"Why don't you stay in bed instead of upsetting us unnecessarily with your bad morning mood?" asks the composer and conductor Robert Storch to his wife Christine in the turbulent opera "Intermezzo" by Richard Strauss. Many of the dialogs in the work, for which the composer himself wrote the libretto, seem extremely lifelike even 100 years after they were written. Strauss had to know what he was doing; his opera provided insights into his own married life.
The Semperoper Dresden praises "Intermezzo" as one of the most fascinating works of opera literature of the early 20th century. "In contrast to the great, mythical dramas of Strauss' earlier works, this autobiographical musical conversation piece focuses on a modern marriage drama in its historical context," reads the invitation to this Friday's premiere. Two of Strauss' great-granddaughters and other family members will also be in attendance.
