Germany Richard Strauss, Die Liebe der Danae: Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra of Bayerische Staatsoper / Sebastien Weigle (conductor). Nationaltheater, Munich, 15.2.2025. (ALL)
It is an understatement to say that Richard Strauss’s last opera Die Liebe der Danae had a difficult birth and is rarely performed. The opera was first performed during the phase of its creation, at a dress rehearsal in Salzburg during World War II. Not only that, it is particularly challenging, over-orchestrated, the libretto isn’t of the same quality as some of the composer’s other operas and the vocal parts are incredibly demanding.
In 2002, the Salzburg Festival asked Fabio Luisi and Günter Krämer to stage the work. Some remember the final act where Franz Grundheber, singing Jupiter, remained almost alone and immobile for nearly the entire third act. Many simply wondered why this opera was being performed at all.
Here is the story: Eos, King Pollux’s kingdom, is bankrupt. He seeks to marry his daughter Danae to the wealthy King Midas. Thanks to Jupiter, Midas can turn everything he touches into gold. What is behind this ‘gift’ is that Jupiter, an unrepentant womanizer, wants to take Midas’s place on their wedding night. But Danae discovers the truth and chooses Midas’s true love, despite the poverty it entails, and Jupiter acknowledges his defeat.
Claus Guth’s staging deserves special mention. The work is modernized, set in a New York skyscraper, with Pollux resembling a certain contemporary American president. Danae is portrayed as an Instagram-generation child, image-conscious, which adds depth to her character development and decision to choose true love over wealth and fortune. The chorus and extras are remarkably well-directed. Though the stage is often crowded, the action remains clearly readable. The sets and especially the background video help narrate the drama effectively. There is a powerful moment at the end of the third act when, as Eos lies in ruins, Guth shows images of destroyed post-World War II Germany, followed by Richard Strauss himself.
The direction of the actors is equally superb. As often in Strauss operas, there are notable secondary characters. Mercury seems like a distant cousin to the servant who fetches Aegisthus in Elektra, while the quartet of Jupiter’s former conquests recalls the Naiads from Ariadne auf Naxos. All of their numbers are carefully performed, without exaggeration and with attention to the music. Jupiter’s complex character is superbly drawn, and his costume in the final act evokes Siegfried‘s Wanderer. Danae’s character is also handled with great care: superficial at first, then gradually becoming a responsible and mature adult.
What Strauss demands of his singers is exceptionally challenging. From this perspective, it will be hard to surpass the cast assembled in Munich. Malin Byström managed the dress rehearsal but, due to the bitter cold in Munich, had to withdraw from the first performances. This third performance in the series was therefore her premiere. She is infinitely more at ease in this role than in her previous Puccini ventures. Her phrasing and style show great musicality. Her high notes are superb, and one understands why she has already been cast as the Marschallin. It is a pleasure to see such a radiant singer during curtain calls.
This opera could not be performed without a tenor of Andreas Schager’s calibre. The second act’s duet with Danae, half-Siegfried, half-Tristan, is terrifyingly difficult, and Schager finds the dimension this part demands. The main character remains Jupiter, though – a complex character, somewhat disingenuous, who ends up more resigned than repentant. One might wonder if Strauss had someone specific in mind when writing this opera. Christopher Maltman, a former Orestes in Salzburg (review here) and current Wotan in Covent Garden’s Ring, is impressive in his authority and intelligence. This is Munich, so all minor roles are carefully cast, with special mention to Jupiter’s four stunning and quite amusing conquests: Sarah Dufresne, Evgeniya Sotnikova, Emily Sierra, and Avery Amereau. All of them – I repeat, all – can boast very comprehensible German.
The orchestra for this opera is very powerful. Sebastian Weigle, who has already conducted Die Frau ohne Schatten in this house, knows how to find the work’s different facets. The orchestral interludes show the harmonic richness Strauss is capable of. He is attentive to his singers while also able to deploy powerful sonority during Jupiter’s outbursts of rage.
After this performance, it is now obvious that we need to listen to Die Liebe der Danae from a different perspective. Under circumstances such as those provided in Munich for this production, it is clearly a masterpiece. It is a production deserving of special recognition that joins the list of great successes of the Dorny era alongside The Nose, War and Peace and The Passenger. Catch a plane or the train to Munich – it is a revelation.
Antoine Lévy-Leboyer
Production:
Director and Choreography – Claus Guth
Settings – Michael Levine
Costumes – Ursula Kudrna
Lighting – Alessandro Carletti
Video – rocafil
Dramaturgy – Yvonne Gebauer, Ariadne Bliss
Cast:
Danae – Malin Byström
Midas – Andreas Schager
Jupiter – Christopher Maltman
Merkur – Ya-Chung Huang
Pollux – Vincent Wolfsteiner
Xanthe – Erika Baikoff
Semele – Sarah Dufresne
Europa – Evgeniya Sotnikova
Alkmene – Emily Sierra
Leda – Avery Amereau
Four Kings – Bálint Szabó, Kevin Conners, Paul Kaufmann, Martin Snell
Four Guardians – Yosif Slavov, Bruno Khouri, Vitor Bispo, Daniel Noyola
A Voice – Louise McClelland