Few singers have fused words and music as eloquently as Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, and few sopranos have proved more radiant in Strauss. All this makes her the ideal protagonist in the composer’s final opera, his ingenious and engaging ‘conversation piece’ on artistic themes. Schwarzkopf is joined by a cast of superlative stature and style and by a conductor intimately identified with the works of Strauss, Wolfgang Sawallisch.

Cast:
- Countess Madeleine: Elisabeth Schwarzkopf
- The Count, her brother: Eberhard Wächter
- Flamand, a musician: Nicolai Gedda
- Olivier, a poet: Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
- La Roche, theatre director: Hans Hotter
- Clairon, an actress: Christa Ludwig
- Monsieur Taupe: Rudolf Christ
- Italian singer: Anna Moffo
- Italian singer: Dermot Troy
- Major-Domo: Karl Schmitt-Walter