The Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier is supposed to be no older than 32 – sensitive, sensual and emphatically sensible. Richard Strauss told us so. She is seldom played that way. Over the decades, the role has become the specialty of well-upholstered divas of a certain age who stress regal pathos at the expense of erotic allure. It wasn’t like that, however, on Friday at the Met, where Angela Denoke basked in revisionist revelation.
Richard Strauss
Lushly Lamenting the Wages of Time and a Lost Golden Age
By JEREMY EICHLER [NY Times, 15 Mar 05]
Some operas sound out universal themes, while others capture the precise fears and longings of the worlds from which they were born. Strauss's "Rosenkavalier" does both, through the vehicle of a romantic comedy with a rapturous score that has been cherished by opera lovers since its premiere in 1911. It made a successful return to the Metropolitan Opera repertory on Friday in Nathaniel Merrill's popular production, conducted by Donald Runnicles.
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Der Rosenkavalier, Metropolitan Opera, New York
By Martin Bernheimer, Richard Fairman and Brendan Lemon [Financial Times, 23 Mar 05]
The Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier is supposed to be no older than 32 - sensitive, sensual and emphatically sensible. Richard Strauss told us so. She is seldom played that way. Over the decades, the role has become the specialty of well-upholstered divas of a certain age who stress regal pathos at the expense of erotic allure. It wasn't like that, however, on Friday at the Met, where Angela Denoke basked in revisionist revelation.