The playwright Gerhart Hauptmann (1862-1946) wafts like a ghost through the annals of early-twentieth-century opera. Alban Berg thought seriously of making an adaptation of Hauptmann’s play “And Pippa Dances” (1906) before moving on to the two Frank Wedekind plays from which he would fashion “Lulu.”

And Carl Ruggles spent several of his early years writing an opera based on “The Sunken Bell” (1896), and even submitted a draft to the Metropolitan Opera, but he destroyed the score, recognizing (rightly) that he lacked the kind of talent to take on the challenge of the theatre. But “The Sunken Bell” did make the leap to opera, in 1927, when the Italian composer Ottorino Respighi transformed the play into “La Campana Sommersa.” It turned out to be an exceptional piece of work, and its production by the New York City Opera (which runs at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Rose Theatre through April 5th) has proved to be the finest effort so far of the recently reëstablished company.