It has been said that Arabella is an opera that reflects the personality of its composer, Richard Strauss—with characters who are at once extremely idealistic, direct, dramatic, and yet lighthearted. Its comedy and levity—sometimes derided by critics—may, however, belie the fraught political backdrop that gave rise to its creation: Arabella premiered in 1933, five months after Hitler’s rise to power. Misunderstandings and plot twists, mistaken identities, and a final-act double wedding may reflect a desire for a happy ending on the part of the composer, aging and worn down by the turmoils of his era.
Worried about the future of her family, Countess Adelaide (the great Anne Sofie von Otter) consults a fortune teller to find out if her daughter Arabella will enter into a prosperous marriage and restore the her family's former high standing. But the tarot cards predict some complications—perhaps at the hand of Zdenka, Arabella's younger sister, whose machinations en travesti threaten to ruin the happy nuptials…
Photo © Teatro Real
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