A carefree smile, a salty tear and sometimes at the same time – these are quite a few requirements for a successful production of Richard Strauss’ opera. Der Rosenkavalier (1911) must comply. Spoiler: the new performance that can now be seen at the Royal Mint Opera in Brussels ticks off many of those wishes – orchestral even all of them.
Der Rosenkavalier is a moral comedy and transience novella in one – with the geniuses of librettist Hugo von Hofmannsthal and composer Strauss as fathers at that rocking cradle. Brief: an unfulfilled marshal, who suffers from transience melancholy (Marschallin), finds solace in the arms of 17-year-old Count Octavian. They are disturbed during their shepherd’s hour by her impoverished proletarian cousin Baron Ochs, who announces dishonorable wedding plans with Sophie (14 years, rich father). Octavian may be their ‘rose rider’, the distinguished announcer of the engagement. During the traditional transfer of the rose, true love ignites between him and Sophie, after which the vile Ochs first has to be brushed off in a hilarious masquerade before the final love duet (‘Ist ein Traum’) can blossom.
Snow from last year
Damiano Michieletto, one of the most sought after directors at the moment, makes you wonder how he manages to design so many productions so ingeniously and successfully. It goes too far to say that Der Rosenkavalier is a direct hit, although the first act is without reserve. The fifth ball snaps because Michieletto excels in surreal humor, but is slightly less strong in popular jokes. Where Strauss and Hofmannsthal spin gold with the contrast between elegance and underwear fun, you sometimes long for less aesthetic abstraction, more dirty chaos. But that’s just a small blemish on a great show.
“Time is a strange phenomenon,” sings the Marschallin, and “where’s the snow from last year?” Michieletto plays with this experience of time by showing the Marschallin on several levels (three playing surfaces in succession: a Droste effect), in different phases of life. Behind the adulterous middle-aged woman we see the disappointment of the newlywed, the hope of the young girl, the resignation of the old woman. The effect is sometimes downright moving – were it not for the fact that Michieletto roughly dries your wet cheek with absurdism. A constantly present, angry dwarf throwing ravens is just one of many examples. The snow-white decor by Paolo Fontin is also beautiful, in which balloons rise and snowflakes whirl. Transience is everywhere. For those who still don’t get it, an army of ticking clocks is set up.
Three great female roles
Orchestral the performance is a dream. From Viennese panache, melancholy strings and horny bouncing brass to razor-sharp interaction between box and stage and quick switching between moods: chief conductor of the Muntopera Alain Altinoglu (47) is now much bigger than his modest name and fame. It will be interesting to see where he lands after Brussels, where his chief position will run until 2025.
Bass Matthew Rose is a nice dirty Baron Ochs, with a wet gulp from the too greedy milk. The three great female roles that each rosenkavalier make or break, were also excellently performed at the premiere (there is a second cast). Soprano Sally Matthews is a rich Marschallin: carrying, elegant, vulnerable. Mezzo Michèle Losier is noticeably experienced in the trouser role of Octavian: if you look through your eyelashes, you really believe that there is a growing boy standing there, the gestures still just a bit uncertain. Both voices fit and color well with the beautiful sound of Ilse Eerens, at most her sound is a bit ripe for the young Sophie.
After their beautiful terzet (‘So schnell hat sie ihn gar so lieb’), the dwarf releases his white balloon with a terrifying giggle. Just wait: everything is fleeting, even love.