Opera Daily 🎶 — Der Rosenkavalier, Final Trio
Today we’re listening to…
The final trio between The Marschallin, Octavian, and Sophie from Act III of Richard Strauss's German opera Der Rosenkavalier (The Knight of the Rose). We are listening to soprano Renée Fleming, singing the role of the Marschallin who loves Octavian (Susan Graham, mezzo-soprano) enough to give him up so that he can marry Sophie, the young woman he loves (Christine Schäfer, soprano).
You have to sit through a lot of opera to get to this fantastic moment (3 hours+), but there is no finer music in all of opera than this finale. Der Rosenkavalier is known for its showcasing of the female voice, as its protagonists (light lyric soprano Sophie, mezzo-soprano Octavian, and the mature dramatic, spinto soprano Marschallin) are written to be portrayed by women. Some singers have performed two or three of these roles throughout their careers (soprano Lotte Lehmann did all three). There have been many beautiful interpretations done over the years, which we've shared below.
The trio begins with three simultaneous soliloquies. Confusion and remorse gradually move into acceptance and grace as the Marschallin steps aside, letting go of her younger love and younger self, and blesses the union of Octavian and Sophie.
Der Rosenkavalier may have been meant solely as a comic opera, but it has a great deal to say, in an earnest way about grace. Although, I don’t believe Der Rosenkavalier is an opera about a woman who’s concerned about aging (the Marschallin is only 32 years old in this opera!), rather about letting go gracefully.
📺 🎧 Watch and listen here (6 minute listen), Trio from Act III of Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier. Renée Fleming (Marschallin), Christine Schäfer (Sophie), Susan Graham (Octavian). The Metropolitan Opera, 2010. Production, Nathaniel Merrill, Conductor, Edo de Waart.
The human voice is the most beautiful instrument of all, but it is the most difficult to play.
Richard Strauss
Set in 1740s Vienna, Der Rosenkavalier first premiered at the Königliches Opernhaus in Dresden in 1911. It became Strauss’s most famous opera during his lifetime. Today it is one of the top 40 most-performed operas worldwide.
Time is passing for the Marschallin, and her affair with the young Count Octavian makes her feel that more than ever. She is not the young girl she remembers, but she also does not know how to continue as this more mature woman. When her cousin, Baron Ochs von Lerchenau, announces his engagement to the young Sophie von Faninal, she remembers her own arranged marriage years prior. She chooses Octavian to be the Baron’s rose-bearer, appointing him to carry out the custom of delivering the silver rose to the Baron’s bride-to-be. The Baron’s plans to marry the young heiress are spotted when Octavian arrives bearing the rose and steals Sophie’s heart. The Baron's behavior and overall bad reputation have not made him popular, so, with the help of several members of the household, a plot is devised to teach him a lesson.
Here are some other interpretations of the piece:
LISTEN Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Christa Ludwig and Teresa Stich-Randall, with Herbert von Karajan and the Philharmonia Orchestra
WATCH & LISTEN Kathleen Battle, Frederica von Stade, Renée Fleming, New Year's Eve Concert in Berlin, Germany, 1992, Claudio Abbado, conductor, The Berliner Philharmoniker [**HIGHLY RECOMMEND**]
WATCH & LISTEN Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Katherine Ciesinski & Kathleen Battle, Gala of Stars, American Symphony Orchestra, James Levine, conductor, Hosted by Beverly Sills, NYC, 1984
WATCH & LISTEN Anne Sophie von Otter, Barbara Bonney, and Felicity Lott, Vienna State Opera, 1994
WATCH & LISTEN Anna Tomowa-Sintow, Agnes Baltsa, and Janet Perry, recorded live at the Salzburg Festival in 1984, Vienna Philharmonic Herbert von Karajan, conductor
Have questions about this opera or this post? Drop your questions in the comments and we will share more!
Thank you for reading (and listening),
Michele
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Having now listened to various performances of the Final Trio (Act III: Marie Theres'! Hab' mir's gelobt, Ihn lieb zu haben) from Richard Strauss's "Der Rosenkavalier", I still prefer Kathleen Battle, Frederica von Stade and Renée Fleming in concert (Claudio Abbado, conductor, The Berliner Philharmoniker, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXi8U1twwrc).
Those three divine voices, the Opera Daily synopsis, and the tongue-in-cheek "'Der Rosenkavalier' In Three Minutes" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoNl3kWntK4) were my incentives to watch the 1962 film with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and Elisabeth Schwarzkopf (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAw4iDDWby8).
The Strauss music, of course, was the best part. My favorite melody was a signature Strauss waltz in Act II, when the comically oblivious and obtuse country Baron grabbed Sophie from behind (after she had turned her back on him), and attempted to dance. Anyone who has ever had to fend off an unwanted suitor can surely relate.
Strauss's vision of Habsburg royalty was mocking, modern and moralistic simultaneously. The Baron as unsuspecting cuckold provided comic relief. The Marschallin, who cheated on her husband away at war with Octavian, her young lover, literally pushed him away in an attempt to hide the affair. That he would be lusted after by the Baron while in disguise, and then drafted to deliver the silver rose to Sophie, whom the Baron sought as his bride, set the stage for him to meet and fall in love with the latter. That the Marschallin released him is a form of absolution for her self-indulgent adultery. She knew the day was coming when he would abandon her. When that time came, she released him. Nothing like a repentant sinner woman for artistic virtue-signaling, right?
The presentation of the rose finds its echoes in the contemporary (and absurd) TV series, "The Bachelor" and "The Bachelorette", so popular in the USA. "Der Rosenkavalier", which surely influenced the show's concept, should be recommended viewing for all contestants.
Maria Jeritza sang the premiere of ROSENKAVALIER and was honored at The Met with a display of her costume jewelry on the Grand Tier in 2017.
Opera and Concert Series could be dedicated to Maria Jeritza for NJPAC in 2021/22. Jeritza was a superstar at the Metropolitan, Vienna, Czech, + LaScala Opera Companies. Jeritza also premiered Opera’s by Puccini, Strauss, + Janacek. Jeritza also loved, lived, and retired, to her home in Newark NJ.
The New York Times noted in their obituary she was a star of Opera’s Golden Age in the 20th century.
She was an Opera Diva, who lived, retired, and died In Newark in 1982 at 94. She attended and supported opera at The Mosque Theatre and Symphony Hall in Newark, NJ. Her appearances would generate instant applause at each performance with her blond hair and blue tinted glasses.
Homage to Maria Jeritza, who resided In Newark made opera history in Brno, Newark, The Met, Vienna as she inspired and worked with Giacomo Puccini, Leos Janacek, and Richard Strauss during her career.
MARIA JERITZA, STAR OF OPERA’S ‘GOLDEN AGE,’ DIES AT 94 …
www.nytimes.com/1982/.../maria-jeritza-star-of-opera-s-golden-age-dies-at-94 .- Maria Jeritza, the internationally renowned soprano who has beencalled … Miss Jeritza was one of the great artists of opera’s’’golden age,’’ (1887–1982) longtime resident of Newark,NJ who sang for Richard Strauss, Leos Janacek, and GiacomoPuccini :Premiere’s at the Met, Vienna, Brno, LaScala in her illustrious career in Europe and the United States.
Richard Strauss wrote 4 Last Songs (and one last song for Maria(Jeritza ) who retired to Newark after her international opera careerfrom Vienna to The Met.
Puccini loved Jeritza as his favorite TOSCA. Maria started thetradition of Tosca laying prone on the floor to sing “Vissi d’arte.”Jeritza premiered Janacek’s JENUFA among other highlights from Brno,Vienna and Milan. Her legendary musical soirees occurred at her homein North Newark. It should be an Historic Site and turned into a OperaMuseum while it still stands though now in private hands. Her postretirement appearances at The Met and Symphony Hall (formerly theMosque Theatre) garnered a rash of applause from the opera audience.
ArtsPRunlimited, Inc is part of Fractured Atlas< https://www.fracturedatlas.org/site/fiscal/profile?id=11419 >