Hofmannsthal, << HOHF mahns tahl, >> Hugo von (1874-1929), an Austrian poet and playwright, is best known for librettos (texts) for the operas of German composer Richard Strauss. Hofmannsthal and Strauss began a successful collaboration with Elektra, first staged in 1909. They continued with Der Rosenkavalier (1911), Ariadne auf Naxos (1912), The Woman Without a Shadow (1919), The Egyptian Helen (1928), and Arabella, produced in 1933 after Hofmannsthal died.
Hofmannsthal was born on Feb. 1, 1874, and educated in Vienna. As a young man, he created a literary sensation there with a series of symbolic verse dramas. His best-known play is Everyman (1911), an adaptation of an English medieval morality play. His poetry is filled with symbolism and is deeply melancholy. Hofmannsthal died on July 15, 1929.
