Der Rosenkavalier

Der Rosenkavalier
Music: Richard Strauss. Libretto: Hugo von Hofmannsthal. Opera Australia. Sydney. Until October 30.

The conductor Andrew Litton was so animated during the overture that he looked like he was trying to wind up a giant machine.
The music, after all, was meant to simulate furious sex between 17 year old Count Octavian Rofrano and his much older married lover Feldmarschallin, Princess Marie Therese. An ecstatic fortissimo explosion of four horns is the climax, so when the curtain opens we see the lovers languishing post coutil on the royal bedspread.
Much slapstick follows when the Princess fears her husband has arrived home.
After this animated opening Der Rosenkavalier becomes an evening where the principals sing long arias for almost four hours and often don’t move around very much.
This in a production that was first seen 20 years ago.
But the exquisitely beautiful music and comedy made it a night which breezed by.
Manfred Hemm as the oafish Baron Ochs adroitly milked the gags in a part that epitomizes male chauvinism.
The young Count is as tradition dictates played by a woman. Catherine Carby portrayed the frisky young lover with great attractiveness but was not fully convincing in acting department. Together with Emma Pearson as Sophie, and Cheryl Barker as The Feldmarschallin she formed a delightful trio that melted the evening away.
Der Rosenkavalier remains a treat almost 100 years after it was written.
David Spicer

Image: Catherine Carby and Cheryl Barker in 'Der Rosenkavalier' Photographer: Branco Gaica.
 

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