Ariadne Auf Naxos

With the war raging in Europe, and a mere five days after the D-Day invasion which precipitated the eventual end of the conflagration in the European theater, this performance on a much smaller, less consequential but on its own terms no less historic theater stage in Vienna of Richard Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos was given and recorded. Despite the troubling facts that orbit these wartime performances more generally, for those who know operatic history, the singing cast, including Irmgard Seefried, Paul Schöffler, Max Lorenz and Maria Reining is truly a legendary one, as is the conductor Karl Böhm.