Writing about Rosenkavalier

I have written often about Der Rosenkavalier. We are told in the intermission of the Met simulcast that it was initially called Baron Ochs. We're glad it was changed. We want it to be about a teenager who is lucky in love, and not about an old man who isn't.

I write here about the characters, why we love them, why we don't. Here I analyze the Marschallin.

I wrote here about performances I have seen. And here is a wonderful quote from Schwarzkopf.

Here I review Joyce Didonato's performance as Octavian.

This DVD from the Zurich opera is my first experience of a non-traditional Rosenkavalier.

This post gives a preview of Renée's performance, with Ochs in Lederhosen. The men look like Nazis.

I went again last night to see the encore and took a friend. She had learned Sophie but had never seen it staged before. I understand all the words and in this traditional setting know exactly what all the movements will be. All that changes is the voices and faces. This was my third viewing of the Ochs of Kristinn Sigmundsson, and I must say he grows on me.

This is my opera, and I never seem to tire of it.