Arabella’s premiere in 1933 in Dresden marked a return to fortune for Strauss and Hofmannsthal after the mixed receptions of Die Frau ohne Schatten and Die äyptische Helena, due in no little part, perhaps, to a plotline not so far removed from their most successful endeavour, Der Rosenkavalier. Certainly this tale of two pairs of lovers and mistaken identity at a ball would not have been out of a place in a late Mozart opera and drew from Strauss some of his most ardently romantic music.

The scenario centres on the title-character and her unwillingly cross-dressing sister, Zdenka, whose impoverished parents can only afford to launch one daughter into society. Zdenka loves the penniless Matteo but Matteo loves Arabella, who in turns adores Mandryka, a handsome stranger she has met in the street. However, Mandryka, heir to a fortune, has been drawn to Arabella by her father, who had sent him her portrait. First he wins her hand, then – due to Zdenka’s contriving to sleep with Matteo, who believes he is making love to Arabella – loses it. All is resolved at the close in a satisfactorily happy ending.

This Vienna State Opera production from 2006 is happily satisfactory too. Sven-Eric Bechtolf’s staging is reassuringly straightforward and in keeping with Hofmannsthal’s scenario and Welser-Möst directs a beautifully manicured interpretation. The ball scene in Act 2 is the fulcrum on which the production turns and the denouement and final reconciliation are nicely prepared. The cast are uniformly strong, Konieczny outstanding as the passionate and foolish Mandryka. Bankl displays nice comic timing as the penurious Count Waldner but it is Emily Magee in the title-role, and her final duet with Konieczny is truly radiant. Arabella’s problem is that, while reprising many of the mannerisms of earlier operas, it lacks the lasting memorableness of Rosenkavalier or Ariadne. Nevertheless, it is superbly constructed, slickly produced and ardently performed by singers and orchestra alike. Don Kent’s video direction is unobtrusively natural, concentrating on the important details while conveying a good sense of the whole. More operas should be done this way.