Biography
Hugo von Hofmannsthal was born in 1874 in Vienna and was already considered a literary prodigy as a Gymnasium student. His collaboration with Richard Strauss is one of the most fruitful partnerships in opera history and produced masterpieces like Der Rosenkavalier, Elektra, Ariadne auf Naxos, and Die Frau ohne Schatten. As co-founder of the Salzburg Festival and creator of Jedermann, Hofmannsthal shaped Austrian cultural identity to this day. His Chandos Letter of 1902 is one of the key documents of literary modernism and addresses the language crisis of the turn of the century. Hofmannsthal united an aristocratic aesthetic with psychological sensitivity and Baroque formal awareness. His librettos are considered the literarily most demanding in opera history. Hofmannsthal died in 1929 in Rodaun near Vienna, a few days after his son's suicide.
On Stagelog
Loading stats...