
- Children's Chorus
- Chorus
- Orchestra
- Live CamerasSilke BrielReilly Crouse
- Premiere26202517:00JanSunD prices: € 144.00 / 112.00 / 82.00 / 50.00 / 30.00
- 30202518:00JanThuC prices: € 108.00 / 90.00 / 64.00 / 40.00 / 26.00
- 02202517:00FebSunC prices: € 108.00 / 90.00 / 64.00 / 40.00 / 26.00
- 05202518:00FebWedC prices: € 108.00 / 90.00 / 64.00 / 40.00 / 26.00
- 08202517:00FebSatC prices: € 108.00 / 90.00 / 64.00 / 40.00 / 26.00
- Last performance in this season11202518:00FebTueC prices: € 108.00 / 90.00 / 64.00 / 40.00 / 26.00
The performances on 26 and 30 January will be recorded by rbb. The premiere on 26 January will be broadcast live on radio3 by rbb. Further broadcasts on the radio are planned. The premiere is presented by Siegessäule and taz.
- Conductor
- Director
- Stage-design, costume-design
- Light designOlaf Winter
- VideoJonas DahlManuel Braun
- Children’s choir
- Dramaturgy
- Choir Conductor
- The Emperor
- The Empress
- The Nurse
- Spirit Messenger
- The Guardian of the Temple's Swell
- Shape of a Young Man
- The Voice of the Falcon
- A Voice from top
- Barak, the Dyer
- The Dyer's Wife
- The One-Eyed
- The One-Armed
- The Crookbacked
- 1st Maidservant
- 2nd Maidservant
- 3rd Maidservant
- Children's voices / Voices of an unborn
- Voices of the guards
- Notary (mute appearance)
- Reproductive physician (actor)Björn-Ole Blunck
- KeikobadHarald Heinz
- Children's Chorus
- Chorus
- Orchestra
- Live CamerasSilke BrielReilly Crouse
About the work
According to Hugo von Hofmannsthal in a 1911 letter to Richard Strauss, in which he set out his idea for another collaboration between the two men, their next opera would be to THE MAGIC FLUTE what THE KNIGHT OF THE ROSE had been to FIGARO. And the work that premiered a full eight years later did indeed have strong echoes of Mozart’s »grand opéra«: there is the clash of different social classes, the fairytale-like, highly symbolic storyline and above all the strong feeling that ground-breaking change is underway which is challenging accepted orthodoxy and forcing issues of human interaction and values to the top of the political agenda. And in both cases enlightenment is gained only through ordeal and adversity. Here the shadow has a pivotal function as a metaphor for female fertility: the barren Empress and her nurse bargain with the dyer’s wife for her shadow. Only when the Empress rebels against achieving marital happiness and maternal contentment at someone else’s expense does a path to social harmony open up.
About the production
Tobias Kratzer has chosen this monumental fantasy opera to close his cycle of Strauss works at the Deutsche Oper Berlin. Where ARABELLA explores how hard it can be to even start a relationship based on equal rights and INTERMEZZO depicts what can happen in a marriage that has gone stale, in THE WOMAN WITHOUT A SHADOW Kratzer focuses on the challenge of rekindling a bond that has weakened through years of poor nurturing – an approach that extends far beyond the domestic sphere due to the ethical issues surrounding surrogate motherhood.