Richard Strauss’ 1919 opera The Woman without a Shadow (Die Frau ohne Schatten) requires huge forces, boasting what’s perhaps Strauss’s most sumptuous score. The music poignantly illuminates the magic, mystery and earthy warmth of Hugo von Hofmannsthal's characters. Russian conductor Valery Gergiev leads this epic production from Saint-Petersburg’s famed Mariinsky Theatre. Two British artists – director Jonathan Kent and designer Paul Brown – collaborate to bring this spectacular and opulent dramatic tour de force to life, radiantly evoking the contrasts between the spirit world and human existence. Opera.