Last Updated on July 20, 2026
The Serious Business of Comedy
5.0 out of 5.0 starsIt’s a sign of a great production when the audience leaves with a stronger understanding of the composer’s intentions than any synopsis could provide. That was certainly the case with last night’s Ariadne auf Naxos, a spellbinding new production from Laurent Pelly. While the idea of a play within a play is hardly new, Strauss and his librettist Hugo von Hofmannsthal take the concept much further. Their opera presents the audience with the unlikely fusion of two entirely different theatrical worlds: opera seria and opera buffa. The result is a dazzling work that unites tragedy and comedy to offer a surprisingly acute commentary on society.
The prologue is set in the opulent home of a wealthy patron, where we discover that the evening’s entertainment is little more than an interlude between dinner and fireworks. There isn’t time to present the solemn opera and the lighter comic entertainment one after the other, so the patron decrees that the two companies must perform simultaneously. The tragedians and the commedia dell’arte troupe may have little in common artistically, but they share the same employer.
On paper, it sounds almost absurd. The story of Ariadne is only a small episode in the wider myth of Theseus and the Minotaur. Ariadne, daughter of the King of Crete, helps Theseus escape the Labyrinth by giving him a ball of thread to retrace his steps after slaying the Minotaur, her half-brother. In return, she asks him to take her to Athens, only to be abandoned on the island of Naxos. There she is discovered by the god Dionysus (Bacchus in the Roman tradition), who falls in love with her and makes her his wife. As a wedding gift, Zeus grants Ariadne immortality. This poignant episode forms the opera seria at the heart of Strauss’s work.
For an audience really there for a meal and after-dinner fireworks, however, such lofty mythology might prove rather earnest. The alternative entertainment is a lively troupe of commedia dell’arte performers whose wit, dancing and irreverence continually intrude upon Ariadne’s grief. It is an inspired premise that, in less imaginative hands, could easily descend into confusion.
Simple yet versatile sets, evocative lighting that helps to tell the story rather than distract from it, and timeless costumes add much to Pelly’s production. Set designer Massimo Trocanetti and lighting designer Marco Giusti are making their Glyndebourne debuts with Ariadne auf Naxos. The costume design by Laurent Pelly himself continues the theme. Every character is instantly recognisable, while every dramatic turning point is subtly illuminated without ever drawing attention to the production’s mechanics. Just as Strauss’s vocal writing blends seamlessly into the orchestral fabric, the design enhances the story, highlighting its nuances.
Musically, Ariadne auf Naxos is a sublime work. In the prologue, we discover that the integrity of the opera is about to be sacrificed. Neither the serious singers, Prima Donna/Ariadne (Rachel Willis-Sørensen) and Tenor/Bacchus (David Butt Philip), nor the commedia dell’arte troupe led by a wickedly flirtatious Zerbinetta (Alina Wunderlin) are happy with the idea, but it’s the Composer, a trouser role sung by Samantha Hankey, that is most anguished. Some of the most beautiful orchestral music underpins the Composer’s soaring, lyrical phrases as he is forced to accept the compromise, coming to realise that both art and love can transcend such artificial divisions. Hankey’s Sein wir wieder gut was stunningly emotive and a tear-jerking moment.
After the long interval, Glyndebourne’s patrons return to watch ‘The Opera’. Pelly’s Naxos is a barren, rocky outcrop. Three nymphs (Anna Denisova, Ekaterina Chayka-Rubenstein and Eirin Rognerud) watch over Ariadne, their shimmering vocals complemented by ethereal orchestration with harp and woodwind. She awakes, despairing over her fate and still besotted by Theseus. Strauss gives Ariadne long, broad vocal lines of extraordinary richness and Willis-Sørensen excelled in this role with brilliant dynamic control, a mellifluous lyricism and yet with all the power needed for this late romantic work. Es gibt ein Reich was another handkerchief moment for me.
Against this expansive musical landscape, Zerbinetta and her troupe of mischievous comedians punctuate the soundscape. If any Glyndebourne patron happened to be nodding off, then the constant interruptions from the merry group of dancers and singers supported by some lively cabaret-style music would certainly jolt them back to life.
And then there’s Zerbinetta’s show-stopping aria, Großmächtige Prinzessin. Running to almost twelve minutes, it is far more than a dazzling vocal display. Strauss uses its breathtaking coloratura to embody a woman whose playful philosophy that every broken heart can love again provides the foil to Ariadne’s unwavering devotion. In its blend of technical brilliance and psychological insight, it is one of the opera’s defining moments.
Although Zerbinetta is an entertainer, there’s a serious message here if, as was the case at Glyndebourne last night, it’s delivered well. In a virtuosic number, Alina Wunderlin performed impeccably, earning the evening’s most enthusiastic ovations, which somehow preserved the musical line throughout. With sensitive and beautifully aligned accompaniment from the orchestra, this was indeed the showpiece number of the opera.
Ariadne is left on stage with the nymphs convinced that she is destined for the underworld. Finally, Bacchus arrives on stage. Following Großmächtige Prinzessin would defeat many tenors, but David Butt Philip’s ringing, heroic opening immediately re-established the opera’s mythic scale. Perfectly matched vocally, Butt Philip and Willis-Sørensen crowned the evening with a radiant final duet in which earthly suffering gives way to transcendence, leaving the audience with a thrilling reminder that Strauss’s greatest triumph is to persuade us that comedy and tragedy, far from being opposites, are simply different paths to the same emotional truth.
In the pit, Glyndebourne Music Director Robin Ticciati conducted the London Philharmonic Orchestra impeccably with stunning solos from members of the orchestra and excellent ensemble playing. This was the best of the summer opera productions I’ve seen this year and one which is highly recommended.
Glyndebourne,
Lewes,
East Sussex,
BN8 5UU
Dates from 22 July to 29 August 2026.
Check our previews for more summer opera productions in 2026
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