Editing Opera in German (section)

===Richard Strauss===
[[File:Robert Sterl Schuch dirigiert Rosenkavalier.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Ernst von Schuch|Schuch]] conducting ''Der Rosenkavalier'' ([[Robert Sterl]], 1912)]]
[[Richard Strauss]] was heavily influenced by Wagner, despite [[Franz Strauss|his father]]'s efforts to the contrary. By seventeen, he was unimpressed with ''[[Tannhäuser (opera)|Tannhäuser]]'', ''[[Lohengrin (opera)|Lohengrin]]'' and ''[[Siegfried (opera)|Siegfried]]'' but absolutely entranced by the other three pieces of the ''[[Der Ring des Nibelungen|Ring]]'' and ''[[Tristan und Isolde]]''.{{Citation needed|date=January 2017}} Although in his early years he was more famous for his orchestral tone poems, ''[[Salome (opera)|Salome]]'' (1905) and ''[[Elektra (opera)|Elektra]]'' (1909) quickly established his reputation as Germany's leading opera composer. These two operas stretched the tonal music system to its breaking point. The highly chromatic music featured harsh dissonances and unresolved harmonies. This, paired with the gruesome subject matter, looked forward to [[expressionism]]. ''Elektra'' also marked the beginning of Strauss's working relationship with the leading Austrian poet and playwright [[Hugo von Hofmannsthal]], who would provide another five libretti for the composer. With ''[[Der Rosenkavalier]]'' of 1911, Strauss changed direction, looking towards [[Mozart]] and the world of the Viennese [[waltz]] as much as towards Wagner. Modernist critics accused him of "selling out", but ''Rosenkavalier'' proved an immense success with audiences around the world. Strauss continued to ignore critical fashion, producing the mixture of farce and high tragedy of ''[[Ariadne auf Naxos]]'', the complex allegory of ''[[Die Frau ohne Schatten]]'', the domestic dramas of ''[[Intermezzo (opera)|Intermezzo]]'' and ''[[Arabella]]'', and the mythological ''[[Die ägyptische Helena]]'' and ''[[Daphne (opera)|Daphne]]''. Strauss bid farewell to the musical stage with ''[[Capriccio (opera)|Capriccio]]'' of 1942, a "conversation piece" which explores the relationship between words and music in opera.{{sfn|Holden|1993|loc=Article on Strauss}}