Richard Strauss is clearly in the ancestry of Broadway musicals,
and "Arabella" works fairly well on that level.  True, the dilemmas
seem a little antiquated, and true, even had it been in English
the libretto would not have been as easy to follow as usual in
Broadway musicals, but the spirit is much the same, with the 
emphasis being on having a good time, rather than on transcending
music or eternal drama.

Count Waldner is a transparently useless member of the nobility.
(The type occurs often enough in opera that I'm mildly surprised
that opera is not more often condemned as revolutionary.)  Since
he doesn't do anything except gamble, and he isn't clever enough
to turn a profit at that, he is broke.  The sole hope for the 
family is arranging a good marriage for the eldest daughter, Arabella.
Problem is, launching a maid into Viennese high society is an
expensive proposition, and Count Waldner's circumstances are too
straitened to provide a similar treatment for his younger daughter.
So the younger daughter, Zdenka, is being represented as a pre-teen
boy, a much less expensive proposition.  (I should think this ploy
would have insuperable practical difficulties, without even getting
into the question of possible psychological damage.)  But be that 
as it may, all hopes rest on Arabella, and time is growing pressing
to get her married off.

The opera opens with her proclaiming the highest ideals for marriage,
saying she will marry for love and cling eternally to husband and
family, and that papa's efforts to pick a husband must take second
place to such ideals.  However, fortunately, the guy she falls for,
Mandryka, just happens to be loaded.

The fly in this ointment which provides enough plot to run an 
opera on is little sister Zdenka, who falls madly, irresponsibly,
in love with one of Arabella's other suiters, Mattai.  She has
been leading him on right along by writing and delivering letters
to him, which she attributes to Arabella.  He is therefore a bit 
confused and miffed when Arabella accepts the proposal of marriage
by Mandryka, tendered at the grand Coachman's Ball.

Zdenka, as the lad Zdenko, tells him that Arabella is being forced
by circumstances to marry Mandryka, and hands him the key to her
hotel room, telling him that it is Arabella's, and that he should
come see Arabella.  Which, after a bit of hesitation, he does.
The dialog is carefully framed for a family audience, so that with
a really firm determination one might believe that they spent the
interlude hugging and kissing and whispering sweet nothings to each
other with the lights out.

Mandryka, meanwhile, has heard a bit of Zdenko and Mattai's conversation,
becomes extremely, understandably, upset, and goes looking for Arabella
in an ugly mood.  Arabella, Mattai, and Mandryka run into each other
in the hotel lobby.  They have rather different ideas about what's just
been happening.  Things proceed to the point that Mandryka, despite 
the fact that he left his sword in his other suit and has to order out
for one, challenges Mattai to a duel.  Count Waldner, who has wandered
in in the middle, believes his daughter's claim of innocence, claims
Mandryka is defaming her, and challenges him to a duel.

This sanguinary turn of events eventually alarms Zdenka and she rushes
in and confesses all.  Mattai says he's always liked Zdenko, and maybe
likes Zdenka pretty well too, maybe as much as he thought he liked
Arabella.  Mandryka remarks that perhaps it would be well that Zdenka
and Mattai should get married forthwith, which finally convinces Waldner 
that perhaps he should withdraw his free-floating offer to have a duel 
with somebody.  And Arabella says she forgives Mandryka for doubting 
her and plights her eternal troth to him.  So all ends well.

And we knew all the time that Mattai was a good guy because he was a
tenor.

All in all, a night of Broadway type fun, with more classical music
and pretty fancy sets thrown in.