Hofmannsthal had no doubt that Die Frau ohne Schatten was the peak of his achievement as a librettist, and early on he wrote to Strauss that it should represent the summit of their fruitful collaboration. Strauss was at first equally enthusiastic. “The text is brilliant,” he wrote. “My dear Da Ponte, you have written your masterpiece.”

Both men were mature and self-aware artists and both were practising men of the theatre. Yet the world has not justified their faith in Die Frau ohne Schatten, which has this month made one of its rare reappearances as part of a cycle of Strauss operas at Zurich. The reasons usually given for its failure are not convincing. It is said, for instance, that the work makes such immense scenic demands that it can be produced satisfactorily only at great expense and in the largest theatres. The performance at the Zurich Stadttheater, which is quite modest in size, has however shown that with a little ingenuity an adequate production is within the range of the average medium-sized opera house.