Ariadne auf Naxos, Op. 60, is a 1912 opera by Richard Strauss with a German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. The opera's unusual combination of elements of low commedia dell'arte with those of high opera seria points up one of the work's principal themes: the competition between high and low art for the public's attention.
Emily Magee as Ariadne and Jonas Kaufmann as Bacchus, Salzburg Festival 2012
1916 vocal score
Richard Strauss, 1917, by Emil Orlík
Anne Schwanewilms (Ariadne) and Johan Botha (Bacchus), Hamburg State Opera 2012
In Greek mythology, Ariadne was a Cretan princess and the daughter of King Minos of Crete. There are different variations of Ariadne's myth, but she is known for helping Theseus escape the Minotaur and being abandoned by him on the island of Naxos. There, Dionysus saw Ariadne sleeping, fell in love with her, and later married her. Many versions of the myth recount Dionysus throwing Ariadne's jeweled crown into the sky to create a constellation, the Corona Borealis.
Ariadne asleep at Hypnos's side. Detail of ancient fresco in Pompeii
Bacchus and Ariadne by Titian: Dionysus discovers Ariadne on the shore of Naxos. The painting also depicts the constellation named after Ariadne.
Bacchus and Ariadne, Guido Reni, c. 1620
The abandoned Ariadne, ancient fresco from Pompeii, National Archaeological Museum, Naples