Richard Strauss stands alongside Puccini as one of the most frequently performed opera composers of the 20th century. However, that is where the similarities between the two composers end. While Puccini was bringing opera to the people with the verismo style, Strauss took opera back to its roots with largely mythological and biblical themes, as in the operas of the 17th century and the bourgeois focus of the 18th. This approach produced some of the most exciting and revolutionary operas of the early 20th century, most notably Salome and Elektra, which had a lasting influence and a solid place in the repertoire. However, the same cannot be said for the works which came in Strauss’ middle period, and many consider that he never again achieved the originality of Elektra or the success of Rosenkavalier.
Daphne (1938) falls snugly in the “dull” period of Strauss’ output, but there are in fact many things to commend the work. It’s a short and succinct operatic utterance, and at a mere 90 minutes in length it doesn’t outstay its welcome. Much of it shows Strauss at his most orchestrally sumptuous, and his utter mastery of writing for the voice with orchestra, giving both full expression without one being dominated by the other. Yes, there are some moments which fall flat either musically or dramatically, and there’s no escaping the fact that Joseph Gregor was a poor librettist (a fact which Strauss himself noted), but these drawbacks are balanced by many moments of pure beauty.
As a result of its imperfections, Daphne needs a good production to overcome them and lend it a golden thread. Sadly Torsten Fischer’s production for Dresden’s Semperoper doesn’t achieve this. The production opens with a projection of a quote from Sophie Scholl, a member of the White Rose group, a non-violent resistance group in Nazi Germany. Fischer’s Daphne is in fact a representation of Scholl herself, standing against the Nazis, led here by Apollo. But rather than illuminating the difficult original, this superimposed story only obscures, making the action on stage rather difficult to follow. Plus, compared to Scholl, Daphne is a rather weak character, often saying (singing) and doing nothing to influence her own fate, a far cry from the outspoken Scholl who continued to speak defiantly in the courtroom and on into her execution.
Representing Daphne/Scholl on stage was Marjorie Owens, a member of the Semperoper’s ensemble. It was clear that this production was not designed with her in mind, with the costume making the normally glamorous singer look more like a frumpy housewife than a defiant 22-year-old. Her stunning voice and excellent technique made light work of the role, but there were none of the colours which Owens brings to so much of the other roles she sings, and the result was rather monotone.