Die Frau ohne Schatten

At the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Tobias Kratzer has placed the monumental fairy-tale opera at the conclusion of his Strauss cycle: While Arabella reflects on the challenges of even beginning an equal relationship, Intermezzo portrays the everyday life of a marriage. For him, Die Frau ohne Schatten centers on the challenge of reconnecting after years of growing apart—a question that, in this production, extends far beyond the private sphere through the ethical dilemma of surrogacy.