Details

When spirits enter the human world they can bring only ruin. The daughter of the King of the Spirits is barren - she is a woman without a shadow. Her father has threatened that if she doesn't cast a shadow before the end of the twelfth moon, her husband, the Emperor, will be turned to stone. Only a human woman can help her... An unhappy young wife, married to a poor dyer, is tempted by thoughts of a luxurious life, free from the numbing boredom and drudgery of her daily existence. All she has to do is give up her shadow. Die Frau ohne Schatten is a sublime operatic fantasy in which the lives of humans and spirits become ever more tragically intertwined. Sung in German with English surtitles. Running time 4 hours. Supported (1992) by The American Friends of Covent Garden and The Royal Ballet, Inc. There will be a BBC Radio 3 live broadcast on Saturday 20 October.

Cast/Performers

Johan Botha (Emperor except Oct 25 / 30), Glenn Winslade (Emperor Oct 25 / 30), Deborah Voigt (Empress), Alan Titus (Barak), Gabriele Schnaut (Barak's wife), Jane Henschel (Nurse), Adrian Clarke (Barak's Brothers / One-Eyed Brother), Graeme Broadbent (One-Armed Brother), Peter Wedd (Hunchback Brother), Christopher Booth-Jones (Spirit Messenger), Gail Pearson (Voice of a Falcon), Peter Auty (Apparition of a Youth), Elizabeth Sikora (Voice from Above), Jenny Grahn (Guardian of the Treshold), Quentin Hayes (Nightwatchman), Graeme Broadbent (Nightwatchman), Adrian Clarke (Nightwatchman)

Creatives/Company

Music: Richard Strauss
Lyrics: Hugo von Hofmannsthal
Company: Royal Opera
Director: John Cox
Design: David Hockney
Costume: Ian Falconer
Lighting: Craig Miller
Conductor: Christoph von Dohnanyi