OperaDB

Intermezzo

opera · eine bürgerliche Komödie mit sinfonischen Zwischenspielen, in zwei Aufzügen

Composer Richard Strauss

Librettist Richard Strauss

Synopsis

While her husband, the conductor Robert Storch, is away on tour, Christine's new friendship with a young Baron sours over money. When she intercepts a letter to her husband arranging what looks like a lover's rendezvous, she telegrams him at once demanding they separate for good.

Key facts

Premiere
4 November 1924, Sächsische Staatsoper, Dresden
Acts
2
Language
German (de)
Setting
Grundlsee and Vienna, over a winter in the 1920s.

Notes

The only version. Strauss wrote his own libretto, based on an episode from his own marriage; Christine and Robert Storch are drawn from Strauss and his wife Pauline.

Dramatis personae

Role Voice Created by
Christine Robert's wife. soprano Lotte Lehmann
Little Franzl Christine and Robert's eight-year-old son. spoken role Fritz Sonntag
Hofkapellmeister Robert Storch Christine's husband. baritone Josef Correck
Anna Christine's chambermaid. soprano Liesel von Schuch
Baron Lummer A friend of Christine's. tenor Theo Strack
Der Notar A notary. baritone Robert Büssel
Seine Frau The Notary's wife. soprano Elfriede Haberkorn
Stroh A conductor. tenor Hanns Lange
Ein Kommerzienrat One of Robert's four skat partners. baritone Ludwig Ermold
Ein Justizrat One of Robert's four skat partners. baritone Adolph Schöpflin
Ein Kammersänger One of Robert's four skat partners. bass Willy Bader
Ein junges Mädchen A young girl. spoken role —
A Domestic Servant A servant in the Storch household. spoken role Erna Frese
The Cook The Storch household's cook. spoken role Anna Bolze

Source

Original libretto.

Written from