[Met Performance] CID:127090



Der Rosenkavalier
Metropolitan Opera House, Mon, December 4, 1939

Debut : John Carter




Der Rosenkavalier (67)
Richard Strauss | Hugo von Hofmannsthal
Octavian
Ris? Stevens

Princess von Werdenberg (Marschallin)
Lotte Lehmann

Baron Ochs
Emanuel List

Sophie
Marita Farell

Faninal
Julius Huehn

Annina
Doris Doe

Valzacchi
Karl Laufk?tter

Italian Singer
John Carter [Debut]

Marianne
Dorothee Manski

Mahomet
Sari Montague

Princess' Major-domo
Lodovico Oliviero

Orphan
Natalie Bodanya

Orphan
Lucielle Browning

Orphan
Anna Kaskas

Milliner
Thelma Votipka

Animal Vendor
Giordano Paltrinieri

Hairdresser
Juan Casanova

Notary
Arnold Gabor

Leopold
Ludwig Burgstaller

Police Commissioner
Norman Cordon


Conductor
Erich Leinsdorf


Director
Leopold Sachse

Set Designer
Hans Kautsky

Costume Designer
Alfred Roller





Der Rosenkavalier received six performances this season.

Review 1:

Review of Jerome D. Bohm in the Herald Tribune

"Rosenkavalier" Is Performed At Metropolitan

Roles in Strauss Opera are Sung by Mme. Lehmann, Miss Stevens and List

This masterwork of Strauss's and von Hofmannsthal's shares with Wagner's "Die Meistersinger" the distinction of bringing upon the stage creations of flesh and blood with whom the listener shares the emotions and thoughts with which composer and librettist have endowed them. The characters therein are no operatic puppets who merely serve as mouthpieces for recitative and arias, but human beings whom one might easily find among one's friends and acquaintances.

It matters little that the Vienna of Maria Theresa is the milieu of "Rosenkavalier." The period costumes do not, as in so many operatic and dramatic products, hinder us from finding the Marschallin's tragedy, the tragedy of passing youth and the ineluctable adieu to love which accompanies it, deeply affecting. How truly realized is the callow Octavian, who, as soon as chance throws a young, pretty girl in his path, speedily forgets his vows of eternal faithfulness!

Mme. Lehmann's Marschallin was, as it has been in the past, a masterly one, replete with tenderness, profoundly touching in its suggestion of the pathos of final resignation, and imbued with true nobility. The soprano was in admirable voice and invested her delineation with a wealth of subtle nuance and tonal color, which served to heighten its artistry.

Others Good in Roles

As Octavian, Miss Stevens again disclosed her extraordinary flair for the theater. Whether enacting the impassioned boy, Octavian, or masquerading as the maid, Mariandel, her portrayal was consistently telling, and much of the dramatic detail of the part has grown in cogency and finish. Vocally better disposed than on the occasion of her debut in this role last season, the contralto delivered much of her music with richly vibrant tones and true intensity.

As the lecherous boor, Ochs auf Lerchenau, Mr. List did some effective work, although it would add to the saliency of his conception if he could be persuaded not to play the clown so unabatingly. Miss Farell's Sophie is persuasively comely and there were times, especially in the last act, when her singing had the tonal transparency and warmth demanded. But in the second act in the "Presentation of the Rose" duet and in the subsequent scenes, her spread manner of projecting her tones was productive of unfelicitous results.

Mr. Huehn has the wide range essential to an easy conquest of Faninal's music, but his acting, because of its inherent youthfulness, does not convey the paternal, choleric aspect of the character. A word of commendation must be added for the well sung, amusingly delineated intrigante, Annina, by Miss Doe.

Audience Shows Approval

John Carter, who made his first appearance in a regular performance as the Italian tenor, at the Princess Werdenberg's levee, proved conclusively that microphone technique is unsuited to the operatic stage. His voice, which is of agreeable texture, could scarcely be heard in the sixth row of the auditorium. The remaining less weighty parts were in capable hands.

Mr. Leinsdorf, who had not previously conducted "Rosenkavalier" here, revealed remarkable understanding of Strauss's complex score, keeping a firm hand over the orchestra and stage procedure and setting forth the music's many facets with unerring comprehension - enlivening the episodes of pure comedy and farce and lending to the lyric and poetic moments pulsating warmth.

The orchestra, barring the seemingly inevitable distortion of the difficult [at the start] horn theme, played in highly satisfying fashion. The audience was large and obviously pleased by what it heard.



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