TheLittleSongbird
'Der Rosenkavalier' is my absolute favourite of Richard Strauss' operas, and this is coming from who admires and appreciates him very much.Who cannot help love how the story and comedy sparkles, the deft mix of comedy and drama with a slightly darker element, the well drawn characters and some of the most beautiful music Strauss ever wrote (especially the magical "Presentation of the Rose" and the sublime final scene)? It is a long opera, but it is never dull and from personal experience (with me and with a friend, whose first opera was 'Der Rosenkvalier') is one of Strauss' more accessible operas for listeners and audiences, if not for the players and singers, as wonderful as the music is it's very taxing to perform with Sophie and Baron Ochs' being particularly treacherous Tessitura-wise.There are better productions of 'Der Rosenkavalier' around, especially the 1962 film with Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Sena Jurinac and Annelise Rothenberger, the 1985 production with Kiri Te Kanawa and the 1994 one with Ann Sofie Von Otter. It is still a good performance with a good deal of interest value, and hardly the worst one either. The production is notable for being apparently Renee Fleming bidding farewell to one of her signature roles in the Marschallin. That's the main interest point, but it does have much more going for it. Am well aware of being late reviewing this and most of the productions of the 2016/2017 season of 'Metropolitan Opera HD Live', have been busy and most of the information for this season hadn't been updated until early February or so when over half the season had been shown.How does Fleming fare? Very well. Not at her best, mind you, her voice has had more bloom and it has had more power, but it's still its usual beautifully creamy and expressive tone and the phrasing and musicality are also on point. Interpretation-wise there are no complaints either, her acting is very heartfelt, making the most of the Marschallin's wise words, sincerity and melancholic wisdom. Despite Fleming's powerful performance, to me she wasn't the star. The star was Elina Garanca as Octavian. Garanca brilliantly captures Octavian's youthful passion, headstrong quality, impetuousness and sense of duty. Her voice is rich and firm as well as intelligently used.Erin Morley is a charming and earnest Sophie, her radiant and lively soprano voice coping extremely well with Sophie's notoriously treacherous Tessitura, particularly in "Presentation of the Rose" and the Final Trio. There are Baron Ochs' that have brought more humanity to the character of Baron Ochs, but even with the character being more of a repellent beast than usual (perfect within the concept) that doesn't stop Günther Groissböck from being both menacing and wickedly funny, Baron Ochs is not annoying here. His voice is not always the largest or most resonant of sounds, but mostly it's sonorous, dark and characterful and doesn't sound taxed by the very low notes that makes this role have one of the lowest Tessituras in the bass repertory.The supporting cast are also well filled, with Matthew Polenzani's cameo being luxury casting and with all the attributes that has always made his work such a pleasure on the whole. Fanninal and Annina also stand out. The orchestra give every ounce of the score's poetry and subtlety, as well as its energetic playfulness, throughout sounding ravishing and full-bodied. Sebastian Wiegle has always been a competent conductor responsible for some solid work if not always distinguished, and he does a very good job here, accommodating while giving pulse.Robert Carsen's stage directing doesn't always work, with some miscalculations when he does go too far bringing out the darkness and seediness, but mostly it does. The comedy is witty, playful and funny, the romantic elements are tender and touching ("Presentation of the Rose" and the Final Trio are sheer magic), the character interaction all round is a delight and there is not a dull moment. The sets mostly are both grand and decadent and the costumes sumptuous (particularly Fleming).Hated the brothel setting however of Act 3, it looked ugly and a strong example of the seediness being taken too far. As said, there are a few weird miscalculations and parts are overdone. The two biggest examples are the bizarre staging of the Act 2 engagement party and the wildly out of place, distracting, completely unnecessary and distasteful touch during Sophie and Octavian's final embrace which should have been scrapped, in fact never approved in the first place.Overall though, a good production and a fitting end to a mostly good season, that stated off shaky with the disappointing 'Tristan Und Isolde' but got significantly stronger with some good high points ('L'Amour De Loin' and 'Idomeneo' especially were triumphs). 7/10 Bethany Cox
