Vanessa lives with her reticent mother and niece Erika in a house frozen in time for many years. All the mirrors have been covered so that she can’t be confronted with her aging self. She has waited many years for her lover to return and so is overjoyed when news of a visitor arrives. But time did not stand still in the world outside, and her beloved Anatol is dead. The visitor is his son, who is very taken by Erika and she to him. After she turns down his hand in marriage he turns his attention to Vanessa. When Vanessa and Anatol’s engagement is announced at a ball Erika, pregnant with his child, resorts to drastic measures. The newlyweds leave. Erika remains behind, the mirrors are covered again. Now it is her turn to wait.
   Vanessa was Samuel Barber’s only successful opera. The libretto was written by Gian Carlo Menotti, composer, librettist and Barber’s companion through life. The world premiere, at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, was a great success. The conductor, Dimitri Mitropoulos, shouted out: »At last, an American grand opéra!«