June 11 - Richard Strauss (The Musical Birthday Series)

Richard Strauss (11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) wrote some of the most often played orchestral showpieces in the repertoire, but today we celebrate his four most popular operas.

 

After the Dance

When Salome sings to his head,

St. John is quite recently dead.

It’s terribly gruesome,

This unlikely twosome —

We should have seen Barber instead

Vocational Responsibility

If you’re learning Elektra by Strauss

It’s best if you live in a house.

Apartmental neighbors

Who share in such labors

Will curse at both you and your spouse.

Get Yer "Ja Ja" Out

A delectable Viennese whirl,

A matron, soubrette, and a churl,

Some waltzes with brio,

A heavenly trio,

And a girl as a boy as a girl.

Dismythed

A composer despairs (it’s a crime),

The naiads are singing (sublime),

Ariadne (enisled),

And Bacchus (beguiled),

Comedians enter (wrong time).

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