Strauss Rosenkavalier libretto. Both mind and heart: The Rosenkavalier by R. Strauss at the Bolshoi Theater

Alexander Gusev
Let's start with the fact that the composer Richard Strauss, a German, has nothing to do with Johann Strauss, a crown with Jewish blood. He was born in the 19th century, but his work belongs to the 20th century, one of the most famous composers which he is. He wrote his first operas - "Salome" and "Electra" in a pronounced expressive manner: a huge orchestra is the legacy of Wagner. Both operas managed to arrive on the Russian stage before 1914. You can read more about this in the memoirs of the director of the Imperial Theaters Telyakovsky. Further in the work of Strauss, some changes took place, and as a result, an opera appeared. Rosenkavalier which can be translated in different ways. The commonly accepted translation is "The Rosenkavalier". Actually, it’s more correct - “Cavalier with a Rose”. But this is not quite harmonious and causes a stream of allusions and jokes. Recently, the Rosenkavalier has become more popular.

According to the plot, her hero is a young man, the messenger of the groom, who must come to the named bride and present a symbolic silver rose. The idea of ​​this work was born from the Austrian poet Hofmannsthal, who was fascinated by the idea of ​​stylization of the 18th century. He also interested Strauss in his idea, who, however, in musically did not follow him. He did not turn to the music of the 18th century, on the contrary, he saturated the opera with the music of the late 19th century - namely, the waltz.

The opera immediately received great acclaim. Telyakovsky wanted to stage it, but did not have time: in 1914, an imperial decree was issued prohibiting all works by German authors on the Russian stage. And then this aesthetic story, of course, did not suit the Soviet audience at all. Although no one has ever denied that the music is lovely.

It must be said that, despite the fact that Richard Strauss was far from social and political life, in the late 30s he became something of a minister of culture in Hitler's government. That greatly influenced the performance of his music in subsequent years. In particular, in the USSR and in Israel.

True, there is an opinion that Strauss used his post to help Jewish musicians. He had a skirmish with the Nazi ideological apparatus about his colleague, the writer Stefan Zweig. And some of his works, written already in the 30s, did not have a very happy life. So the figure is ambiguous.

There is a curious sketch of an American musicologist who entered Germany along with parts of the American army. Coincidentally, part of it was part of the town where, as it was known, already elderly Richard Strauss lives with his family. The American musicologist contrived, met with the composer and tried to interview him - precisely in order to confirm Strauss' apathy. Or even see his anti-Nazi sentiments. In particular, he asked the question - did the composer ever think of emigrating from Nazi Germany? The answer was: “Yes, you know, lately we have been thinking about it. The food has gone bad."

If we talk about music, Richard Strauss was one of those people who are engaged, as they say, pure art. As it was written in Soviet textbooks, he was far from the people, but he created for the stratum of wealthy people that existed then and still exists in Europe, to whom the state and lifestyle allow them to enjoy art and be away from pressing problems.

In our country, The Rosenkavalier was completely unknown until the Vienna State Opera arrived in Moscow in 1971 and performed its outstanding performance three times. Oddly enough, he still goes on her stage. There was a wonderful line-up, great artists, Leonia Rizanek as the Marshall, Krista Ludwig as Octavian! There was a first discovery. Then people began to travel, listen to CDs. And now a certain number, of course, know about the existence of this opera.

In a sense, The Rosenkavalier refers to Mozart's Marriage of Figaro, also a landmark work for Viennese and world culture. Some of the characters can be recognized as Mozart's predecessors. In the Marshall - the Countess. And even more so in Octavian - Cherubino. But if Cherubino is a boy who is tormented by a common love for all women, then Octavian, who is almost the same age, is already a young man who has tasted the delights of love. And here is another, more sensual shade.

Although domestic directors did not stage this opera, they thought and reasoned about it. And many people were very repulsed by the first scene in which two women are in bed. One of them is a travesty in the role of a young man. And about 30 years, especially 40 years ago, quite often these characters were performed by rather large prima donnas. And indeed, for a person who is not part of this aesthetic world, watching two middle-aged, large women performing a love duet on a wide bed did not make the best impression.

Although in reality the Marshall is about 35 years old, Octavian is 16-17. And now these roles are played, of course, by artists who are more suitable in terms of age and physical data. And in life we ​​now meet much more striking age differences.

Unlike Russia, in the world "The Rosenkavalier" is one of the most popular operas, in the work of Richard Strauss - of course, the most popular and most Viennese. For the Viennese public, not only this opera, but also this performance is a cult thing. This production is also underway in Vienna this season, Elina Garancha will play the role of Octavian.

The opera is permeated with lyricism and humor. Despite the fact that this great work, it is very easy - for those whose mother tongue is German. I know Russian listeners who experience the same thing when they listen to Rimsky-Korsakov's operas. But now they almost never go. And there are very few such people. And there are many of them in Vienna.

Firstly, this is a very cultured audience, it is impossible to imagine that phones are turned on in the hall - not only that calls are impossible, but also the light from the phones. People understand that it also interferes with perception. And if some tourists from Eastern countries try to do it, then the attendant immediately appears, who unobtrusively explains that this is not necessary.

Secondly, this is an audience that already knows the work and goes specifically to it, maybe even to this particular production and these particular singers. And they do not discover this opera for themselves, but come to get more or less pleasure from it, well known to them.

The basis of this audience is middle-aged people who can afford a ticket for 60-70 euros. Although Vienna has a large number of standing places. There are not so well-to-do operomaniacs, young people and student tourists. There are performances with the participation of certain soloists, when these standing places are not crowded.

My personal opinion is that there is currently no public for this work in our country. Because we don’t have a middle class, and in general with an opera audience serious problem- especially at the Bolshoi Theatre. Maybe this opera should have been staged here a little earlier or a little later.

It was on this stage that Richard Mayr, so coveted by Strauss, first appeared in the key role of Baron Oks, who could not be obtained in Dresden, where this part was sung by Karl Perron, who did not quite meet the authors' ideas about this character. Basel, Prague, Budapest and the Roman Opera also quickly responded to the event. And in the autumn of the same year, the premiere took place in Amsterdam, where the author himself conducted the opera for the first time. The most important event was the production in London's Covent Garden. There, on January 29, 1913, the German Opera Season of Thomas Beecham opened with The Knight of the Rose (eight performances of The Cavalier were given in a month and a half). Finally, on December 9, it was the turn of the New York Metropolitan Opera (conductor Alfred Herz). Concluding a brief review of the national premieres of The Rosenkavalier, we note productions in Ljubljana (1913), Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro (1915), Zagreb and Copenhagen (1916), Stockholm (1920), Barcelona (1921), Warsaw (1922). ), Helsinki (1923). Finally, in 1927, the opera reached France, where it was performed on 11 February at the Paris Grand Opera under the baton of Philippe Gaubert. On August 12, 1929, the work was performed for the first time at the Salzburg Festival under the direction of K. Kraus.

The Russian premiere took place on November 24, 1928 at the Leningrad Opera and Ballet Theater (conductor V. Dranishnikov, director S. Radlov).

The stage history of the Rosenkavalier throughout the century is immense. Note two historical events to which the production of this opera was timed. In the summer of 1960, it was performed under the direction of G. von Karajan at the Salzburg Festival to commemorate the opening of the new Festspielhaus, and in the winter of 1985 it entered the program along with the national shrine - Weber's "Free Shooter" grand opening the building of the Dresden Semperoper restored after the war.

The opera was brilliantly interpreted by such conductors as K. Kraus, E. Kleiber, G. von Karajan, K. Böhm, K. Kleiber, G. Solti, B. Haitink and others. , M. Reining, E. Schwarzkopf, K. Te Kanawa; Octavian - S.Jurinats, K.Ludwig, B.Fassbender, A.S.von Otter; Sophie - M. Chebotari, H. Guden, E. Koet, A. Rotenberger, L. Popp; Baron Oks - K. Boehme, O. Edelman, K. Mol. Many of the famous singers performed several parts in the Rosenkavalier. So, Lisa della Caza had as many as four roles in this opera in her repertoire (Annina, Sophie, Octavian and Marshalsha). Many outstanding tenors - R. Tauber, H. Rosvenge, A. Dermot, N. Gedda, F. Wunderlich, L. Pavarotti and others "marked themselves" in the part of the Italian singer.

The first studio recording of the opera was R. Heger's abridged version of 1933 (soloists Lotte Lehman, M. Olszewska, E. Schumann and R. Mayr, so beloved by Strauss himself). The most outstanding studio recordings of the opera include the versions of Kraus in 1944 (soloists Ursulyak, G. von Milinkovich, A. Kern, L. Weber and others), Karayan in 1956 (soloists Schwarzkopf, Ludwig, T. Stich-Randall, Edelman and others .), Haitinka in 1990 (soloists Te Kanava, Otter, B. Hendrix, K. Riedl and others).

Soviet listeners could get acquainted with a wonderful performance Vienna Opera during her tour in Moscow in the autumn of 1971 (conductor J. Krips, soloists L. Rizanek, Ludwig, H. de Groot, M. Jungvirt and others).

Now, after this brief historical digression, we bring to the attention of readers an article about the opera, timed to coincide with this anniversary and touching on more general musical and aesthetic aspects of R. Strauss's work and, in particular, The Rosenkavalier.

Metamorphoses of a "brilliant professional"

At one time, Svyatoslav Richter, after listening to Schreker's "Distant Ringing", remarked: "Richard Strauss, of course, is a brilliant professional, and Schreker personally pours out his own ...". So, in a nutshell, the great musician aptly described Strauss's art, defining his place in the palette of creative principles of the greatest masters of the 20th century. Someone, of course, will not agree with such an assessment. Well, this is a personal matter for everyone. But I would even strengthen Richter's idea. In my opinion, Strauss belongs to the type of artists for whom external more important internal who is more depicts than expresses. And those metamorphoses that took place with his creative method throughout his life prove just that.

Let's look at this path objectively and without imposed stereotypes. Already the Strauss period symphonic poems the whole is “fixated” on achieving success, striving to surprise. He travels endlessly, conducts a lot, is busy organizing the "Association of German Composers", the main task of which is the idea of ​​​​creating some kind of agency that takes care of the creator's copyright, his fees and deductions from concerts. Strauss turned out to be a talented art manager, which to some extent makes him related to Handel of the period of operatic activity, for whom this side of artistic activity was very significant.

Having rather quickly exhausted his potential in nine symphonic poems, Strauss, like all the creators of his style, continued to constantly strive for novelty, and novelty at any cost. The fact that he turned his eyes to the opera house was quite natural and obvious. Yes, in fact, his poems, written in the late romantic spirit, to some extent possessed programmatic operatic and theatrical properties, only without singing and words. The brilliance and "acting" of the opera, the opportunity to combine in it his "extroverted" musical talent with an impressive literary "frame" very much attracted the maestro. After some searches in two early opera opuses, the composer finally found the happy idea of ​​"Salome" from the scandalous Oscar Wilde, feeling that it was precisely such a decadent erotic plot that could effectively shock the respectable bourgeois. The equally radical Elektra (1909), which followed Salome (1905), marked the quintessence of the so-called. Strauss' "expressionist" style. There are enough reasons to believe that these operas have become one of the highest manifestations of the composer's gift. Of course, there are many who do not think so, but a number of weighty arguments still make it possible to draw such conclusions. First of all, it was in these opuses that Strauss, gradually complicating the musical language, walked, as it were, along the “main line” of the development of musical art, which was entering the 20th century with decisive steps. Secondly, as in no other of his works, it was here that the maestro managed to achieve expressiveness coming from the depths of his artistic "I". And let him be inspired, again, by some "external" impulses, but he managed to turn them into internal sensations, which inexorably find a grateful response from a thoughtful listener. The musical language of these compositions is extremely sharpened by dissonances and polytonal devices, however, which, in general, do not go beyond the general framework of the major-minor system. The refinements of orchestral sounds and timbres, for which he was a master, also reach their maximum here (especially in Elektra, which can rightfully be considered a kind of “symphonic opera”). Moreover, the most daring harmonic and melodic turns are often compromised by fairly familiar, if not banal, "permissions" (cadans). The composer seems to "play" with the audience on the verge of a foul, but does not flirt - this is the whole Strauss! He always controls himself and his emotions and, as it were, looks from the side - how it is perceived! Such an approach to composing to some extent makes him related to Meyerbeer (of course, purely aesthetically, taking into account the historical differences in their place in the world opera process). Be that as it may, in his expressionist canvases, Strauss reached the limit beyond which it was necessary to decide where to go next? Rush along with the Novovensk school into the unknown of new radical achievements, risking ostracism and remaining misunderstood, or humble your innovative and outrageous impulse and reach a compromise with the cozy and familiar burgher aesthetic thinking? Strauss chose the second path. Although he understood, of course, that this choice should not have been so primitive as to slide into salonism and operetta. The ideas of neoclassical "simplification" and stylization turned out to be very useful here ...

Let's stop and sum up some intermediate result. So, such an unprecedented explosion of sincere expressionism could not be long. The nature of the artistic nature, about which we spoke above, took its toll. The impulse was exhausted, and artistic and professional means too, because the composer's purely musical talent, his ability to generate fundamentally new ideas in the field of musical language, stripped of the accompanying exquisite ornamentation and theatrical-literary framing, were quite limited and could not be compared with the potential of his younger colleagues - Schoenberg, Berg or, to take a wider and a little further, Prokofiev or Stravinsky. It should also not be forgotten that the basic principles of Strauss's artistic thinking were formed in the 19th century and were "fertilized" by the late romantic spirit, which was very difficult to eradicate. Those ten years that separate the dates of his birth and Schoenberg turned out to be significant! The further musical potential of Strauss, therefore, turned out to be able to develop only in the spirit of an increasingly virtuoso and differentiated mastery of the already established writing techniques, in which, it must be admitted, he achieved unprecedented perfection.

However, Strauss would not have been Strauss if he had not managed, even within these rather constrained creative limits, not to make a miraculous transformation! It became possible thanks to the properties of his artistic nature described above, which made it possible, without delving into the spiritual inner "torments of creativity", to easily demonstrate an act of magnificent and, I would say, elegant artistic "mimicry", by 1910 having completed "modulation" into neoclassical stylization in spirit of "neomozartianism". The result of these metamorphoses was the "Roseman". Such ease allowed some researchers even to doubt the sincerity of Straussian expressionism, which, in my opinion, is not entirely fair.

It cannot be said that he was an ideological pioneer in a new field. Back in 1907, Ferruccio Busoni spoke with similar thoughts, designed to “cool the ardor” of expressionism in the spirit of simplification, classical clarity and balance of forms. Busoni, of course, with outwardly similar goals, had other artistic impulses and ideas about operatic art which at that time was at a crossroads. Similar sentiments regarding the development of the musical language "was in the air" in French music, in particular in Eric Satie, whose compositions during this period began to be saturated with elegant melodies and dance "everydayisms". Breakthroughs into episodic “everydayism” were also used as an important technique by Gustav Mahler, revered by Strauss, to whom he played many of his new compositions while he was still alive.

In order to finally move on to the jubilee subject - the opera "Der Rosenkavalier" - we only have to state the fact: this opus turned out to be the second peak, another hypostasis of our "two-faced Janus", after which his entire further and very long artistic career turned out to be a gradual descent down from the achieved heights in the empyrean of self-repetition in the spirit of internal academicism. On this path, albeit colored by separate “diamonds” of bright stylistic and musical finds of the highest standard (for example, in “Woman Without a Shadow”, “Arabella”, “Daphne”, “Capriccio”), the manifestations of Strauss’s aesthetic “secondary” do not cause any doubt.

So, the Rosenkavalier. Too much has been said about this opera, including the absolutely banal in its obvious correctness. There is no need to invent our own "bicycles", so we will list the most characteristic, with which we fully agree. Here we observe stylization in the spirit of the old era (18th century), a kind of “neo-baroque” and “avoidance of reality” into the “cozy world of everyday comedy-melodrama” (B. Yarustovsky), we also feel Mozart’s allusions combined with the style of the Viennese singspiel. The plot traces the semantic parallels of Octavian - Cherubino, Marshall - Countess, etc. (A. Gozenpud and others). Researchers also pay attention to the waltz element of the opera (however, extremely refined, filled with elements of polyrhythm), while making thoughtful, but rather trivial remarks about the non-historicity of such “pseudo-authentic” paraphernalia (there was no such dance in the 18th century); about parallels with the work of I. Strauss and F. Legar. One more note concerns the extraordinary image of Baron Oks, whom Hofmannsthal and Strauss sometimes associate with Falstaff (D. Marek) in their correspondence. Some of Molière's motifs are also visible: Faninal is a kind of Viennese Jourdain. If we talk about the musical form, then the tendencies of returning to the number system, the traditional role of ensembles and the buffoon style of impetuous finales are striking. Among the most important anti-Wagnerian qualities of the opera is the “turn to singing” (B. Yarustovsky), which is clearly felt in the vocal parts. Wagner also “got it” in a number of almost parodic moments of the opera, such as, for example, in the duet of Octavian and Marshall from Act 1, which makes us recall the love “languor” of Tristan and Isolde. And if we still talk about the positive Wagnerian influences, then in the atmosphere of the opera one can feel the spirit of the opera of the German genius closest to the Rosenkavalier - The Nuremberg Mastersingers. All this (and much more) made the opera extraordinarily popular, however, causing indignation of some musicians and fans of Strauss's talent, who believed in the composer's innovative "messianicism". Therefore, the latter considered themselves deceived. But they were in the minority, they could be ignored.

There is no need to retell the excellent libretto by H. von Hoffmannsthal, with whom Strauss continued his creative collaboration after Elektra. However, it should be noted that his quality in this opera is of tremendous importance, which is not a frequent occurrence in opera art. In many ways, it is the graceful and inventive dramaturgical twists and turns that make this extra-long opera so refined and varied and completely not boring.

The most beautiful and perfect fragments of the score include episodes of the ceremony of offering a rose by Octavian Mir ist die Ehre wiederfahren from act 2, as well as the final trio (tercet) of the Marshals, Octavian and Sophie Marie Theres’…Hab mir’s gelobt, ihn liebzuhaben, leading to the final duet of Octavian and Sophie Ist ein Traum. A spectacular episode is the aria of the Italian singer in 1 act Di rigori armato- a brilliant "plug-in" number for tenor (in Italian). It is impossible not to mention also the final scene of the 2nd act Da lieg'ich, where Strauss vividly shows by subtle musical means the changes in the mood of the protagonist of this episode, Baron Oks - from gloomy despondency, changing (after drinking wine and bringing him Annina from an imaginary Mariandl date note) carefree playfulness in anticipation of a new affair. The Baron sings a waltz that has become famous and is known as the Baron Och's Waltz...

The modern era, with its artistic perception of the opera, which is dominated by external glamorous and scenographic qualities, is extremely receptive to the work of Richard Strauss and is fertile ground for the popularity of his best opuses, which we are seeing. The production ratings of The Rosenkavalier are high and inferior among the operas of the 20th century, perhaps to the unshakable masterpieces of Puccini.

Illustrations:
Robert Sterl. Ernst von Schuch conducting a performance of The Rosenkavalier, 1912
Richard Strauss

Richard Strauss
1864-1949
"THE ROSE KAVALIER" (1911).
Musical comedy in three acts
libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal

The action takes place in Vienna, during the first years of the reign of Maria Theresa (1740s).
ACTION FIRST. Bedroom of the Duchess, wife of Marshal Werdenberg. A seventeen-year-old youth, Count Octavian, kneels before the marshal, ardently declaring his love for her. Suddenly, there is noise outside. This is the Marshal's cousin, Baron Ox von Lerchenau. The Duchess begs Octavian to run away. Octavian has just had time to change into a maid's dress before the door swings open. Baron Oks asks the princess to recommend him a young aristocrat, who, according to custom, should take a silver rose to Oks' fiancee Sophie, daughter of the rich Faninal, who has recently become a nobleman. In the meantime, the baron pays attention to the maid, as it turns out by the name of Mariandl, who did not have time to escape. The princess recommends Count Octavian as a matchmaker. It's time for visitors. Among them are the adventurers Valzacchi and Annina. A noble widow and her three sons ask for help. The flutist plays, the Italian singer sings, the hairdresser combs the marshal's hair.
Left alone, the mistress of the house sadly looks at herself in the mirror. Octavian returns. He wants to console his beloved, she avoids his embrace. Time passes and the hour will come when Octavian will leave her. Octavian doesn't want to hear about it. But the duchess asks him to leave. Remembering the promise to the baron, the marshal sends a silver rose in a case with the Negro after Octavian.
ACT TWO. Living room in M. Faninal's house. Everyone is waiting for the cavalier of roses, and then the groom. Octavian enters. He is dressed in a silver suit and holds a silver rose in his hand. Sophie is excited. Octavian will ask himself: how could he live without her before? Young people are talking tenderly. Baron Ox appears. He lavishes vulgar compliments and completely turns his bride away from himself. The young people are left alone, and Sophie asks Octavian to upset her marriage to the stupid baron. Young people embrace in a fit of love. Valzacchi and Annina, hired by Oks, spy on this scene and call the baron. The Baron pretends not to attach any importance to what happened: he urgently needs to marry a rich bride. He demands that the marriage contract be signed immediately. Octavian throws insults into his eyes, draws his sword and lightly wounds the baron in the arm. The Baron considers the wound mortal. Faninal kicks out Octavian and threatens to imprison Sophie in a convent. The Baron lies down on the bed. Wine gives him strength, but even more so is a note from the marshal's maid, who appoints him a date.
ACT THREE. Room on the outskirts of Vienna. The draw is being prepared. Octavian outbid Valzacchi and Annina. He himself dressed in a woman's dress and portrays the maid Mariandle. The Baron enters with a bandaged hand. He hurries to retire with the maid. Octavian feigns shyness. His accomplices constantly swim out of the darkness, frightening the baron. Suddenly, a lady enters with four children, who rush to the baron, shouting “Daddy! Dad!”, the lady calls the baron her husband. At this time, Faninal and Sophie appear. The room fills with people. Octavian discreetly changes clothes. Everything is clearing up. But suddenly the marshal arrives. The Baron leaves, followed by all the others. The princess advises Octavian to follow the dictates of his heart. All three are excited. In the final trio, the composer takes the characters beyond comedy. The parties of heroes, dedicated to every riddle of life, are reconciled in a kind of higher contemplation, although they remain unanswered. Their questions hang in the air, for inconsistency is the law of life.

***

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf(Schwarzkopf) (1915-2006) - German singer (soprano). She received her musical education at the Berlin Higher School of Music, took singing lessons from M. Ifogyun. She made her debut in 1938 at the Berlin City Opera, in 1942-51 the leading soloist of the Vienna State Opera. Since 1948 she has performed on the largest opera stages in Europe and America, and regularly participated in the Salzburg and Bayreuth festivals. From 1951 she lived in London, for a number of years she was a soloist at the Covent Garden Theatre. In the chamber repertoire, Schwarzkopf was accompanied on the piano by Edwin Fischer, Walter Gieseking, Wilhelm Furtwängler and Gerald Moore. In the mid 70s. left the opera stage, continuing to give concerts and record records. Schwarzkopf was distinguished by the exceptional flexibility and purity of his voice, the beauty of his timbre, stylistic sensitivity, and outstanding acting skills on the opera stage. One of the outstanding performers of works by W. A. ​​Mozart and R. Strauss.

Christa Ludwig(Ludwig) (b. 1928) - German singer (mezzo-soprano). Entered the Higher School of Music in Frankfurt am Main. She made her debut there in 1946. In 1955 he made his debut at the Vienna Opera. In the same year, her first performance took place at the Salzburg Festival (Composer in Ariadne auf Naxos by R. Strauss). Her brilliant performances in the parts of Dorabella, Cherubino, Octavian put her forward among the greatest masters of the opera stage. Toured in 1971 in Moscow with the Vienna Opera. One of the performances of these tours, "Der Rosenkavalier", in which the singer performed the part of Octavian, was recorded on records (conductor J. Krips). The owner of a unique voice, Ludwig equally easily coped not only with mezzo-soprano roles, but also with dramatic soprano parts. This is how Leonora (Fidelio), Dido (The Trojans), Marchalsha (Der Rosenkavalier, conductor Leonard Bernstein) appear in her repertoire. The singer is also subject to Wagner's parts (Ortrud, Kundri, Branghen, Frick). She performed in the chamber repertoire. Among the crown roles of the late period, Clytemnestra in "Electra" by R. Strauss should be especially singled out. It was with this part that the singer completed her stage career in 1995 on the stage of the Vienna Opera.

Soprano Teresa Stich-Randal(Stich-Randal), a German by nationality, was born in 1927 in the USA, where she received her vocal education. She took part in the concerts of Arturo Toscanini. Then she moved to Europe, since 1952 she has been a soloist of the Vienna Opera. She had great success in operas by Mozart, Verdi, Richard Strauss, performed at festivals in Salzburg, in major theaters in Europe and the USA. She gave chamber concerts. Among the recordings of the singer, published on records in Russia, Antonida in Glinka's Life for the Tsar, where her partners were Boris Hristov and Nikolai Gedda (conductor Igor Markevich).

Duchess of Werdenberg (Marshall) – Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, soprano
Baron Ochs von Lerchenau - Otto Edelman, bass
Count Octavian – Christa Ludwig, mezzo-soprano
Herr von Faninal - Eberhard Wächter, baritone
Sophie, his daughter - Teresa Stich-Randal, soprano
Valzacchi - Paul Kühn, tenor
Annina – Kerstin Meyer, mezzo-soprano
Italian singer - Nikolai Gedda, tenor
Philharmonic Choir and Orchestra, London
Conductor Herbert von Karajan
Recorded in 1957. Download flac https://yadi.sk/mail?hash=TfV2d9CIimI6o7Ekly8jZLZGAG6Y5AY4gZ%2BZXfpgqT7Rw5LI8PIdiB0PqgSaqe5Xq%2FJ6bpmRyOJonT3VoXnDag%3D%3D&uid=62518789

RichardStrauss wrote an opera"Knight of the Rose"in 1909-1910 to a libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. The first production took place on January 26, 1911 at the Royal opera house(Dresden). In Russia, the premiere took place in 1928 at the Leningrad Opera and Ballet Theater (now the Mariinsky). Later, the works of Richard Strauss were rarely heard in the Soviet Union, some of them were even banned. Fortunately, the situation is changing, for example, in DecemberMoscow Chamber Musical Theatre named after B.A. Pokrovsky staged for the first time in Russia "Idomenea" W.-A. Mozartedited by Richard Strauss ).

At the Bolshoi Theater above the opera"The Rosenkavalier", the premiere performances of which were held on April 3, 4, 6, 7, 8 and 10, an international team worked: director-producer - Stephen Lawless, x set designer - Benoit Dugardin, costume designer - Sue Willmington, lighting designer - Paul Payant, choreographer - Lynn Hockney, inThe main part of the main part was performed by Melanie Diener (Marshalsha) and Stephen Richardson (Baron Ochs, Marshall's cousin). For myself I have chosen"home" second line-up on 04/10/2012, but there are solid "Varangians" there too:
Marshall — Ekaterina Godovanets, graduate of the Paris National Conservatory, since 2012 soloist of the Nuremberg State Opera (Germany);
Baron Ochs von Lerchenau - Austrian Manfred Hemm, known for its Mozart repertoire;
Faninal - German baritone Michael Kupfer, a specialist in the Austro-German repertoire (Mozart, Lorzing, Beethoven, Wagner and, of course, Richard Strauss);
Octavian — Alexandra Kadurina, graduate of the Bolshoi Youth Opera program;
Sophie — Alina Yarovaya, a graduate of the Youth opera program Bolshoi Theatre;
Valzacchi- Princeton alumnus Jeff Martin
Annina — People's Artist Russian Irina Dolzhenko.

The action takes place in Vienna, during the early years of the reign of Maria Theresa (1740s).
Libretto - Hugo von Hofmannsthal.
Music - Richard Strauss.
Conductor - Vasily of Sinai.
The opera is performed on German(goes in three acts) — 4 hours 15 minutes).

Due to the long duration of the opera (and contrary to the usual ten minutes delay for the Bolshoi), the performance began to the minute: the spectators who were late and lingered in the buffet were surprised! Even more surprise in the hall was caused by the accompanying performance supratiters with awkward speech turns: "Don't you get it?" (in the sense of "don't you think?"), "Remove this horse in mourning" (about Annina disguised), "I am charmed by such refinement" (i.e., charmed) ... The fact is that Hoffmannsthal's masterfully written libretto abounds not only with pearls of belles-lettres, but also with a colloquial Viennese dialect. And the quoted "mistakes" by Baron Oks von Lerchenau very accurately characterize his level of "culture": throughout the opera, this comic character was "properly" mocked not only by the despising Marshall (of course, along with the librettist), but also by the composer himself.
Hugo von Hofmannsthal wrote: "It must be admitted that my libretto has one significant drawback: much of what makes up its charm is lost in translation."

Opera conductor and chief conductor Bolshoi Theater Vasily Sinaisky: " This is music of amazing beauty, saturated with magnificent melodies, primarily waltzes. This opera has an extremely entertaining intrigue and a very strong comic, playful aspect. And the characters look like absolutely living people, because everyone is written out very clearly, and each has its own psychology. At rehearsals, I constantly tell the orchestra: play it like Mozart's operas - with charm, charm and at the same time with irony. Although this score embodies both the light, ironic Mozart and the dramatic, tense Wagner" .

However, there is an eloquent "opera tale" on this subject: once the composer, standing at the conductor's stand, in the third act of the opera "The Knight of the Rose" whispered to the violin accompanist: "How terribly long it is, isn't it?" — "But, maestro, you wrote it yourself!" “I know, but I never imagined that I myself would have to conduct.”
So some episodes could have been shortened, as Richard Strauss himself, in turn, edited Mozart's Idomeneo, reducing the score to two hours. IN the first act, for example, the Marshall's philosophical reasoning is too long (whether it's "Tatyana's letter" in "Eugene Onegin" - both briefly and penetratingly).
Although the opera as a whole, thanks to waltzes, an ironic mood and a light plot (with a reference to " love triangle"The Countess-Cherubino-Fanchetta from Beaumarchais's comedy "Crazy Day, or The Marriage of Figaro") was received favorably by the Moscow public. What can we say about Austria and Germany, where the "Rosenkavalier" is as popular as we have "Eugene Onegin" or "Peak lady"!

The Rosenkavalier is a densely populated opera, and its plot has many secondary lines: here are intricately intertwined love intrigues, and dressing up a young lover as a maid (moreover, Baron Ox immediately “sunk down” on “such a beauty”), and the scams of hardened swindlers and intriguers Valzacchi and Annina, who eventually took the side of Octavian and played an important role in achieving a successful outcome ... But, most importantly, the opera has become a real monument to Vienna, the world capital of waltzes, of which the audience is constantly reminded by the Marshall's alcove with a gilded openwork dome ( exactly like on the building of the Vienna Museum secession), now waltzing in an embrace with a copy of the Viennese monument to Johann Strauss, Baron Oks, then lined up, like members of the famous Vienna Boys Choir, ten dummy "children of the baron", under the guidance of the "abandoned" Annina, singing the endless "daddy-daddy-daddy".

In addition, each act of the opera corresponds to the costumes and scenery of a certain era (and on the stage backdrop "at all times" there is a luminous dial - to inform the audience about real time, the director's irony: there are ... hours left until the end of the performance).
In the first act, this is the year 1740, the aristocratic era of Maria Theresa and her namesake Field Marshal, Princess Werdenberg (the action takes place in a huge princely bedroom, where an alcove with its size resembles a tent and can turn into a miniature stage for performances by invited musicians, dancers and Italian tenor, and even Luciano Pavarotti himself liked to perform in this bright episode of the opera). The second act is the middle of the 19th century, the heyday of the bourgeoisie, the plot develops in the house of Faninal, a wealthy middle-class representative who dreams of intermarrying with an aristocratic family by marrying off his daughter Sophie to the arrogant Baron Oks. It is here, against the backdrop of luxurious display cabinets with porcelain, that the central event of the opera takes place - the ceremony of offering a silver rose, a traditional gift from the groom (on behalf of and on behalf of the Baron his fiancee Sophie a trinket perfumed with rose oil is presented by the seventeen-year-old Octavian, recommended by the Marshall for the honorary mission of the "Rose Knight", a scene that became for both young characters the beginning of love at first sight. For the third act, the beginning of the 20th century and the democratic public park of Vienna - Prater, equalizing all classes, were chosen. The finale again returns the audience to the aristocratic apartments of the Marshall: the action of the opera goes to a sensitive denouement, and that’s it. secondary characters leave this great hall. But after Octavian's farewell to the Marshall, who is inferior to his young rival Sophie (the famous trio, often performed as a separate concert number), all-all-all characters noisily and cheerfully return to the stage again - already to bow.