Sunit Tandon introduces a recording of Richard Strauss’ lyrical last opera, subtitled “A conversation piece for music”. The theme of the opera can be summarized as "Which is the greater art, poetry or music?” This question is dramatized in the story of a Countess torn between two suitors: Olivier, a poet, and Flamand, a composer. The opera is a light-hearted treatment of a serious subject: the relative importance of music, poetry, dance and theatre, cleverly set as an opera within […]