Programme Guide

The human Emperor marries the daughter of the King of the Spirit World, but the couple are under a curse: she, the woman without a shadow, cannot have children. If she does not become pregnant and therefore fully human, he will be turned to stone – as a punishment for his arrogance. In this desperate situation, the cunning nurse knows what to do: why not steal the fertility and the shadow of the poor dyer Barak’s wife? But ultimately, the Empress refuses to live happily ever after at the expense of other people’s suffering – and in doing so proves herself to be profoundly human.

The music that Richard Strauss composed for an orchestra augmented by unusual instruments is as surprising and multifaceted as the twists and turns of the plot. In addition to five Chinese gongs, the glass harmonica is particularly striking – the instrument whose magical sounds accompany the transformation scene in the second act. Elza van den Heever (The Empress), who stepped in at short notice for Nina Stemme who was indisposed, Clay Hilley (The Emperor), Michaela Schuster (The Nurse), Miina-Liisa Värelä (The Dyer’s wife) and Wolfgang Koch (The Dyer) – performers with spectacular voices and an astonishing range of expression – were a delight on stage.

Director Lydia Steier described the dazzling production of the fairytale opera as a “monster task”. The staging featured a novel concept: the award-winning director created a new role, a girl who is present throughout the opera – it is her observations and her dream narrative the audience follows as the plot unfolds.