Visions: Notes of the Seminar Given in 1930–1934 (excerpt no. 2: “Engrossing”)

The myth of Daphne is considered in relation to its expression in musical compositions: a 17th century Venetian opera, Gli amori d’Apollo e di Dafne, by Cavalli; an early 18th century cantata, Apollo e Dafne, by Haendel; and an opera first performed in 1938: Daphne, by Richard Strauss. The theme of metamorphosis and its many variations are analyzed on the basis of a kernel of the myth as written by Ovid.