When it comes to composing for the soprano voice, no composer did it more beautifully than Richard Strauss (1864–1949). His deep love for this voice type runs through all his operas, from his early shockers to his more reflective late works. His writing for soprano is not just technically dazzling, but emotionally overwhelming. That’s why his operas have been recorded again and again over the last century, and why so many of the greatest sopranos have taken on his most demanding roles, both on stage and in the studio.
Salome was Strauss’ first major opera, and its title role is a beast: it demands both vocal brilliance and psychological intensity from the soprano, who must portray a troubled teenage girl wrapped in obsession and trauma. Salome is fragile and dangerous—victim or villain, depending on how you see her—and she’s attracted countless singers over the years. Birgit Nilsson is of course legendary in the part, but I find that sopranos like Ljuba Welitsch, Christel Goltz, and Inge Borkh bring a sleeker, more elegant vocal quality to the role that suits it just as well. Reed also: The 10 Best Recordings of Strauss’ Salome.
Elektra is even darker—Strauss at his most intense and harrowing. The opera seethes with tension and raw emotion. Elektra is consumed by revenge, and the role calls for a soprano with both power and psychological insight. Nilsson is almost unbeatable here, though Borkh, and Astrid Varnay have also left unforgettable interpretations.
In Der Rosenkavalier, we meet a very different kind of Strauss heroine: the Marschallin. World-weary and wistful, her music is lyrical and subtle rather than explosive. This part suits sopranos with elegance and refinement—singers like Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Maria Reining, Lisa della Casa, and Régine Crespin. Similar qualities are needed for the title role in Ariadne auf Naxos, where the abandoned Ariadne eventually finds new love. This dreamlike role has been beautifully recorded by the likes of Schwarzkopf, Reining, Jessye Norman, and Gundula Janowitz.
Though its plot is notoriously convoluted, I consider Die Frau ohne Schatten Strauss’ true masterpiece. The orchestration is monumental, even by his standards, and the soprano roles are out of this world. The opera also brings together Strauss’ two soprano archetypes: the lyrical, delicate Empress and the dramatic, earthy Dyer’s Wife. The Empress’ music is some of the most fragile and haunting Strauss ever wrote. Singers like Leonie Rysanek, Siv Wennberg, and Janowitz sing it so beautifully it almost stops time. Dyer’s Wife, meanwhile, is a fiery role that’s been nailed by Goltz, Borkh, and Nilsson. Read also: The Best Recordings of Strauss’ Die Frau ohne Schatten.
Intermezzo is one of Strauss’s oddest operas. He wrote both the music and the libretto, loosely based on a misunderstanding in his own marriage. It features a kind of half-sung, half-spoken style he would use again later. The opera doesn’t fully land, but the orchestral interludes are striking, and in Wolfgang Sawallisch’s recording with Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and Lucia Popp, the vocal chemistry is electric.
In his final decades, Strauss returned again and again to mythological subjects. One example is the underappreciated Die ägyptische Helena, which imagines what happened to Helen of Sparta after the Trojan War. Gwyneth Jones and Rysanek both left striking recordings of the role. A big part of Strauss’ success in opera came from his partnership with the brilliant librettist Hugo von Hofmannsthal. After Hofmannsthal’s death, Strauss struggled to find collaborators of the same caliber. Many feel his later operas never reached the same heights—though I wouldn’t go that far.
Their last opera together, Arabella, was an attempt to recreate the magic of Rosenkavalier. It’s now part of the standard repertoire, and though some think there’s too much talk-singing, it’s full of lyrical beauty. Beneath Arabella’s cool exterior, there’s real longing and warmth—and sopranos like della Casa, Julia Varady, and Kiri Te Kanawa have brought that to life wonderfully.
Strauss also worked with Stefan Zweig on the comic ensemble opera Die schweigsame Frau, about a noise-sensitive Englishman looking for a new wife. The opera is clever and fun, but for all its charm, it lacks the vocal magic I personally look for in Strauss, so it’s never been a favorite of mine.
Even so, Strauss kept writing incredible music for sopranos all the way to the end. Just think of his Vier letzte Lieder—possibly the most perfect farewell in classical music. My personal favorite among the later operas is Daphne, a pastoral tragedy with mythological overtones. The god Apollo, jealous of Daphne’s love for the shepherd Leukippos, kills his rival. In the end, Daphne is transformed into a laurel tree in a final scene of astonishing beauty. The opera also features two important tenor roles, which is rare for Strauss, but the soprano part—performed over the years by Reining, Hilde Güden, Popp, and Renée Fleming—is the real heart of the work. Why this opera isn’t performed more often is beyond me—it would be perfect even in concert form.
Lately I’ve also come to appreciate Die Liebe der Danae more. It blends myths about Danaë and Midas and features a huge Wagnerian orchestra. It’s not an easy sing—just ask Victoria Ursuleac, who created the role in a private dress rehearsal in Salzburg during the Second World War. The public premiere had to wait until 1952, also in Salzburg, with Annelies Kupper in the title role. There’s a great live recording from that performance, now reissued on Orfeo.
Strauss’ final opera was Capriccio, with a libretto by his friend the great conductor Clemens Krauss. The Countess Madeleine is torn between a poet and a composer, and the opera ends with her famous question: which matters more in opera—words or music? It’s an elegant farewell, and while Schwarzkopf, Janowitz, and Te Kanawa have all done fine recordings, I’ve never been fully won over. For all its beauty, Capriccio can feel a bit dry and academic. Still, it’s a graceful end to a career—and to a lifelong obsession with the soprano voice.