"DAS RING DER POLYKRATES" Synopsis The musician Wilhelm Arndt is celebrating his great luck with his young wife Laura : He has not only just been named court music director but has also inherited a small fortune in the unexpected death of his aunt. All that is lacking is the return of his long-lost friend Peter Vogel. And this is just what happens – Vogel arrives and views the cosy atmosphere of the Arndt household with envy. In order to provoke Wilhelm, he advises him to sacrifice something, after the model of Shiller’s “The Ring of Polycrates” ballad, this in order not to challenge fate with his great good luck. Wilhelm is supposed to start an argument with his wife by asking the “Fateful question” about her former life. Laura cannot be made to lose her composure, and even her anger at the question Wilhelm has posed with a guilty conscience does not last very long. Soon the two are in each other’s arms once again. All agree: The Ring of Polycrates , the sacrifice that has to be offered , is none other than the intriguer Peter Vogel himself, who has tried to ruin their happiness .                      Andreas K. W. Meyer                                                                            CPO Label 999 402-2