Ariadne auf Naxos

This is the original, somewhat longer version of the opera, for which director Sven-Eric Bechtolf created, in place of Hugo von Hofmannsthal’s adaptation of Molières Le bourgeois gentilhomme, a fascinatingly entertaining intermezzo in which theatre, dance and the masterly music of Richard Strauss form an impressive unity. “It incorporates elements of Molière’s play and text from the later prologue, with which he and Strauss salvaged their hybrid flop to produce the masterpiece we know today,” w…