Die Frau ohne Schatten

Strauss and Hofmannsthal’s sumptuous and magical fairy tale receives an authoritative performance conducted by the great Karl Böhm, a protégé of the composer, in his last Met broadcast. The extraordinary cast is led by Leonie Rysanek as the Empress, the “woman without a shadow” of the title, who stars opposite James King as the ethereal Emperor, Walter Berry as the goodhearted Barak the Dyer, Ursula Schröder-Feinen as the hapless Dyer’s Wife, and Mignon Dunn as the sinister Nurse.