Richard Strauss’ Intermezzo is a very strange semi-autobiographical piece apparently dealing with the married life of Richard and Pauline Strauss thinly disguised as Court Composer Robert Storch and his wife Christine. What is really a bit weird is how these two characters are presented. Herr Storch is a bit stuffy and self absorbed but Frau Storch is just awful. She is rude to everyone, especially her long suffering maid and other servants, and she overreacts bizarrely to just about everything. She’s spoiled, self-centred, vain and generally a giant PitA.
