Die Liebe der Danae had its origins with a scenario (imagined as a "lighter" effort) suggested by Strauss's great collaborator Hugo von Hofmannsthal. But it wasn't until after the librettist's death that Strauss--under the more mediocre partnership of Joseph Gregor--returned to the project. His second-to-last opera, Danae never managed to establish itself and has slipped through the cracks, becoming one of the composer's least-produced works. More's the pity, as Strauss enthusiast Leon Botstein eloquently proves in this largely admirable live recording (captured from concert performances in January 2000 given in Avery Fisher Hall).
The story involves one of those delicious conflations typical of Hofmannstahl--here the (otherwise) unrelated classical legends of King Midas and Jupiter seducing Danae in the form of golden rain--that allow for several layers of irony as well as sudden reversals leading to unexpected wisdom. Though the score is late Strauss, full of the ripeness you'd expect from this period, there's a sense of recapturing youthful exuberance in some of its inventive profusion. Note, for example, the obvious pleasure Strauss takes in conjuring a world of golden imagery through sound--a vein that also, incidentally, allows him scope for some affectionate parody of Wagner's Ring.
Some of the music, to be sure, represents rote-Strauss (a particularly weak spot includes most of the choral writing). But there are passages of, well, Straussian gold as well, above all in the love music between Danae and Midas. Lauren Flanigan captivates in the exceedingly difficult title role, and there's good chemistry with Hugh Smith as the king with the cursed touch. Fans of one of the last century's greatest opera composers will find this a discovery that's pleasurably rewarding. --Thomas May
