(
The Woman without a Shadow), Op. 65, is an
opera in three acts by
Richard Strauss with a
libretto by his long-time collaborator, the poet
Hugo von Hofmannsthal. It was written between 1911 and either 1915 or 1917. When it premiered in
Vienna on 10 October 1919, critics and audiences were unenthusiastic. Many cited problems with Hofmannsthal's complicated and heavily symbolic libretto. However, it is now a standard part of the operatic repertoire.