Arabella- Strauss's elegant romance brings the glamour and enchantment of 19th-century Vienna to the Met stage in a sumptuous production by legendary director Otto Schenk that "is as beautiful as one could hope" (The New York Times). Soprano Rachel Willis-Sørensen makes her role debut as the title heroine, a young noblewoman in search of love on her own terms. Radiant soprano Louise Alder makes her Met debut as her sister, Zdenka, and bass-baritone Tomasz Konieczny is the dashing count who sweeps Arabella off her feet.

World premiere: Staatsoper, Dresden, 1933. The romantic comedy Arabella was the final collaboration of Richard Strauss and his great librettist Hugo von Hofmannsthal. While certain elements of operatic farce are present, there is great elegance about the work, and its characters' journeys are moving and affecting in their own way. The title character-honest, pure, well-meaning-is one of opera's most appealing and believable characters.

Sponsored by Bruce Burns in memory of Christy Love, Victor & Janet Ashear, Roger & Janet Haight, Marion Cato, and Wyoming Public Media

Approximate runtime 3:50 (2 intermissions)

Adult $26 / Student $15