daphne

Daphne is Richard Strauss' only one-act opera. The first performance of the opera took place on 15 October 1938 at the Semperoper in Dresden. The plot of the opera is based on Greek mythology. Apollo, the God of Light, son of Zeus, sees a young and beautiful girl by the river. The name of this unique beauty is Daphne. Apollo wants to talk to him. But Defne begins to run away from the God of Light. As for Apollo, he definitely wants to capture this beautiful fairy. The distance between them becomes shorter and shorter, and there comes a moment when Defne hears Apollo's breath in her hair. Realizing that there is no possibility of salvation anymore, Defne stops suddenly and scrapes the ground with her foot and shouts; “O mother earth, cover me, hide me, protect me.” Upon this sincere plea, Laurel turns into a laurel tree.