BWW Review: ARIADNE AUF NAXOS Wrangles a Dynamic Operatic Experience at The Long Center in Austin, TX
by Amy Bradley - Feb 1, 2018
With the history of ARIADNE AUF NAXOS as rich and complicated as the melodrama within itself, the reinvention presented by the Austin Opera this season is reminiscent of this Opera's rich history and beginnings. Premiering initially in 1912, Richard Strauss conceived a performance mixing the comedic style of Moliere' with the musically focused German-style melodrama opera. Appearing originally in two contrasting acts, the first begins as a play, and the second transitions into a full-fledged opera with comedic highlights. Historically, audiences were flustered in Munich and London by the contrasting art forms rolled into one night of entertainment - specifically, opera aficionados were loathe to sit through an entire act of a performance, before hearing the opera they were expecting in act two. After a variety of attempts with different versions and audience locations, Strauss' Libretto partner Hofmannsthal proposed a new first act be written to provide context on marrying the dramatization of operatic performance style with less prestigious but entertaining commedia dell'arte. Thus the second version of ARIADNE AUF NAXOS was presented in 1916 in Berlin and despite unsuccessful returns of a few productions, this opera/commedia concoction went on to be performed all over European Opera houses until it's first presentation in the United States in 1925. This rich history and reworking lend well to the present production at The Long Center presented by Austin Opera.
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