JUNE 2026 NEW ON NAXOS Richard STRAUSS (1864–1949) Intermezzo A bourgeois comedy with symphonic interludes in two acts (1924) Libretto by the composer Maria Bengtsson, Nadine Secunde, Anna Schoeck, Sopranos Clemens Bieber, Thomas Blondelle, Tenors Markus Brück, Philipp Jekal, Baritones Elliott Woodruff, Actor Orchestra of the Deutsche Oper Berlin Sir Donald Runnicles Richard Strauss summed up his two-act opera Intermezzo as a ‘bourgeois comedy with symphonic interludes’. The soprano role of Christine with its shimmering cantilenas represents Strauss’s wife Pauline, while the successful Kapellmeister Robert Storch serves as Richard Strauss himself in a domestic drama that was avant- garde for its time but now resonates with the accessibility of today’s reality shows. This production from the Deutsche Oper Berlin was acclaimed for its lush orchestral sound and superbly characterful cast led by a formidable central performance from Maria Bengtsson. Key features: • This Deutsche Oper Berlin production from 2024 (Naxos DVD 2.110780 and Blu-ray NBD0188V) was received with wide critical acclaim: Maria Bengtsson gives a commanding account of the impulsive Christine, by no means strident or hectoring, but with formidable control and purpose which articulates her predicament of frustrated agency. • Philipp Jekal is an often stern-sounding Robert, making him here the somewhat neglectful, career-driven husband rather than the patient, forbearing one of (Strauss’s own) libretto. • Thomas Blondelle affects a certain wilful naivete and charm as Lummer, as he seeks to ingratiate his way into Christine’s favour. • Vivid, more expressly burlesque performances are given by Anna Schoeck , as the maid Anna, and Markus Brück and Nadine Secunde as the Notary and his wife. Clemens Bieber is a characterful Stroh’ ( ClassicalSource.com ).
8.660584-85 Release date: 12 Jun 2026
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Listen to an excerpt from Act I: Scene 1 (a): Vor der Abreise des Mannes: Anna! Anna! Wo bleibt denn nur die dumme Gans? LISTEN
Maria Bengtsson Christine
Philipp Jekal Robert Storch
Thomas Blondelle Baron Lummer
Anna Schoeck Anna
Markus Brück Notary
Nadine Secunde Wife of the Notary
Clemens Bieber Stroh
Orchestra of the Deutsche Oper Berlin © Bernd Uhlig
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