Capriccio at Theater an der Wien

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2. Capriccio

What is fundamentally important for a good opera, the text or the music, which element has what to be of service? Stefan Zweig made Richard Strauss awareness about this topic and wrote a scenario for this old dispute the history of music, but resigned soon out of the project: the work as a Jew, he was increasingly denied by the Nazis active in Austria, he emigrated in February 1934 after England. However branch was irreplaceable: at the libretto then werkten tedious Joseph Gregor, Clemens Krauss, Hans Swarowsky and Strauss himself up in early 1941, the first performance took place in Munich on October 28, 1942. In accordance with the topic go Text and Music in Capriccio a mutually beneficial alliance: the quotations in relation to the history of music in the text corresponds to the processing of various forms of opera history in music. Strauss himself understood Capriccio less
as a "piece for the audience," but rather as "witty dramatic paraphrase", as a "treat for cultural gourmets". The cheerful-melancholy look back more than 300 years of opera history is Strauss' last opera and also thought of himself as an artistic testament.

Paris around 1775. Countess Madeleine has two admirers: the poet Olivier and the composer Flamand. Both are vying for the favor of the beautiful woman, and this competition is combined with the issue of whether the
Words or the music in a composition are important. In the discussion still mixes the present theater director La Roche, for the countess's birthday, and there is a private performance in her honor. The brother of the Countess cares however died spoken theater in the form of the lovely actress Clairon. It is operated much conversation and art during the festival day, and Flamand and Olivier to make of all this a new opera. But the two men are more interested in who Madeleine chosen as a lover. The next day the Countess to decide between them, but it seems that very limbo
good to please. Neither the problem of whether words or music are more important in a setting, nor the problem of who is to be lovers of the countess now is solved. At least a good opera, it needs both: a
good librettist and a good composer.