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Der Rosenkavalier premiered on 26 January 1911 in Dresden conducted by Ernst von Schuch, who had conducted the premieres of Strauss's Feuersnot, Salome and Elektra. Soprano Margarethe Siems (Strauss's first Chrysothemis ) sang the Marschallin, in a turn that represented the pinnacle of her career, [ 12 ] while Minnie Nast portrayed Sophie and ...
- Overview
- Background and context
- Cast and main vocal parts
- Setting and story summary
- Act I
- Act II
- Act III
Der Rosenkavalier, (German: The Knight of the Rose) comic opera in three acts by German composer Richard Strauss (German libretto by Austrian dramatist Hugo von Hofmannsthal) that premiered at the Dresden Royal Opera House on January 26, 1911.
Hofmannsthal had written the play upon which Strauss based Elektra, but Der Rosenkavalier was their first close collaboration. Hofmannsthal took several characters and elements of the plot from French composer Claude Terrasse’s operetta L’Ingénu libertin (1907) and French dramatist Molière’s Monsieur de Pourceaugnac (1669). The composer set to work on what he called a Komödie für Musik (“comedy for music”) before the libretto was complete. Notably, Strauss worked many waltzes into the score. The waltz, an early 19th-century creation, was unknown in 18th-century Vienna, but it was a staple in light opera at the beginning of the 20th century.
Within a year of its Dresden premiere, Der Rosenkavalier had reached the stages of Vienna, Munich, Nürnberg, Cologne, Hamburg, Milan (in Italian), and Prague (in Czech), among many other European cities. In 1913, productions would be staged both in London and at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City. Not all observers were pleased. For example, at La Scala in Milan, purists booed the waltzes, which they viewed as suitable only for dance music. Nonetheless, Der Rosenkavalier was hugely popular and has remained the most often performed of Strauss’s operas.
•The Marschallin, the field marshall’s wife (soprano)
•Octavian, Count Rofrano (mezzo-soprano)
•Sophie von Faninal (soprano)
•Baron Ochs (bass)
•Herr von Faninal, Sophie’s father (baritone)
•Italian Singer (tenor)
Der Rosenkavalier is set in Vienna in the mid-1700s
In the Marschallin’s bedroom she and her young lover, Octavian, are awakening from a rapturous night. Octavian hides quickly as a servant comes in with breakfast. Soon after he returns to bed, there is a clamour in the outer room. The Marschallin recognizes the voice as that of her overbearing and crude cousin, Baron Ochs. She tells Octavian to hide behind the screen and find some clothes. Ochs storms in, demanding his cousin’s attention. Although he is a nobleman, he has little money, so he intends to marry the young rich bourgeois Sophie. According to tradition, he must find a well-born messenger to present a perfumed silver rose to the woman as a marriage proposal.
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The Marschallin mischievously recommends Count Rofrano (Octavian) for the job, and Ochs agrees. Octavian has reappeared, dressed in women’s clothes as the housemaid “Mariandel.” Ochs flirts with her. Meanwhile, a number of visitors arrive in succession, demanding the Marschallin’s attention. As an Italian tenor sings an aria, Ochs attempts to bully a notary into writing out a marriage contract that will favour him greatly. “Mariandel” slips away.
In her father’s reception hall, Sophie von Faninal awaits the arrival of the Knight of the Rose. Handsome and elegantly dressed, Octavian arrives bearing the silver rose in advance of the bridegroom’s arrival. The two young people promptly fall for each other. Ochs comes in, accompanied by his loutish entourage, and he treats Sophie patronizingly. ...
In a private room at a seedy inn, the scene is set for a plan meant to humble the obnoxious Ochs. “Mariandel” has agreed to meet him, and they arrive together. His plans of seduction repeatedly run awry with continual interruptions by other conspirators; the ensuing pandemonium brings in the police. Ochs’s mood is not improved by the arrival of Sop...
- Betsy Schwarm
Der Rosenkavalier plot summary, character breakdowns, context and analysis, and performance video clips.
Strauss’s grand Viennese comedy includes soprano Lise Davidsen as the aging Marschallin, opposite mezzo-soprano Samantha Hankey as her lover Octavian and soprano Erin Morley as Sophie, the...
- Julia Corbett
- 30 sec
Sep 15, 2020 · The main roles. Marschallin, wife of the Marschall (soprano) - Octavian, youthful cousin of the Marschallin (mezzo-soprano) - Herr von Faninal, rich bourgeois businessman ( (baritone) - Sophie, his daughter (soprano) - Ochs von Lerchenau, baron and fiancé of Sophie (bass). Recording recommendation.
Jan 26, 2018 · Of all of Richard Strauss’ operas, none is more famous than “Der Rosenkavalier.” The work, written by Hugo von Hofmannsthal, premiered on Jan. 26, 1911. While a comedy on the surface, the opera muses on the passing of time and the challenges of growing old, as explored through the character of the Marschallin.
"Der Rosenkavalier" is an opera composed by Richard Strauss and premiered on January 26, 1911. Set in 18th-century Vienna, the opera explores the romantic entanglements of its main characters against the backdrop of social class dynamics.