Ariadne Auf Naxos - Second Version (1916)

Second Version (1916)

After these initial performances, it became apparent that the work as it stood was impractical: it required a company of actors as well as an opera company, and was thus very expensive to mount, and its length was likely to be a problem for audiences. So in 1913 Hofmannsthal proposed to Strauss that the play should be replaced by a prologue which would explain why the opera combines a serious classical story with a comedy performed by a commedia dell'arte group. He also moved the action from Paris to Vienna. Strauss was initially reluctant, but he composed the prologue (and modified some aspects of the opera) in 1916, and this revised version was first performed at the Hofoper, Vienna, on 4 October of that year, and at the Dresden Hofoper the following day. This is the version that is normally staged today, although the original play-plus-opera is occasionally performed (for example, at the 1997 Edinburgh International Festival and at the 2012 Salzburg Festival).

The most important aria in either version is "Großmächtige Prinzessin" / "high and mighty princess". It is sung by Zerbinetta.