Historical Sources of The Libretto
- The Name of the Opera
See The Woman Who Had No Shadow
- The Story
Hofmannsthal was inspired by the fairy tale by Wilhelm Hauff, The Cold Heart (Das kalte Herz).
- The Name Keikobad
Keikobad is a variant spelling of the name of a sultan in the Mamluk Dynasty that ruled Delhi in the 1200s, one of the succession of unrelated dynasties that composed the "Delhi Sultanate."
Keikobad's grandfather, Ghiyasuddin Balban, was a cultured man who ruled for 21 years up to his death in battle in 1286 defending the kingdom from the Mughals who were attempting to expand from their base in the area of Afghanistan. He had settled the succession on his grandson Keikobad as one son, Keikobad's father, had died and a second son preferred to remain Governor of Bengal.
Keikobad was known as Kei Khusrao until he inherited the throne at age 18 and adopted the royal name Muiz ul-Din Qaiqabad. Dissolute and reduced by his vices to near paralysis, he was assassinated after three years on the throne by rebels who subsequently founded the Khilji Dynasty.
Read more about this topic: Die Frau Ohne Schatten
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