Kiri Te Kanawa as Strauss’ Marschallin

ALL ABOUT THE ARTS

36 years ago the Royal Opera House assembled a top-notch cast to star in a production of Richard Strauss’ Comedy-in-Music Der Rosenkavalier.

The cast chosen for the occasion was led by Kiri Te Kanawa, then at age 41 at the very top of her prime as the Marshallin. English mezzo-soprano Anne Howells was the Octavian, the American Barbara Bonney sang the role of Sophie, and Danish bass Auge Augland was the Baron Ochs.

The production – elegant to a fault – was directed by John Schlesinger, with scenery by William Dudley and costumes by Maria Bjornson.

The Royal Opera Chorus and the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House were led by Georg Solti.

Now Opus Arte has re-released a DVD of the production, and the results are just fine.

As the aging Marschallin, Kiri Te Kanawa looks anything but superannuated, ravishing in a variety of gowns, coiffed within an inch of her stage life, and singing like a goddess come to earth. The scene between her and Octavian that ends Act I becomes in her hands a thing of wonder, and much of the Straussian recitative that threatens to wear a little thin as its stretches for minutes on end is handled by her so gracefully that it becomes as melodic as anything the composer ever wrote. The trio that she shares with her colleagues Howells and Bonney towards the end of the opera is a sung gem made all the more appealing by all three participants.

Barbara Bonney sings and acts the perfect Sophie: pert at first, then blossoming vocally and dramatically into a young girl on the brink of womanhood. Anne Howells sings and acts a reliable Octavian, lanky, agile, and funny in his several encounters with Auge Augland’s bumbling, fumbling ox of an Ochs.

The supporting roles are all evenly cast, from Dennis O’Neill’s Italian Singer to Robert Tear’s Valzacchi to Jonathan Summers’ Faninal.

Long in precision and perhaps short on inspiration, Georg Solti leads a solid performance never coloring too far outside the lines.

As a record of one of the iconic performances of the role of the Marschallin, the Opus Arte DVD is invaluable.

Rafael de Acha    ALL ABOUT THE ARTS

Published by ALL ABOUT THE ARTS

Rafael de Acha has enjoyed a distinguished career in the arts as a performer, stage director, producer, and educator. He was born and grew up in Cuba. At the age of 17 he moved to the United States to study Drama at the University of Minnesota, and later Languages at L.A. City College, Music at the Juilliard School of Music, at the University of Cincinnati’s College Conservatory of Music, and at the New England Conservatory of Music, from which he received the Master's degree. He has taught courses on the History of Music at the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music and at Florida International University, and contributed writings and reviews to Seen and Heard International (www.seenandheard-international.com ) and to this blog. He co-founded the award-winning New Theatre in Coral Gables, Florida, where he produced and staged twenty seasons of classical and contemporary theater, including fifty world premieres of plays that went on to have international and national productions on and off Broadway, including Ana in the Tropics by Nilo Cruz (Pulitzer Prize for Drama 2002 and Tony Nomination 2003.) In 2006 he was presented with a citation from The Dade County Cultural Affairs Council for “trailblazing contributions to the arts in South Florida.”