A good two decades after “Rosenkavalier”, Richard Strauss (1864-1949) and Hugo von Hofmannsthal put another romantic comedy on paper and onto the big stage with “Arabella”. It was to be their last collaboration: von Hoffmannsthal died in 1929, Strauss’ work on the score was in full swing. “Arabella” was premiered at the Dresden State Opera in 1933.
As in "Rosenkavalier," illustrious 19th-century Viennese society serves as the setting for the entertaining love tangle. The retired cavalry captain Count Waldner has his glory days behind him: addicted to gambling, he has gambled his head off. As a consequence, he lives with his wife and his two daughters Arabella and Zdenka in a third-rate hotel, hoping that Arabella will make a good match and thus save the family’s financial situation. But although there is no shortage of aristocratic suitors, Arabella turns down all offers. Much to the annoyance of her younger sister Zdenka, sent to work by her parents disguised as a boy, who recently has her own eye on one of the suitors. Instead, Arabella falls in love with a mysterious stranger. Of course, there is a great deal of confusion, until finally both sisters are reeling in the happiness of love and the father is delighted to discover that the stranger is the rich heir of a former comrade - so nothing stands in the way of his future at the card table.