Die Frau ohne Schatten

Arthaus presents a rare document of an early nineties operatic highlight: the Japanese premiere of Wolfgang Sawallisch s last production at the Bavarian State Opera. The Company s tour of Nagoya and Tokyo in autumn 1992 under director and principal conductor Wolfgang Sawallisch was a particularly important event. Sawallisch was celebrating both the twenty-fifth anniversary of his first appearance as visiting guest conductor of the NHK Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo and his departure, after twenty-one years, from his two principal posts with the Bavarian State Opera in Munich. Sawallisch - an acclaimed interpreter of the music of Richard Strauss - chose Die Frau ohne Schatten to commemorate these anniversaries. Through the many years that Sawallisch had worked in Japan, he had developed a profound affinity with the country and its people and his respect for, and intimate knowledge of, the Japanese art scene made him choose a Japanese production team around director and kabuki actor Ennosuke Ichikawa for the new production. Reviews of the performances in Nagoya and Tokyo were likewise enthusiastic. Asahi headed: The wondrous harmony of form and singing: The sensuality of stage lighting and colour that is cultivated in Japan, together with the sensuality of the actors movements, harmonizes well with the European expressiveness of the music.