An asymmetric total synthesis of ent-(-)-roseophilin (1), the unnatural enantiomer of a novel naturally occurring antitumor antibiotic, is described. The approach enlists a room temperature heterocyclic azadiene inverse electron demand Diels-Alder reaction of dimethyl 1, 2, 4, 5-tetrazine-3, 6-dicarboxylate (7) with the optically active enol ether 6 bearing the C23 chiral center followed by a reductive ring contraction reaction for formation of an ...