Art and Entertainment

The Semperoper’s new production of Ariadne auf Naxos was, above all, a triumph of musicianship. While David Hermann’s staging found a satisfying balance between the dynamic comedy of the prologue and the ambitious conceptual arrangement of the opera-proper, it was the luxurious sound of the Sächsiche Staatskapelle, the strong ensemble cast – highlighted by Daniela Sindram’s magnificent Komponist and Daniela Fally’s effervescent Zerbinetta – and the detailed, idiomatic musical direction of Christian Thielemann that located the emotional grandeur beneath the genial surfaces of what may be Strauss’ most approachable operatic work.

The foundation for the staging was established even before the curtain had gone up. At the centre of the large gallery on the first floor of the Semperoper was a dining table on a slightly raised platform where a…