The 1950s in Germany saw the heyday of radio operas which were produced exclusively for radio broadcasting. As far as dramatic representation is concerned, many radio operas show a mixture of narrative and dramatic genres. Dealing with works by Henze, Zillig and Reutter in an exemplary manner, the following article investigates the transformation of narrative texts into librettos for radio operas, showing that the narrative element remains structurally predominant. And yet the transformation of direct speech or narrative discourse into characters' discourse and in some works also the change of the narrator's function into dialogues contribute to the reinforcement of dramatic elements. When narrative and drama interpenetrate, a second change of medium from radio broadcasting to the opera stage generally succeeds more easily.
