Organization

Singer

Soprano

Malin Byström

The Countess

Baritone

Josef Wagner

The Count

Tenor

Norman Reinhardt

Flamand

Andrè Schuen

Olivier

Bass

Christof Fischesser

La Roche

Contralto

Theresa Kronthaler

Clairon

John Graham-Hall

Monsieur Taupe

Leonor Bonilla

An Italian singer

Juan José de León

Torben Jürgens

The Major-Domo

Pablo Garcia Lopez

Criado

Sebastià Peris

Gerardo López

David Oller

Emmanuel Faraldo

Manuel Gómez Ruiz

David Sánchez

Conductor

Asher Fisch

Stage director

Christof Loy

Set designer

Raimund Orfeo Voigt

Costume designer

Klaus Bruns

Lighting designer

Franck Evin

Choreographer

Andreas Heise

Teatro Real de Madrid

Capriccio

Madrid

Spain

Teatro Real

The historic debate regarding the relative importance that words should have in opera with respect to the music constituted a source of fascination for Richard Strauss throughout his life. In Capriccio, he delves deeper in this topic, using an exceptional libretto, fruit of a suggestion from his dear Stefan Zweig, who found a brief comedy in the British Library which served as inspiration for that which would be the last opera of the German composer; a comedy, which incidentally had already served as inspiration for Antonio Salieri. From this point a plot arose, full of irony, featuring a Countess –symbol of art- whose affection were found to be divided between two suitors, a poet and a composer. Who should she chose? Decidedly Strauss placed special importance on the inteligibility of the text that was sung, while not scrimping on the musical resources, unfolding a palette of incomparable harmonies and textures. Capriccio is without a doubt an overwhelming synthesis of all that the musician had been able to improve over his career, something of which he himself was conscious: proud of his work, he rejected the suggestion from his librettist to initiate a new project. Quite simply he could not see how he could do any better.

Capriccio Strauss,R

Approved

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