My dear Doctor Strauss

Writing a lot about Strauss means having a copy of The Correspondence between Richard Strauss and Hugo von Hofmannsthal permanently by my side. Complete with introduction by Edward Sackville-West, the original 1961 edition of Hanns Hammelmann and Ewald Osers' translation of the letters was given to me by the same kind friend who gave me a signed picture of Strauss for my 21st birthday. The Correspondence is an essential read for anyone interested in this 20th century counterpart to Mozart and Da Ponte. Yet what I love about these letters is the joy of finding the tension of collaboration between the lines. For all their 'Dear Poet' and 'My dear Doctor' salutations, neither Strauss nor Hofmannsthal is entirely willing to bend to the other. Of course, that is what makes their collaborations so enticing, is that this tension is at work within the operas themselves. What is Die Frau ohne Schatten, about which I'm speaking tomorrow night at the Royal Opera House, if not an artistic tug-of-war?

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