Der Rosenkavalier
Encyclopedia
Der Rosenkavalier (The Knight of the Rose) is a comic opera
in three acts by Richard Strauss
to an original German
libretto
by Hugo von Hofmannsthal
. It is loosely adapted from the novel Les amours du chevalier de Faublas by Louvet de Couvrai
and Molière
’s comedy Monsieur de Pourceaugnac
. It was first performed at the Königliches Opernhaus
in Dresden
on 26 January 1911 under the direction of Max Reinhardt
. Until the premiere, the working title was Ochs von Lerchenau. (The choice of the name Ochs is not accidental, for in German Ochs is translated as ox, which depicts the character of the Baron throughout the opera.)
The opera has four main characters: the aristocratic Marschallin, her very young lover Count Octavian Rofrano, her coarse cousin Baron Ochs, and Ochs' prospective fiancée Sophie von Faninal, daughter of a rich bourgeois. At the Marschallin's suggestion, Ochs has Octavian act as his Rosenkavalier, and present the ceremonial silver rose to Sophie. But when Octavian meets Sophie, they
fall in love on sight. By a comic intrigue, they get rid of Ochs with the help of the Marschallin, who then yields Octavian to the younger woman.
But while a comic opera, Der Rosenkavalier also operates at a deeper level. Conscious of the difference in age between herself and Octavian, the Marschallin muses in bittersweet fashion over the passing of time, growing old, and men's inconstancy. It is hard to escape the conclusion that her nomination of him as Knight of the Rose and his and Sophie's subsequent love are no accident - realising that she will inevitably lose Octavian sooner or later, she has chosen to set him free.
There are many recordings of the opera, and it is regularly performed.
, who had previously conducted the premieres of Strauss's Feuersnot
, Salome
and Elektra
; Georg Toller was originally supposed to produce the production, but he backed out and was replaced by Max Reinhardt
. The event was a pinnacle in the career of soprano Margarethe Siems
(Strauss’s first Chrysothemis) who portrayed the Marschallin.
The reaction to the 1911 premiere was nothing short of triumphant. The opera was a complete success with the public and was a great financial boon for the house; it is reported that at the time of the première, tickets were sold out almost immediately. The response from music critics was overall very positive, although some responded negatively to Strauss's use of waltz
es, a music form out of fashion at that present moment. Despite this, the opera became one of the composer's most popular works during his lifetime and the opera remains a part of the standard repertory today.
on 1 March 1911 using an Italian translation . The cast, led by conductor Tullio Serafin
, included Lucrezia Bori
in the breeches role
of Octavian, Ines Maria Ferraris
as Sophie, and Pavel Ludikar
as Baron Ochs. The opera's Austrian premiere was given by the Vienna State Opera
on the following 8 April under the baton of Schuch with Marie Gutheil-Schoder
as Octavian, and Richard Mayr
as Baron Ochs. The work reached the Teatro Costanzi in Rome seven months later on 14 November with Egisto Tango
conducting Hariclea Darclée
as the Marschallin and Conchita Supervía
as Octavian.
The United Kingdom premiere of Der Rosenkavalier occurred at the Royal Opera House
in London on 29 January 1913. Thomas Beecham
conducted the performance whose cast included Margarethe Siems
as the Marschallin. The United States premiere took place at the Metropolitan Opera
on the following 9 December in a production conducted by Alfred Hertz
. The cast included Frieda Hempel
as the Marschallin, Margarethe Arndt-Ober
as Octavian, and Anna Case
as Sophie. A number of Italian theatres produced the work for the first time in the 1920s, including the Teatro Lirico Giuseppe Verdi (1922), Teatro Regio di Torino (1923), Teatro di San Carlo
(1925), and the Teatro Carlo Felice
(1926) among others.
Der Rosenkavalier reached Monaco on 21 March 1926 when it was performed by the Opéra de Monte-Carlo
at the Salle Garnier in a French translation. The performance starred Gabrielle Ritter-Ciampi
as the Marschallin and Vanni Marcoux
as Faninal. 1926 also saw the premiere of a film of the opera
. The French premiere of the opera itself came in 1927 at the Palais Garnier
in Paris on 11 February 1927 with conductor Philippe Gaubert
. The cast included Germaine Lubin
as Octavian. Brussels heard the work for the first time at La Monnaie
on 15 December 1927 with Clara Clairbert
as Sophie.
The Salzburg Festival
mounted Der Rosenkavalier for the first time on 12 August 1929 in a production conducted by Clemens Krauss
. The cast included Lotte Lehmann
as the Marschallin and Marta Fuchs
as Annina. Other first productions at notable houses, opera festivals, and music ensembles include: Teatro Massimo
(5 March 1932), Philadelphia Orchestra
(30 November 1934), San Francisco Opera
(16 October 1940), Philadelphia Opera Company
(2 December 1941), Maggio Musicale Fiorentino
(2 May 1942), La Fenice
(20 April 1943), Festival dei Due Mondi
(19 June 1964), Teatro Comunale di Bologna
(19 November 1965), Lyric Opera of Chicago
(25 September 1970), the Australian Opera
(Melbourne, 1972)and the New York City Opera
(19 November 1973) among many others.
role of the Marschallin, which has been labeled as the soprano equivalent to Wagner
's Hans Sachs
in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
, has been a star vehicle for a number of notable singers in recent years, including: Cheryl Barker
, Angela Denoke
, Renée Fleming
, Nancy Gustafson
, Soile Isokoski
, Solveig Kringlebotn
, Felicity Lott
, Adrianne Pieczonka
, Dorothea Röschmann
, Anne Schwanewilms
, Cheryl Studer
, Kiri Te Kanawa
, and Carol Wilson
.
Some sopranos such as Lucia Popp
, Edith Mathis
, Valerie Masterson
, and Elizabeth Harwood
have gone from the light lyric soprano role of young Sophie to the deeper and more dramatic role of the Marschallin. A few singers such as Elisabeth Schumann
and Margarethe Arndt-Ober
have progressed from the high soprano of Sophie to the mezzo-soprano role of Octavian. Some such as Gwyneth Jones, Christa Ludwig
, Tiana Lemnitz
, and Elisabeth Grümmer
have gone from Octavian to the Marschallin. Singers who performed all three roles during their careers include Evelyn Lear
, Lotte Lehmann
, Elisabeth Söderström
, Lisa Della Casa
, and Sena Jurinac
.
Princess Marie Therese von Werdenberg (the Marschallin, the title given to a Field Marshal's wife) and her much younger lover, Count Octavian Rofrano, exchange vows of love ("Wie du warst! Wie du bist"). To avoid scandal, he hides when a small black boy, Mohammed, brings the Marschallin's breakfast. During breakfast loud voices are heard in the garderobe
and not the main door. The Marschallin believes that it is her husband who has returned unexpectedly from a hunting trip and has Octavian hide behind the bed. He reappears disguised as a chambermaid, "Mariandel" ("Befehl'n fürstli' Gnad'n, i bin halt noch nit recht..."), and tries to sneak away through the garderobe. But the Marschallin's country cousin Baron Ochs auf Lerchenau has unexpectedly entered through that same door to discuss his engagement to Sophie ("Selbstverständlich empfängt mich Ihro Gnaden"), the daughter of a wealthy merchant who has been recently elevated to nobility
by the Empress. After boorishly describing his personal pastime of chasing skirts, and demonstrating it on the disguised Octavian, he asks the Marschallin to recommend a young man to serve as his Rosenkavalier ("Knight of the Rose"), who will deliver the traditional silver engagement rose to Sophie. She suggests Octavian. When Ochs sees the young count's picture, he notices the count's resemblance to the chambermaid "Mariandel", and assumes that she is Octavian's illegitimate sister. Ochs boasts that nobility should be served by nobility, which leads to a confession that he has an illegitimate son working for him. The coarse Ochs propositions the "chambermaid". Octavian plays coy and leaves at the first chance.
The room then fills with supplicants to the Princess ("Drei arme adelige Waisen"). An Italian
tenor sent by the Portuguese
Ambassador
serenades the Marschallin ("Di rigori armato"), while Ochs works out the marriage contract with the Marschallin's notary. Two Italian intriguers, Valzacchi and Annina, try to sell the Princess the latest scandal sheets. Rudely interrupting the tenor's song, Ochs tells the notary to demand a dower
from Sophie's family (having confused dower with dowry
). The notary attempts to explain that such is impossible under the law. Valzacchi and Annina now offer their services to Ochs. He asks whether they know anything about the Princess's "maid". They don't, but they assure him that they do. Amidst all the activity, the Marschallin remarks to her hairdresser: "My dear Hippolyte, today you have made me look like an old woman." ("Mein lieber Hippolyte").
When all have left, the Marschallin, reminded of her own early marriage by Ochs's young bride, sadly ponders her fleeting youth and the fickleness of men ("Da geht er hin..."). By this time Octavian returns (in men's clothes) ("Ach, du bist wieder da"), she has realized that one day he will leave her ("Die Zeit, die ist ein sonderbar Ding"). She muses on the passage of time (a clock is heard chiming thirteen times), and turns Octavian away. After he has left, she suddenly realizes that she has forgotten to kiss him goodbye, and sends some footmen after him; however, it is too late, he is gone. The Marschallin summons her page to take the silver rose to Octavian to deliver to Sophie. After Mohammed departs, Marie Therese stares pensively into her hand mirror as the curtain falls.
Herr von Faninal and Sophie await the arrival of the Rosenkavalier (Knight of the Rose), Octavian ("Ein ernster Tag, ein grosser Tag!"). Following tradition, Faninal departs before the Knight appears. Sophie frets over her approaching marriage with a man she has never met as her duenna, Marianne, reports on the approach of Octavian ("In dieser feierlichen Stunde der Prüfung"). Octavian arrives with great pomp, dressed all in silver. He presents the silver rose to Sophie in an elaborate ceremony. Immediately, the two young people are attracted to each other and they sing a beautiful duet ("Mir ist die Ehre widerfahren...").
During a chaperoned conversation, Sophie and Octavian begin to fall in love (in this conversation she reveals Octavian's full name: Octavian Maria Ehrenreich Bonaventura Fernand Hyacinth Rofrano, aka Quinquin in intimacy). Ochs enters with Sophie's father ("Jetzt aber kommt mein Herr Zukünftiger"). The Baron speaks familiarly with Octavian (though they have never officially met), examines Sophie like chattel and generally behaves like a cad, also revealing that Octavian "has" illegitimate family. Ochs's servants begin to chase the maids, sending the household into an uproar. Sophie starts to weep, and Octavian promises to help her ("Mit Ihren Augen voll Tränen"). He embraces her, but they are discovered by Ochs's Italian spies, who report to him. Ochs is only amused, considering the much younger Octavian no threat, but Octavian's temper is raised enough to challenge the bull-headed Ochs to a duel. Ochs receives a slight wound in the arm in the fracas and cries bloody murder. As a doctor is sent for, Sophie tells her father that she will never marry Ochs, but her father insists, and threatens to send her to a convent
. Octavian is thrown out, and Sophie is sent to her room. As Ochs is left alone on the divan with his wounded arm in a sling, he begins to raise his spirits with a glass of port
. Annina enters with a letter for Ochs from "Mariandel" asking to meet him for a tryst. The now recovered and drunk Ochs, in anticipation of his imminent meeting, dances around the stage to one of the opera's many ironic and wry waltzes, refusing to tip Annina, who silently swears revenge ("Da lieg' ich!").
Valzacchi and Annina have switched alliances and are now helping Octavian prepare a trap for the Baron. There is far more than meets the eye about the room that Valzacchi has rented for the Baron's tryst, and in a pantomime
all the preparations to trap the Baron and foil his engagement with Sophie are seen.
Ochs and "Mariandel" arrive for a rendez-vous. Ochs tries to seduce the seemingly willing chambermaid, though he is disturbed by her resemblance to Octavian. The guilt-ridden baron catches glimpses of the heads of Octavian's conspirators as they pop out of secret doors. A woman (Annina in disguise) rushes in claiming that Ochs is her husband and the father of her children, all of whom rush in crying "Papa! Papa!" The confusion grows and the police arrive, and to avoid a scandal, Ochs claims that "Mariandel" is his fiancée Sophie. Octavian lets the Police Inspector in on the trick, and the Inspector plays along. In the meantime Ochs tries to pull his noble rank to no avail, claiming that "Mariandel" is under his protection. Furious to be enmeshed in the scandal, Faninal arrives and sends for Sophie to clear their names. Sophie arrives and asks Ochs to leave her alone. Just as Ochs is completely befuddled and embarrassed, the Marschallin enters. The Police Inspector recognizes her, having previously served under her husband. The Marschallin sends the police and all the others away. Ochs still tries to claim Sophie for himself after having realized the truth about the Marschallin and Octavian/Mariandel's relationship, even attempting to blackmail the Marschallin, but is ordered to leave gracefully. Salvaging what is left of his dignity. Ochs finally leaves, pursued by various bill collectors.
The Marschallin, Sophie, and Octavian are left alone. The Marschallin recognizes that the day she so feared has come, as Octavian hesitates between the two women (Trio: Marie Theres'! / Hab' mir's gelobt). In the emotional climax of the opera, the Marschallin gracefully releases Octavian, encouraging him to follow his heart and love Sophie. She then withdraws elegantly to the next room to talk with Faninal. As soon as she is gone, Sophie and Octavian run to each other's arms. Faninal and the Marschallin return to find the lovers locked in an embrace. After a few bittersweet glances to her lost lover, the Marschallin departs with Faninal. Sophie and Octavian follow after another brief but ecstatic love duet (Ist ein Traum / Spür' nur dich), and the opera ends with little Mohammed running in to retrieve Sophie's dropped handkerchief, and racing out again after the departing nobility.
the following:
conductor
Artur Rodziński
, the Rosenkavalier Suite which begins with the opera's orchestral prelude, depicting the night of passion (vividly portrayed by whooping horns) between the Marschallin and Octavian. Next comes the appearance of Octavian as the Rosenkavalier, which is depicted in tender music; the sight of him looking so young makes the Marschallin realise that he will soon leave her for a younger woman. There follows the duet between Octavian and Sophie (oboe
and horn
) in which their love for each other becomes ever more obvious, but this is abruptly interrupted by the discordant music associated with the clumsy arrival of Ochs. Next the violin
s tentatively introduce the first waltz
, which is followed by another given out by the solo violin, before the whole orchestra settles into waltz mode. A general pause and a violin solo leads into the nostalgic music where the Marschallin sadly realises she has lost Octavian. Then comes its ecstatic climax. The work closes with a singularly robust Waltz, depicting Ochs at his most pompous, and a boisterous coda newly composed for the 1944 suite.
The suite was recently transcribed for organ by Peter Richard Conte and was featured in its world premiere at Macy's
in Philadelphia on the Wanamaker Organ
on June 26, 2010.
's libretto is a combination of different forms of the German language. Members of the nobility speak in very refined language, often archaic (set to the time of the opera) and very courteous. In more intimate circles they use a more familiar style of speech (du). For instance, the conversations between Octavian and the Marschallin in the first act use the familiar "you" but switch back and forth between more formal speech (Sie) and the familiar "du".
The language used by Baron Ochs is flamboyant at best and, although refined, makes use of non-German words such as his expression Corpo di Bacco ("Bacchus' Body"). Some programmes even have a glossary section. The language used by Octavian when impersonating "Mariandel", and by other non-noble characters, is basically Austrian dialect, impossible to understand by a non-German speaker. The German used by the Italians, Valzacchi and Annina, is also very broken and mixed with an Italian accent, something planned by the authors for these characters.
In English translations of the opera, these dialects have been accounted for with varying degrees of rigor; the Chandos highlights version, for example, uses only standard British English.
wrote an elaborate and complex piano transcription of a theme from this opera. The Ramble on the Last Love Duet in Der Rosenkavalier is one of Grainger's more complex piano transcriptions, with many sumptuous ornamentations and harmonic twists and turns.
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
in three acts by Richard Strauss
Richard Strauss
Richard Georg Strauss was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include Der Rosenkavalier and Salome; his Lieder, especially his Four Last Songs; and his tone poems and orchestral works, such as Death and Transfiguration, Till...
to an original German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
libretto
Libretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
by Hugo von Hofmannsthal
Hugo von Hofmannsthal
Hugo Laurenz August Hofmann von Hofmannsthal ; , was an Austrian novelist, librettist, poet, dramatist, narrator, and essayist.-Early life:...
. It is loosely adapted from the novel Les amours du chevalier de Faublas by Louvet de Couvrai
Jean-Baptiste Louvet de Couvrai
Jean-Baptiste Louvet de Couvrai was a French novelist, playwright, journalist, politician, and diplomat.-Early life and literary works:...
and Molière
Molière
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, known by his stage name Molière, was a French playwright and actor who is considered to be one of the greatest masters of comedy in Western literature...
’s comedy Monsieur de Pourceaugnac
Monsieur de Pourceaugnac
Monsieur de Pourceaugnac is a 1985 French drama film directed by Michel Mitrani that is based on the 1669 play of the same name by Molière. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1985 Cannes Film Festival.-Cast:...
. It was first performed at the Königliches Opernhaus
Semperoper
The Semperoper is the opera house of the Sächsische Staatsoper Dresden and the concert hall of the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden . It is located near the Elbe River in the historic center of Dresden, Germany.The opera house was originally built by the architect Gottfried Semper in 1841...
in Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
on 26 January 1911 under the direction of Max Reinhardt
Max Reinhardt
----Max Reinhardt was an Austrian theater and film director and actor.-Biography:...
. Until the premiere, the working title was Ochs von Lerchenau. (The choice of the name Ochs is not accidental, for in German Ochs is translated as ox, which depicts the character of the Baron throughout the opera.)
The opera has four main characters: the aristocratic Marschallin, her very young lover Count Octavian Rofrano, her coarse cousin Baron Ochs, and Ochs' prospective fiancée Sophie von Faninal, daughter of a rich bourgeois. At the Marschallin's suggestion, Ochs has Octavian act as his Rosenkavalier, and present the ceremonial silver rose to Sophie. But when Octavian meets Sophie, they
fall in love on sight. By a comic intrigue, they get rid of Ochs with the help of the Marschallin, who then yields Octavian to the younger woman.
But while a comic opera, Der Rosenkavalier also operates at a deeper level. Conscious of the difference in age between herself and Octavian, the Marschallin muses in bittersweet fashion over the passing of time, growing old, and men's inconstancy. It is hard to escape the conclusion that her nomination of him as Knight of the Rose and his and Sophie's subsequent love are no accident - realising that she will inevitably lose Octavian sooner or later, she has chosen to set him free.
There are many recordings of the opera, and it is regularly performed.
Premiere
Der Rosenkavalier premiered in 1911 in Dresden under the baton of Ernst von SchuchErnst von Schuch
Ernst Edler von Schuch, born Ernst Gottfried Schuch was an Austrian conductor, who became famous through his working collaborations with Richard Strauss at the Dresden Court Opera....
, who had previously conducted the premieres of Strauss's Feuersnot
Feuersnot
Feuersnot , Op. 50, is a Singgedicht or opera in one act by Richard Strauss. The German libretto was written by Ernst von Wolzogen, based on J. Ketel's report "Das erloschene Feuer zu Audenaerde" in the Oudenaarde Gazette, Leipzig, 1843...
, Salome
Salome (opera)
Salome is an opera in one act by Richard Strauss to a German libretto by the composer, based on Hedwig Lachmann’s German translation of the French play Salomé by Oscar Wilde. Strauss dedicated the opera to his friend Sir Edgar Speyer....
and Elektra
Elektra (opera)
Elektra is a one-act opera by Richard Strauss, to a German-language libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal, which he adapted from his 1903 drama Elektra. The opera was the first of many collaborations between Strauss and Hofmannsthal...
; Georg Toller was originally supposed to produce the production, but he backed out and was replaced by Max Reinhardt
Max Reinhardt
----Max Reinhardt was an Austrian theater and film director and actor.-Biography:...
. The event was a pinnacle in the career of soprano Margarethe Siems
Margarethe Siems
Margarethe Siems was a German operatic soprano and voice teacher. A Kammersängerin of the Dresden State Opera, between 1909 and 1912 Siems created leading roles in three operas by Richard Strauss: Chrysothemis in Elektra, the Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier, and Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf...
(Strauss’s first Chrysothemis) who portrayed the Marschallin.
The reaction to the 1911 premiere was nothing short of triumphant. The opera was a complete success with the public and was a great financial boon for the house; it is reported that at the time of the première, tickets were sold out almost immediately. The response from music critics was overall very positive, although some responded negatively to Strauss's use of waltz
Waltz
The waltz is a ballroom and folk dance in time, performed primarily in closed position.- History :There are several references to a sliding or gliding dance,- a waltz, from the 16th century including the representations of the printer H.S. Beheim...
es, a music form out of fashion at that present moment. Despite this, the opera became one of the composer's most popular works during his lifetime and the opera remains a part of the standard repertory today.
International success
Der Rosenkavalier quickly became an important part of the international opera repertory. Less than two months after its premiere, the work was performed for the first time in Italy at La ScalaLa Scala
La Scala , is a world renowned opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the New Royal-Ducal Theatre at La Scala...
on 1 March 1911 using an Italian translation . The cast, led by conductor Tullio Serafin
Tullio Serafin
-Biography:Tullio Serafin was a leading Italian opera conductor with a long career and a very broad repertoire who revived many 19th century bel canto operas by Bellini, Rossini and Donizetti to become staples of 20th century repertoire...
, included Lucrezia Bori
Lucrezia Bori
Lucrezia Bori was a Spanish operatic singer, a lyric soprano.-Biography:Lucrezia Bori was born in Valencia, Spain. Her real name was Lucrecia Borja y González de Riancho and her family were reputed to be descended from the Borgias.Her voice had a unique timbre and transparent quality unlike any...
in the breeches role
Breeches role
A breeches role is a role in which an actress appears in male clothing .In opera it also refers to any male character that is sung and acted by a female singer...
of Octavian, Ines Maria Ferraris
Ines Maria Ferraris
Ines Maria Ferraris was an Italian operatic soprano and pianist who sang for more than two decades at La Scala in addition to appearances on the international stage. Although popular in Italy, she had a particularly devoted fanbase throughout South America...
as Sophie, and Pavel Ludikar
Pavel Ludikar
Pavel Ludikar was a Czech operatic bass who had a highly successful international singing career from 1904 through 1944. He began his career in his native country and by 1911 had arisen at many of the major opera houses in Europe. From 1913 to 1935 his career was mainly centered in North and South...
as Baron Ochs. The opera's Austrian premiere was given by the Vienna State Opera
Vienna State Opera
The Vienna State Opera is an opera house – and opera company – with a history dating back to the mid-19th century. It is located in the centre of Vienna, Austria. It was originally called the Vienna Court Opera . In 1920, with the replacement of the Habsburg Monarchy by the First Austrian...
on the following 8 April under the baton of Schuch with Marie Gutheil-Schoder
Marie Gutheil-Schoder
Marie Gutheil-Schoder was one of the most important German sopranos of her day.Born Marie Schoder, in 1899 she married Gustav Gutheil, with whom she lived until his death in 1914....
as Octavian, and Richard Mayr
Richard Mayr
Richard Mayr was an Austrian operatic bass-baritone who was particularly admired for his performances in works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss...
as Baron Ochs. The work reached the Teatro Costanzi in Rome seven months later on 14 November with Egisto Tango
Egisto Tango
Egisto Tango was the conductor of several premieres by Bartók, including The Wooden Prince and Bluebeard's Castle....
conducting Hariclea Darclée
Hariclea Darclée
Hariclea Darclée was a celebrated Romanian operatic soprano. She possessed an agile, powerful, and beautiful voice that was wielded with a fine technique. An extremely beautiful woman, Darclée's stage presence was as elegant and refined as her singing...
as the Marschallin and Conchita Supervía
Conchita Supervia
Conchita Supervía was a highly popular Spanish mezzo-soprano singer who appeared in opera in Europe and America and also gave recitals....
as Octavian.
The United Kingdom premiere of Der Rosenkavalier occurred at the Royal Opera House
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
in London on 29 January 1913. Thomas Beecham
Thomas Beecham
Sir Thomas Beecham, 2nd Baronet CH was an English conductor and impresario best known for his association with the London Philharmonic and the Royal Philharmonic orchestras. He was also closely associated with the Liverpool Philharmonic and Hallé orchestras...
conducted the performance whose cast included Margarethe Siems
Margarethe Siems
Margarethe Siems was a German operatic soprano and voice teacher. A Kammersängerin of the Dresden State Opera, between 1909 and 1912 Siems created leading roles in three operas by Richard Strauss: Chrysothemis in Elektra, the Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier, and Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf...
as the Marschallin. The United States premiere took place at the Metropolitan Opera
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...
on the following 9 December in a production conducted by Alfred Hertz
Alfred Hertz
Alfred Hertz , a German conductor born in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. As a child, he contracted infantile paralysis and walked with a cane after that....
. The cast included Frieda Hempel
Frieda Hempel
Frieda Hempel was a German soprano singer in operatic and concert work who had an international career in Europe and the United States.-Biography:...
as the Marschallin, Margarethe Arndt-Ober
Margarethe Arndt-Ober
Margarethe Arndt-Ober was an American opera singer of German descent who had an active international career during the first half of the twentieth century. A highly skilled contralto, Ober enjoyed a particularly long and fruitful association with the Berlin State Opera from 1907 to 1944...
as Octavian, and Anna Case
Anna Case
Anna Case was an American soprano. She recorded with Thomas Alva Edison, who used her voice extensively in "tone tests" of whether a live audience could tell the difference between the actual singer and a recording...
as Sophie. A number of Italian theatres produced the work for the first time in the 1920s, including the Teatro Lirico Giuseppe Verdi (1922), Teatro Regio di Torino (1923), Teatro di San Carlo
Teatro di San Carlo
The Real Teatro di San Carlo is an opera house in Naples, Italy. It is the oldest continuously active such venue in Europe.Founded by the Bourbon Charles VII of Naples of the Spanish branch of the dynasty, the theatre was inaugurated on 4 November 1737 — the king's name day — with a performance...
(1925), and the Teatro Carlo Felice
Teatro Carlo Felice
The Teatro Carlo Felice is the principal opera house of Genoa, Italy, used for performances of opera, ballet, orchestral music, and recitals. It is located on the Piazza De Ferrari....
(1926) among others.
Der Rosenkavalier reached Monaco on 21 March 1926 when it was performed by the Opéra de Monte-Carlo
Opéra de Monte-Carlo
The Opéra de Monte-Carlo is an opera house located in the principality of Monaco.With the lack of cultural diversions available in Monaco in the 1870s, Prince Charles III, along with the Société des Bains de Mer, decided on the construction of an opera house. Initially, it was Charles III's...
at the Salle Garnier in a French translation. The performance starred Gabrielle Ritter-Ciampi
Gabrielle Ritter-Ciampi
Gabrielle Ritter-Ciampi Gabrielle Ritter-Ciampi Gabrielle Ritter-Ciampi (born in Paris November 2, 1886 - died July 18, 1974, was a French operatic soprano.Initially trained to be a pianist by her uncle Theodore Ritter, at age 16 she started to receive singing lessons from her parents; her Italian...
as the Marschallin and Vanni Marcoux
Vanni Marcoux
Jean-Émile Diogène Marcoux was a French operatic bass-baritone, known professionally as Vanni Marcoux . He was particularly associated with the French and Italian repertories...
as Faninal. 1926 also saw the premiere of a film of the opera
Der Rosenkavalier (1926 film)
Der Rosenkavalier is a 1926 Austrian silent film of the opera of the same name by Richard Strauss and Hugo von Hofmannsthal . Directed by Robert Wiene, it premiered on 10 January 1926 at the Dresden Semperoper, which had also hosted the actual opera's premiere 15 years earlier.The music during the...
. The French premiere of the opera itself came in 1927 at the Palais Garnier
Palais Garnier
The Palais Garnier, , is an elegant 1,979-seat opera house, which was built from 1861 to 1875 for the Paris Opera. It was originally called the Salle des Capucines because of its location on the Boulevard des Capucines in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, but soon became known as the Palais Garnier...
in Paris on 11 February 1927 with conductor Philippe Gaubert
Philippe Gaubert
Philippe Gaubert was a French musician who was a distinguished performer on the flute, a respected conductor, and a composer, primarily for the flute....
. The cast included Germaine Lubin
Germaine Lubin
Germaine Lubin was a French dramatic soprano best known for her association with the music of Richard Wagner...
as Octavian. Brussels heard the work for the first time at La Monnaie
La Monnaie
Le Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie , or the Koninklijke Muntschouwburg is a theatre in Brussels, Belgium....
on 15 December 1927 with Clara Clairbert
Clara Clairbert
Clara Pierre Impens was a Belgian soprano who sang under the stage-name Clara Clairbert.Born in Saint Gilles, Clara began studying music in Anderlecht at the age of seven. During the First World War her father, a civil servant, followed the Belgian government into exile, settling his family in Le...
as Sophie.
The Salzburg Festival
Salzburg Festival
The Salzburg Festival is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer within the Austrian town of Salzburg, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart...
mounted Der Rosenkavalier for the first time on 12 August 1929 in a production conducted by Clemens Krauss
Clemens Krauss
Clemens Heinrich Krauss was an Austrian conductor and opera impresario, particularly associated with the music of Richard Strauss.-Biography:...
. The cast included Lotte Lehmann
Lotte Lehmann
Charlotte "Lotte" Lehmann was a German soprano who was especially associated with German repertory. She gave memorable performances in the operas of Richard Strauss, Richard Wagner, Ludwig van Beethoven, Puccini, Mozart and Massenet. The Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier was considered her greatest...
as the Marschallin and Marta Fuchs
Marta Fuchs
Marta Fuchs was a German operatic soprano.She was born in Stuttgart. In 1923 she had her first concert, and from 1928 she made her operatic debut in Aachen. In 1930 she switched to the Staatsoper in Dresden...
as Annina. Other first productions at notable houses, opera festivals, and music ensembles include: Teatro Massimo
Teatro Massimo
The Teatro Massimo Vittorio Emanuele is an opera house and opera company located on the Piazza Verdi in Palermo, Sicily. It was dedicated to King Victor Emanuel II....
(5 March 1932), Philadelphia Orchestra
Philadelphia Orchestra
The Philadelphia Orchestra is a symphony orchestra based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. One of the "Big Five" American orchestras, it was founded in 1900...
(30 November 1934), San Francisco Opera
San Francisco Opera
San Francisco Opera is an American opera company, based in San Francisco, California.It was founded in 1923 by Gaetano Merola and is the second largest opera company in North America...
(16 October 1940), Philadelphia Opera Company
Philadelphia Opera Company
The Philadelphia Opera Company was the name of two different American opera companies active during the twentieth century in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The first company was founded by impresario Oscar Hammerstein I in 1908. That company disbanded only two years later as a result of financial...
(2 December 1941), Maggio Musicale Fiorentino
Maggio Musicale Fiorentino
Maggio Musicale Fiorentino is an annual opera festival which was founded in April 1933 by conductor Vittorio Gui with the aim of presenting contemporary and forgotten operas in visually dramatic productions. It was the first music festival in Italy. The first opera presented was Verdi's early...
(2 May 1942), La Fenice
La Fenice
Teatro La Fenice is an opera house in Venice, Italy. It is one of the most famous theatres in Europe, the site of many famous operatic premieres. Its name reflects its role in permitting an opera company to "rise from the ashes" despite losing the use of two theatres...
(20 April 1943), Festival dei Due Mondi
Festival dei Due Mondi
The Festival dei Due Mondi ' is an annual summer music and opera festival held each June to early July in Spoleto, Italy, since its founding by composer Gian Carlo Menotti in 1958...
(19 June 1964), Teatro Comunale di Bologna
Teatro Comunale di Bologna
The Teatro Comunale di Bologna is an opera house in Bologna, Italy, and is one of the most important opera venues in Italy. Typically, it presents eight operas with six performances during its November to April season....
(19 November 1965), Lyric Opera of Chicago
Lyric Opera of Chicago
Lyric Opera of Chicago is one of the leading opera companies in the United States. It was founded in Chicago in 1952, under the name 'Lyric Theatre of Chicago' by Carol Fox, Nicolà Rescigno and Lawrence Kelly, with a season that included Maria Callas's American debut in Norma...
(25 September 1970), the Australian Opera
Opera Australia
Opera Australia is the principal opera company in Australia. Based in Sydney, its performance season at the Sydney Opera House runs for approximately eight months of the year, with the remainder of its time spent in the The Arts Centre in Melbourne...
(Melbourne, 1972)and the New York City Opera
New York City Opera
The New York City Opera is an American opera company located in New York City.The company, called "the people's opera" by New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, was founded in 1943 with the aim of making opera financially accessible to a wide audience, producing an innovative choice of repertory, and...
(19 November 1973) among many others.
Recent performance history
Der Rosenkavalier remains a part of the standard opera repertory to this day. A total of 17 different productions in 15 cities were performed during the 2009–2010 international opera season. The tour-de-force sopranoSoprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
role of the Marschallin, which has been labeled as the soprano equivalent to Wagner
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
's Hans Sachs
Hans Sachs
Hans Sachs was a German meistersinger , poet, playwright and shoemaker.-Biography:Hans Sachs was born in Nuremberg . His father was a tailor. He attended Latin school in Nuremberg...
in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg is an opera in three acts, written and composed by Richard Wagner. It is among the longest operas still commonly performed today, usually taking around four and a half hours. It was first performed at the Königliches Hof- und National-Theater in Munich, on June 21,...
, has been a star vehicle for a number of notable singers in recent years, including: Cheryl Barker
Cheryl Barker
Cheryl Barker is an Australian operatic soprano who has had an active international career since the late 1980s. She has sung on several complete opera recordings with Chandos Records, including Dvořák's Rusalka , Janáček's The Makropulos Case , Janáček's Káťa Kabanová , and Puccini's Madama...
, Angela Denoke
Angela Denoke
Angela Denoke is a German opera singer .She studied at the University of Music and Drama of Hamburg. Her first contract was at the Theater Ulm , where she sang Fiordiligi , Donna Anna and Agathe in , among other roles...
, Renée Fleming
Renée Fleming
Renée Fleming is an American soprano specializing in opera and lieder. Fleming has a full lyric soprano voice.Fleming has performed coloratura, lyric, and lighter spinto soprano repertoires. She has sung roles in Italian, German, French, Czech, and Russian, aside from her native English. She also...
, Nancy Gustafson
Nancy Gustafson
Nancy Gustafson is an American opera singer.She received her B.A. from Mount Holyoke College in 1978 and her M.Mus. from Northwestern University...
, Soile Isokoski
Soile Isokoski
Soile Isokoski is a Finnish lyric soprano. She is an opera singer as well as a concert and lieder singer.- Career :Isokoski was born in Posio...
, Solveig Kringlebotn
Solveig Kringlebotn
Solveig Kringlebotn , also known professionally as Solveig Kringelborn, is an internationally-known Norwegian operatic soprano...
, Felicity Lott
Felicity Lott
Dame Felicity Ann Emwhyla Lott, DBE, FRCM is an English soprano.-Education:From her earliest years she was musical, having started studying piano at age 5. She also played violin and began singing lessons at 12. She is an alumna of Royal Holloway, University of London, obtaining a BA in French and...
, Adrianne Pieczonka
Adrianne Pieczonka
Adrianne Pieczonka, OC is a Canadian soprano opera singer. Pronounced AY-dree-in pyeh-CHON-kuh .She was born in Poughkeepsie, New York, and grew up near Toronto in Burlington and graduated from the Opera School of the University of Toronto. She also graduated from the University of Western Ontario...
, Dorothea Röschmann
Dorothea Röschmann
Dorothea Röschmann is a German opera soprano from Flensburg.-Education and early life:Röschmann studied at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg, under Barbara Schlick at the Akademie für Alte Musik in Bremen, and subsequently in Los Angeles, New York, Tel Aviv, and under Vera Rózsa in London...
, Anne Schwanewilms
Anne Schwanewilms
Anne Schwanewilms is a German lyric soprano. She studied gardening before training as a singer with the German bass, Hans Sotin, in Cologne...
, Cheryl Studer
Cheryl Studer
Cheryl Studer is a Grammy Award winning American dramatic soprano who has sung at many of the world's major opera houses. A singer with unusual versatility, Studer has performed more than eighty roles ranging from the dramatic repertoire to roles more commonly associated with lyric sopranos and...
, Kiri Te Kanawa
Kiri Te Kanawa
Dame Kiri Jeanette Te Kanawa, ONZ, DBE, AC is a New Zealand / Māori soprano who has had a highly successful international opera career since 1968. Acclaimed as one of the most beloved sopranos in both the United States and Britain she possesses a warm full lyric soprano voice, singing a wide array...
, and Carol Wilson
Carol Wilson
Carol Wilson is an American operatic soprano who is particularly admired for her interpretations of the works of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Richard Strauss, and Richard Wagner...
.
Role progression
Richard Strauss was inordinately fond of the female voice, and Der Rosenkavalier is famed for the beautiful music of the three female-voice roles which comprise its protagonists: Sophie, Octavian, and the Marschallin. This love triangle culminates in the exquisite trio and duet which end the opera. Some singers have enjoyed performing more than one of these three roles during the course of their careers.Some sopranos such as Lucia Popp
Lucia Popp
Lucia Popp was a notable Slovak operatic soprano. She began her career as a soubrette soprano, and later moved into the light-lyric and lyric coloratura soprano repertoire and then the lighter Richard Strauss and Wagner operas. Her career included performances at Vienna State Opera, the...
, Edith Mathis
Edith Mathis
Edith Mathis is a renowned Swiss soprano and a leading exponent of the works of Mozart. She studied in Lucerne and debuted there in 1956 in The Magic Flute...
, Valerie Masterson
Valerie Masterson
Margaret Valerie Masterson , is a retired English opera singer, a lecturer and Vice-President of British Youth Opera. After study in Italy, she began to sing opera in Europe...
, and Elizabeth Harwood
Elizabeth Harwood
Elizabeth Harwood was an English lyric soprano. After a music school, she enjoyed an operatic career lasting for over two decades and worked with such conductors as Colin Davis and Herbert von Karajan...
have gone from the light lyric soprano role of young Sophie to the deeper and more dramatic role of the Marschallin. A few singers such as Elisabeth Schumann
Elisabeth Schumann
Elisabeth Schumann was a German lyric soprano who sang in opera, operetta, oratorio, and lieder. She left a substantial legacy of recordings.-Career:...
and Margarethe Arndt-Ober
Margarethe Arndt-Ober
Margarethe Arndt-Ober was an American opera singer of German descent who had an active international career during the first half of the twentieth century. A highly skilled contralto, Ober enjoyed a particularly long and fruitful association with the Berlin State Opera from 1907 to 1944...
have progressed from the high soprano of Sophie to the mezzo-soprano role of Octavian. Some such as Gwyneth Jones, Christa Ludwig
Christa Ludwig
Christa Ludwig is a retired German mezzo-soprano, distinguished for her performances of opera, Lieder, oratorio and other major religious works like masses and passions, and solos contained in symphonic literature...
, Tiana Lemnitz
Tiana Lemnitz
Tiana Lemnitz was a German operatic soprano with a beautiful lyric voice. Her major operatic career took place between the two world wars .-Life and career:...
, and Elisabeth Grümmer
Elisabeth Grümmer
Elisabeth Schilz Grümmer was a German operatic lyric soprano.She was born at Niederjeutz, near Diedenhofen, Alsace-Lorraine to German parents...
have gone from Octavian to the Marschallin. Singers who performed all three roles during their careers include Evelyn Lear
Evelyn Lear
Evelyn Lear is an American soprano and opera singer.During her career between 1959 and 1992, Evelyn Lear appeared in more than forty operatic roles, appeared with every major opera company in the US and won a Grammy Award in 1966...
, Lotte Lehmann
Lotte Lehmann
Charlotte "Lotte" Lehmann was a German soprano who was especially associated with German repertory. She gave memorable performances in the operas of Richard Strauss, Richard Wagner, Ludwig van Beethoven, Puccini, Mozart and Massenet. The Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier was considered her greatest...
, Elisabeth Söderström
Elisabeth Söderström
Elisabeth Anna Söderström CBE was a Swedish soprano, who performed both opera and song. She was particularly well known for her recordings of the lead soprano roles in the three Janáček operas Jenůfa, Káťa Kabanová, and The Makropoulos Affair, all of which received Gramophone Awards...
, Lisa Della Casa
Lisa Della Casa
Lisa Della Casa is a Swiss soprano most admired for her interpretations of major heroines in major operas by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Richard Strauss, of German lieder, and for her great beauty. She was dubbed “the most beautiful woman on the operatic stage”...
, and Sena Jurinac
Sena Jurinac
Sena Jurinac Sena (Srebrenka) Jurinac Sena (Srebrenka) Jurinac ([juˈrinats] (24 October 192122 November 2011) was a Bosnian Croat/Austrian operatic soprano.Born in Travnik, Bosnia-Herzegovina, she studied at the Zagreb Academy of Music, and also with Milka Kostrenčić (whose other well-known...
.
Roles
| Role | Voice type Voice type A voice type is a particular kind of human singing voice perceived as having certain identifying qualities or characteristics. Voice classification is the process by which human voices are evaluated and are thereby designated into voice types... | Premiere cast, 26 January 1911 (Conductor Conducting Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble... : Ernst von Schuch Ernst von Schuch Ernst Edler von Schuch, born Ernst Gottfried Schuch was an Austrian conductor, who became famous through his working collaborations with Richard Strauss at the Dresden Court Opera.... ) |
|---|---|---|
| The Marschallin, Princess Marie Thérèse von Werdenberg | soprano Soprano A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody... |
Margarethe Siems Margarethe Siems Margarethe Siems was a German operatic soprano and voice teacher. A Kammersängerin of the Dresden State Opera, between 1909 and 1912 Siems created leading roles in three operas by Richard Strauss: Chrysothemis in Elektra, the Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier, and Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf... |
| Octavian, Count Rofrano, her young lover | mezzo-soprano Mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above... |
Eva von der Osten Eva von der Osten Eva Helga Bertha von der Osten was a German soprano. She was born in Helgoland, the daughter of actor Emil von der Osten and Rosa von der Osten-Hildebrandt .... |
| Baron Ochs auf Lerchenau, the Marschallin's cousin | bass Bass (voice type) A bass is a type of male singing voice and possesses the lowest vocal range of all voice types. According to The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, a bass is typically classified as having a range extending from around the second E below middle C to the E above middle C... |
Karl Perron Karl Perron Karl Perron, born Karl Pergamenter and also known as Carl Perron, was a German bass-baritone. A Kammersänger of the Dresden State Opera, he created leading roles in three operas by Richard Strauss – Jochanaan in Salome, Orest in Elektra, and Baron Ochs in Der Rosenkavalier.-Biography:Karl Perron... |
| Sophie von Faninal | soprano | Minnie Nast Minnie Nast Minnie Nast was a German soprano. She was born in Karlsruhe and studied at the Karlsruhe Conservatory, making her début at Aachen in 1897.... |
| Herr von Faninal, Sophie's rich parvenu Parvenu A Parvenu is a person who is a relative newcomer to a socioeconomic class. The word is borrowed from the French language; it is the past participle of the verb parvenir... father |
baritone Baritone Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or... |
Karl Scheidemantel Karl Scheidemantel Karl Scheidemantel was a baritone singer, and later an opera director.-Life and career:... |
| Marianne, her duenna | soprano | Riza Eibenschütz |
| Valzacchi, an intriguer | tenor Tenor The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2... |
Hans Rüdiger |
| Annina, his niece and partner | contralto Contralto Contralto is the deepest female classical singing voice, with the lowest tessitura, falling between tenor and mezzo-soprano. It typically ranges between the F below middle C to the second G above middle C , although at the extremes some voices can reach the E below middle C or the second B above... |
Erna Freund |
| A notary | bass | Ludwig Ermold |
| An Italian singer | tenor Tenor The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2... |
Fritz Soot |
| Three noble orphans | soprano, mezzo- soprano, contralto |
Marie Keldorfer, Gertrude Sachse, Paula Seiring |
| A milliner | soprano | Elisa Stünzner |
| A vendor of pets | tenor | Josef Pauli |
| Faninal's Major-Domo | tenor | Fritz Soot |
| A police inspector | bass | Julius Puttlitz |
| The Marschallin's Major-Domo | tenor | Anton Erl |
| An innkeeper | tenor | Josef Pauli |
| Four lackeys | tenors, basses | Josef Pauli, Wilhelm Quidde, Rudolf Schmalnauer, Robert Büssel |
| Four waiters | tenor, basses | Wilhelm Quidde, Rudolf Schmalnauer, Robert Büssel, Franz Nebuschka |
| Mohammed, the Marschallin's black page | silent | |
| A flautist, a cook, a hairdresser and his assistant, a scholar, a noble widow |
all silent | |
| Servants, hired deceivers, children, constables | ||
Summary
- Time: 1740s, in the first years of the reign of Empress Maria TheresaMaria Theresa of AustriaMaria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina was the only female ruler of the Habsburg dominions and the last of the House of Habsburg. She was the sovereign of Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Bohemia, Mantua, Milan, Lodomeria and Galicia, the Austrian Netherlands and Parma...
. - Place: ViennaViennaVienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
.
Act 1
The Marschallin's bedroomPrincess Marie Therese von Werdenberg (the Marschallin, the title given to a Field Marshal's wife) and her much younger lover, Count Octavian Rofrano, exchange vows of love ("Wie du warst! Wie du bist"). To avoid scandal, he hides when a small black boy, Mohammed, brings the Marschallin's breakfast. During breakfast loud voices are heard in the garderobe
Garderobe
The term garderobe describes a place where clothes and other items are stored, and also a medieval toilet. In European public places, a garderobe denotes the cloakroom, wardrobe, alcove or an armoire. In Danish, Dutch, German and Spanish garderobe can mean a cloakroom. In Latvian it means checkroom...
and not the main door. The Marschallin believes that it is her husband who has returned unexpectedly from a hunting trip and has Octavian hide behind the bed. He reappears disguised as a chambermaid, "Mariandel" ("Befehl'n fürstli' Gnad'n, i bin halt noch nit recht..."), and tries to sneak away through the garderobe. But the Marschallin's country cousin Baron Ochs auf Lerchenau has unexpectedly entered through that same door to discuss his engagement to Sophie ("Selbstverständlich empfängt mich Ihro Gnaden"), the daughter of a wealthy merchant who has been recently elevated to nobility
Nobility
Nobility is a social class which possesses more acknowledged privileges or eminence than members of most other classes in a society, membership therein typically being hereditary. The privileges associated with nobility may constitute substantial advantages over or relative to non-nobles, or may be...
by the Empress. After boorishly describing his personal pastime of chasing skirts, and demonstrating it on the disguised Octavian, he asks the Marschallin to recommend a young man to serve as his Rosenkavalier ("Knight of the Rose"), who will deliver the traditional silver engagement rose to Sophie. She suggests Octavian. When Ochs sees the young count's picture, he notices the count's resemblance to the chambermaid "Mariandel", and assumes that she is Octavian's illegitimate sister. Ochs boasts that nobility should be served by nobility, which leads to a confession that he has an illegitimate son working for him. The coarse Ochs propositions the "chambermaid". Octavian plays coy and leaves at the first chance.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
tenor sent by the Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
Ambassador
Ambassador
An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....
serenades the Marschallin ("Di rigori armato"), while Ochs works out the marriage contract with the Marschallin's notary. Two Italian intriguers, Valzacchi and Annina, try to sell the Princess the latest scandal sheets. Rudely interrupting the tenor's song, Ochs tells the notary to demand a dower
Dower
Dower or morning gift was a provision accorded by law to a wife for her support in the event that she should survive her husband...
from Sophie's family (having confused dower with dowry
Dowry
A dowry is the money, goods, or estate that a woman brings forth to the marriage. It contrasts with bride price, which is paid to the bride's parents, and dower, which is property settled on the bride herself by the groom at the time of marriage. The same culture may simultaneously practice both...
). The notary attempts to explain that such is impossible under the law. Valzacchi and Annina now offer their services to Ochs. He asks whether they know anything about the Princess's "maid". They don't, but they assure him that they do. Amidst all the activity, the Marschallin remarks to her hairdresser: "My dear Hippolyte, today you have made me look like an old woman." ("Mein lieber Hippolyte").
When all have left, the Marschallin, reminded of her own early marriage by Ochs's young bride, sadly ponders her fleeting youth and the fickleness of men ("Da geht er hin..."). By this time Octavian returns (in men's clothes) ("Ach, du bist wieder da"), she has realized that one day he will leave her ("Die Zeit, die ist ein sonderbar Ding"). She muses on the passage of time (a clock is heard chiming thirteen times), and turns Octavian away. After he has left, she suddenly realizes that she has forgotten to kiss him goodbye, and sends some footmen after him; however, it is too late, he is gone. The Marschallin summons her page to take the silver rose to Octavian to deliver to Sophie. After Mohammed departs, Marie Therese stares pensively into her hand mirror as the curtain falls.
Act 2
The von Faninals' homeHerr von Faninal and Sophie await the arrival of the Rosenkavalier (Knight of the Rose), Octavian ("Ein ernster Tag, ein grosser Tag!"). Following tradition, Faninal departs before the Knight appears. Sophie frets over her approaching marriage with a man she has never met as her duenna, Marianne, reports on the approach of Octavian ("In dieser feierlichen Stunde der Prüfung"). Octavian arrives with great pomp, dressed all in silver. He presents the silver rose to Sophie in an elaborate ceremony. Immediately, the two young people are attracted to each other and they sing a beautiful duet ("Mir ist die Ehre widerfahren...").
During a chaperoned conversation, Sophie and Octavian begin to fall in love (in this conversation she reveals Octavian's full name: Octavian Maria Ehrenreich Bonaventura Fernand Hyacinth Rofrano, aka Quinquin in intimacy). Ochs enters with Sophie's father ("Jetzt aber kommt mein Herr Zukünftiger"). The Baron speaks familiarly with Octavian (though they have never officially met), examines Sophie like chattel and generally behaves like a cad, also revealing that Octavian "has" illegitimate family. Ochs's servants begin to chase the maids, sending the household into an uproar. Sophie starts to weep, and Octavian promises to help her ("Mit Ihren Augen voll Tränen"). He embraces her, but they are discovered by Ochs's Italian spies, who report to him. Ochs is only amused, considering the much younger Octavian no threat, but Octavian's temper is raised enough to challenge the bull-headed Ochs to a duel. Ochs receives a slight wound in the arm in the fracas and cries bloody murder. As a doctor is sent for, Sophie tells her father that she will never marry Ochs, but her father insists, and threatens to send her to a convent
Convent
A convent is either a community of priests, religious brothers, religious sisters, or nuns, or the building used by the community, particularly in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Anglican Communion...
. Octavian is thrown out, and Sophie is sent to her room. As Ochs is left alone on the divan with his wounded arm in a sling, he begins to raise his spirits with a glass of port
Port wine
Port wine is a Portuguese fortified wine produced exclusively in the Douro Valley in the northern provinces of Portugal. It is typically a sweet, red wine, often served as a dessert wine, and comes in dry, semi-dry, and white varieties...
. Annina enters with a letter for Ochs from "Mariandel" asking to meet him for a tryst. The now recovered and drunk Ochs, in anticipation of his imminent meeting, dances around the stage to one of the opera's many ironic and wry waltzes, refusing to tip Annina, who silently swears revenge ("Da lieg' ich!").
Act 3
A private room in an innValzacchi and Annina have switched alliances and are now helping Octavian prepare a trap for the Baron. There is far more than meets the eye about the room that Valzacchi has rented for the Baron's tryst, and in a pantomime
Pantomime
Pantomime — not to be confused with a mime artist, a theatrical performer of mime—is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally found in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, India, Ireland, Gibraltar and Malta, and is mostly performed during the...
all the preparations to trap the Baron and foil his engagement with Sophie are seen.
Ochs and "Mariandel" arrive for a rendez-vous. Ochs tries to seduce the seemingly willing chambermaid, though he is disturbed by her resemblance to Octavian. The guilt-ridden baron catches glimpses of the heads of Octavian's conspirators as they pop out of secret doors. A woman (Annina in disguise) rushes in claiming that Ochs is her husband and the father of her children, all of whom rush in crying "Papa! Papa!" The confusion grows and the police arrive, and to avoid a scandal, Ochs claims that "Mariandel" is his fiancée Sophie. Octavian lets the Police Inspector in on the trick, and the Inspector plays along. In the meantime Ochs tries to pull his noble rank to no avail, claiming that "Mariandel" is under his protection. Furious to be enmeshed in the scandal, Faninal arrives and sends for Sophie to clear their names. Sophie arrives and asks Ochs to leave her alone. Just as Ochs is completely befuddled and embarrassed, the Marschallin enters. The Police Inspector recognizes her, having previously served under her husband. The Marschallin sends the police and all the others away. Ochs still tries to claim Sophie for himself after having realized the truth about the Marschallin and Octavian/Mariandel's relationship, even attempting to blackmail the Marschallin, but is ordered to leave gracefully. Salvaging what is left of his dignity. Ochs finally leaves, pursued by various bill collectors.
The Marschallin, Sophie, and Octavian are left alone. The Marschallin recognizes that the day she so feared has come, as Octavian hesitates between the two women (Trio: Marie Theres'! / Hab' mir's gelobt). In the emotional climax of the opera, the Marschallin gracefully releases Octavian, encouraging him to follow his heart and love Sophie. She then withdraws elegantly to the next room to talk with Faninal. As soon as she is gone, Sophie and Octavian run to each other's arms. Faninal and the Marschallin return to find the lovers locked in an embrace. After a few bittersweet glances to her lost lover, the Marschallin departs with Faninal. Sophie and Octavian follow after another brief but ecstatic love duet (Ist ein Traum / Spür' nur dich), and the opera ends with little Mohammed running in to retrieve Sophie's dropped handkerchief, and racing out again after the departing nobility.
Instrumentation
Strauss's score is written forInstrumentation (music)
In music, instrumentation refers to the particular combination of musical instruments employed in a composition, and to the properties of those instruments individually...
the following:
- Woodwind: 3 fluteFluteThe flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
s (III doubling on piccoloPiccoloThe piccolo is a half-size flute, and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. The piccolo has the same fingerings as its larger sibling, the standard transverse flute, but the sound it produces is an octave higher than written...
), 2 oboeOboeThe oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
s, English horn (also doubling on 3rd oboe), 3 clarinetClarinetThe clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
s (III also clarinet in E flat), basset-hornBasset-hornThe basset horn is a musical instrument, a member of the clarinet family.-Construction and tone:Like the clarinet, the instrument is a wind instrument with a single reed and a cylindrical bore...
(also bass clarinetBass clarinetThe bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B , but it plays notes an octave below the soprano B clarinet...
), 3 bassoonBassoonThe bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher. Appearing in its modern form in the 19th century, the bassoon figures prominently in orchestral, concert band and chamber music literature...
s (III also contrabassoonContrabassoonThe contrabassoon, also known as the double bassoon or double-bassoon, is a larger version of the bassoon, sounding an octave lower...
) - BrassBrass instrumentA brass instrument is a musical instrument whose sound is produced by sympathetic vibration of air in a tubular resonator in sympathy with the vibration of the player's lips...
: 4 French horns, 3 trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
s, 3 tromboneTromboneThe trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
s, bass tuba - Percussion: timpaniTimpaniTimpani, or kettledrums, are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper. They are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick called a timpani stick or timpani mallet...
, bass drumBass drumBass drums are percussion instruments that can vary in size and are used in several musical genres. Three major types of bass drums can be distinguished. The type usually seen or heard in orchestral, ensemble or concert band music is the orchestral, or concert bass drum . It is the largest drum of...
and cymbalCymbalCymbals are a common percussion instrument. Cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys; see cymbal making for a discussion of their manufacture. The greater majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs sound a...
s, triangleTriangleA triangle is one of the basic shapes of geometry: a polygon with three corners or vertices and three sides or edges which are line segments. A triangle with vertices A, B, and C is denoted ....
, tambourineTambourineThe tambourine or marine is a musical instrument of the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zils". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though some variants may not have a head at all....
, glockenspielGlockenspielA glockenspiel is a percussion instrument composed of a set of tuned keys arranged in the fashion of the keyboard of a piano. In this way, it is similar to the xylophone; however, the xylophone's bars are made of wood, while the glockenspiel's are metal plates or tubes, and making it a metallophone...
, ratchetRatchet (instrument)A ratchet, also called a noisemaker , is an orchestral musical instrument played by percussionists. Operating on the principle of the ratchet device, a gearwheel and a stiff board is mounted on a handle, which can be freely rotated...
, tenor drumTenor drumA tenor drum is a cylindrical drum that is higher pitched than a bass drum.In a symphony orchestra's percussion section, a tenor drum is a low-pitched drum, similar in size to a field snare, but without snares and played with soft mallets or hard sticks. Under various names, the drum has been used...
, snare drumSnare drumThe snare drum or side drum is a melodic percussion instrument with strands of snares made of curled metal wire, metal cable, plastic cable, or gut cords stretched across the drumhead, typically the bottom. Pipe and tabor and some military snare drums often have a second set of snares on the bottom...
, jingle bellJingle bellA jingle bell is a type of bell which produces a distinctive 'jingle' sound, especially in large numbers. They find use in many areas as a percussion instrument, including the classic sleigh bell sound and morris dancing...
s, castanets - celestaCelestaThe celesta or celeste is a struck idiophone operated by a keyboard. Its appearance is similar to that of an upright piano or of a large wooden music box . The keys are connected to hammers which strike a graduated set of metal plates suspended over wooden resonators...
, 2 harpHarpThe harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...
s - StringsString sectionThe string section is the largest body of the standard orchestra and consists of bowed string instruments of the violin family.It normally comprises five sections: the first violins, the second violins, the violas, the cellos, and the double basses...
: 16 violinViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
s I, 16 violins II, 12 violaViolaThe viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
s, 10 celloCelloThe cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
s, 8 double bassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
es - Off-stage: 2 flutes, oboe, 3 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 French horns, trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
, drumDrumThe drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
, harmoniumHarmoniumA harmonium is a free-standing keyboard instrument similar to a reed organ. Sound is produced by air being blown through sets of free reeds, resulting in a sound similar to that of an accordion...
, pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, stringsString orchestraA string orchestra is an orchestra composed solely or primarily of instruments from the string family. These instruments are the violin, the viola, the cello, the double bass , the piano, the harp, and sometimes percussion...
(5 excellent soloists, or richly reinforced, but not 2 per part)
Der Rosenkavalier Suite
So popular was Der Rosenkavalier that Strauss made several concert versions of numbers from the work and, in 1944, produced, with the assistance of the PolishPoland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
conductor
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
Artur Rodziński
Artur Rodzinski
Artur Rodziński was a Polish conductor of opera and symphonic music. He is especially noted for his tenures as music director of the Cleveland Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic in the 1930s and 1940s.-Biography:...
, the Rosenkavalier Suite which begins with the opera's orchestral prelude, depicting the night of passion (vividly portrayed by whooping horns) between the Marschallin and Octavian. Next comes the appearance of Octavian as the Rosenkavalier, which is depicted in tender music; the sight of him looking so young makes the Marschallin realise that he will soon leave her for a younger woman. There follows the duet between Octavian and Sophie (oboe
Oboe
The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
and horn
Horn (instrument)
The horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player ....
) in which their love for each other becomes ever more obvious, but this is abruptly interrupted by the discordant music associated with the clumsy arrival of Ochs. Next the violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
s tentatively introduce the first waltz
Waltz
The waltz is a ballroom and folk dance in time, performed primarily in closed position.- History :There are several references to a sliding or gliding dance,- a waltz, from the 16th century including the representations of the printer H.S. Beheim...
, which is followed by another given out by the solo violin, before the whole orchestra settles into waltz mode. A general pause and a violin solo leads into the nostalgic music where the Marschallin sadly realises she has lost Octavian. Then comes its ecstatic climax. The work closes with a singularly robust Waltz, depicting Ochs at his most pompous, and a boisterous coda newly composed for the 1944 suite.
The suite was recently transcribed for organ by Peter Richard Conte and was featured in its world premiere at Macy's
Macy's
Macy's is a U.S. chain of mid-to-high range department stores. In addition to its flagship Herald Square location in New York City, the company operates over 800 stores in the United States...
in Philadelphia on the Wanamaker Organ
Wanamaker Organ
The Wanamaker Grand Court Organ, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the largest operational pipe organ in the world, located within a spacious 7-story court at Macy's Center City . The largest organ by some measures is the Boardwalk Hall Auditorium Organ...
on June 26, 2010.
Language
HofmannsthalHugo von Hofmannsthal
Hugo Laurenz August Hofmann von Hofmannsthal ; , was an Austrian novelist, librettist, poet, dramatist, narrator, and essayist.-Early life:...
's libretto is a combination of different forms of the German language. Members of the nobility speak in very refined language, often archaic (set to the time of the opera) and very courteous. In more intimate circles they use a more familiar style of speech (du). For instance, the conversations between Octavian and the Marschallin in the first act use the familiar "you" but switch back and forth between more formal speech (Sie) and the familiar "du".
The language used by Baron Ochs is flamboyant at best and, although refined, makes use of non-German words such as his expression Corpo di Bacco ("Bacchus' Body"). Some programmes even have a glossary section. The language used by Octavian when impersonating "Mariandel", and by other non-noble characters, is basically Austrian dialect, impossible to understand by a non-German speaker. The German used by the Italians, Valzacchi and Annina, is also very broken and mixed with an Italian accent, something planned by the authors for these characters.
In English translations of the opera, these dialects have been accounted for with varying degrees of rigor; the Chandos highlights version, for example, uses only standard British English.
Grainger's Ramble
Percy GraingerPercy Grainger
George Percy Aldridge Grainger , known as Percy Grainger, was an Australian-born composer, arranger and pianist. In the course of a long and innovative career he played a prominent role in the revival of interest in British folk music in the early years of the 20th century. He also made many...
wrote an elaborate and complex piano transcription of a theme from this opera. The Ramble on the Last Love Duet in Der Rosenkavalier is one of Grainger's more complex piano transcriptions, with many sumptuous ornamentations and harmonic twists and turns.
External links
- Recording of Da geht er hin by Lotte LehmannLotte LehmannCharlotte "Lotte" Lehmann was a German soprano who was especially associated with German repertory. She gave memorable performances in the operas of Richard Strauss, Richard Wagner, Ludwig van Beethoven, Puccini, Mozart and Massenet. The Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier was considered her greatest...
in MP3 format - Piano-vocal score of Der Rosenkavalier from the Indiana University School of Music
- German libretto of Der Rosenkavalier from opera-guide.ch
- Synopsis of Der Rosenkavalier (The Metropolitan Opera)