German Opera

Join us for an afternoon of the music of Richard Strauss on this week’s Sunday Opera (3/9 3:00 p.m.) and his opera completed in 1940, “Die Liebe der Danae” (“The Love of Danae”). The opera is in three acts with the final act containing what Strauss considered to be some of his finest music.

Our penultimate opera from Beijing’s National Center for the Performing Arts for this season on the Sunday Opera (12/01 3:00 p.m.) is their new production of a very popular visiting presentation of Richard Wagner's "The Flying Dutchman" from last year.

We're concluding our time at the Royal Opera House with Strauss' revenge tragedy "Elektra" with Ausrine Stundyte in the title role. After the opera, we'll have two more Strauss works: "Ein Heldenleben" and the ballet score, "Schlagobers."

This week's opera comes from London's Royal Opera House and features the first opera in Wagner's "Ring Cycle," "Das Rheingold" featuring Christopher Purves as Alberich and Christopher Maltman as Wotan. The opera, performed in one 150 minute act, will be followed by more music featuring "northern" heroes (and an anti-hero) from Uumo Kalmi, Jean Sibelius, and Edvard Grieg,.

This week's opera comes from Vienna once again and features Strauss' metaphysical opera about the otherworldly Empress who must achieve a shadow (a child) or she will die and her husband will turn to stone.

It took 80 years for Zemlinsky's fairy tale opera to be performed after it was suppressed by an unscrupulous conductor. Gorge is a dreamer who dreams of a better life that comes true for a happy ending.

Robert Schumann and Franz Liszt each only wrote one opera, and we're showcasing excellent recordings of each on this week's Sunday Opera. Schumann's "Genoveva" is based on the life of Genevieve of Brabant, and Liszt's "Don Sanche, ou Le chateau de l'amour" ("Don Sanche, or The Castle of Love") was reportedly written by Liszt when he was 13 and features Don Sanche's love for Elzire and how a wizard named Alidor who lives in the "Castle of Love" helps him win hers.

Hans Pfitzner is all but forgotten in the United States, but his operas are still performed in Europe, and you've already heard one of his works on the Sunday Opera during Christmases past - "Das Christ-Elflein." This week, we're looking at his most successful opera, "Palestrina" which is loosely based on the life and musical importance of the 16th century Italian composer who ensured the use of polyphonic music in the Catholic church.

Most people know Meyerbeer's "Les Huguenots," but today's opera is another based on historical 'fact" in his 1849 work "Les Prophete" which centers on the Dutch Anabaptist revolt and the turmoil surrounding John of Leiden and his power grab in declaring himself "Emperor" of Munster with all of the tragedy that follows.