A Producer's Viewpoint: Notes on “Die Frau Ohne Schatten”

Extract

Every producer approaches the staging of Die Frau ohne Schatten with awe. The demands which Richard Strauss and Hugo von Hofmannsthal make on the singing and acting ability of the performers, on the imagination of the stage designer and on the ingenuity of the stage staff are exceptional. It is by the way that the musical director, as well, takes the same view of his task! Our own production (Berne, Spring 1952), and reaction of the public to it, however, proved that with a certain combination of effort and a little luck thrown in, it is not impossible to offer a worthy presentation of this extraordinary work and to bring something of its beauty and significance home to an audience.