It was first performed on 1 July 1933, at the Dresden Sächsisches Staatstheater. The opera received its premiere in the UK on 17 May 1934 at London's Royal Opera House. Two decades later, on 10 February 1955, it was performed at the Metropolitan Opera in New York with Eleanor Steber in the title role. The Met has given 58 performances of the work since that date. In 2008, the production by Opera Australia won the Helpmann Award for Best Opera. Productions since 2012 have included performances in Vienna, Tokyo, Paris, Salzburg, Nuremberg, Hamburg, Budapest, Amsterdam, The Santa Fe Opera and Minneapolis.

Librettist Hugo von Hofmannsthal
Date of composition 1932 (1930-1932)
Premiered 1933, July 1st (Semperoper) in Dresden, Germany
First published 1933
Type Opera
Catalogue TrV 263
Approx. duration 190 minutes
Spoken language German
Instruments Orchestra
Chorus/Choir
Voice (Soprano) - Arabella, daughter of Count Waldner
Voice (Soprano) - Zdenka, Arabella's younger sister
Voice (Bass) - Count Waldner, father of Arabella and Zdenka, a retired cavalry officer
Voice (Mezzo-Soprano) - Adelaide, mother of Arabella and Zdenka, Waldner's wife
Voice (Baritone) - Mandryka, a Croatian landowner
Voice (Tenor) - Matteo, a young officer
Voice (Tenor) - Count Elemer, one of Arabella's suitors
Voice (Baritone) - Count Dominik, one of Arabella's suitors
Voice (Bass) - Count Lamoral, one of Arabella's suitors
Voice (Soprano) - Coloratura ; The Fiakermilli, belle of the Coachmen's Ball
Voice (Soprano) - A fortune-teller
Narrator, Recitant, Speaker - Welko, Djura, Jankel, Mandryka's servants
Narrator, Recitant, Speaker - Hotel Porter
Silent Role - A chaperone, three card players, a doctor, a waiter
Autotranslations beta Richard Strauss: Arabella, TrV 263 "Lyrische komödie in drei aufzügen"
Richard Strauss: Arabella, TrV 263 "Lyrische komödie in drei aufzügen"
Richard Strauss: Arabella, TrV 263 "Lyrische komödie in drei aufzügen"