This is clearly a Regieoper production, with a lot of symbolism depicting the aspects of a long life: repetition, waiting, etc.
One regie bit that seemed pretty clear to me occurs 29 minutes into Act 3. As Emilia sings, "For me, life has stopped. I can go no further...the terrible loneliness,” a dormouse runs across the front of the stage. In German, this is a Siebenschläfer (Seven Sleepers); like our Punxsutawney Phil, he is a weather harbinger.
