Strauss: Die Lieber Der Danae (Salzburger Festspiele 2016) – Krassimira Stoyanova

   in Opera Now (Sep, 2017)
Die Liebe der Danae also had a major revival last year at Salzburg, in Alvis Hermanis’s so-so production. He emphases the fairy-tale aspect of the opera, with vivid Bakst-inspired costumes on a generally blank white tiled stage, saved from the lavatorial by some colourful projections. Strauss’s opera is a curious blend of the stories of Midas and his golden touch with Danae’s impregnation by a shower of gold – in for a penny, in for a pound. The music is of a higher level, with Franz Welser-Möst leading a pacey and vivid reading of the complex score, and a great cast. Krassimira Stoyanova soars radiantly as Danae, fresh to the end. …