Strauss and Clemens Krauss wrote the German libretto, but its genesis came from Stefan Zweig in the 1930s, and Joseph Gregor further developed the idea several years later.

Capriccio received its American professional premiere at The Santa Fe Opera in 1958 after the Juilliard School staged it in 1954 with Gloria Davy and Thomas Stewart as the aristocratic siblings.

This was a topic of discussion at the time of the setting, as in a 1786 Salieri opera named for the issue, Prima la musica e poi le parole (First the Music and Then the Words).

The theatre director La Roche wakes from a nap, and reminds them both that impresarios and actors are necessary to bring their work to life.

Olivier has written a new play for the Countess's birthday the next day, which La Roche will direct, with the Count and the famous actress Clairon performing.

Olivier feels that Flamand has ruined his poem, while the Countess marvels at the magic synthesis of words and music.

The Count, Countess, Flamand, Olivier, Clairon and La Roche reflect on the respective merits of dance, music and poetry.

La Roche describes his planned two-part birthday entertainment for the Countess, the "Birth of Pallas Athene" followed by the "Fall of Carthage".

The guests laugh and mock his extravagant ideas, but La Roche, in a monologue, attacks what he sees as the weakness of these contemporary youngsters, whose creations fail to reach the heart; he defends his faith in the theatre of the past and his own work as a mature director and a preserver of the great artistic traditions.

The Countess manages to reconcile the three, urging them to make peace, pointing out how their arts are interdependent; she commissions the pair to collaborate on an opera.

They search for a plot and it is the Count, who, according to his sister, "isn't very musical; he prefers military marches", who hits on the bold idea of an opera depicting the very events of that afternoon, the characters to be real people "like us", just as La Roche wishes.

As evening falls, the Countess returns, having dressed for supper, and learns from the Major-Domo that her brother has gone to Paris with Clairon, leaving her to dine alone.