Strauss, R (Der) Rosenkavalier
A stalwart of the Strauss catalogue reappears on its orchestra’s own label
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Richard Strauss
Genre:
Opera
Label: The Compact Opera Collection
Magazine Review Date: 10/2011
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 206
Mastering:
Stereo
ADD
Catalogue Number: 473 361-2DOC3
![](https://reviews.azureedge.net/gramophone/gramophone-review-general-image.jpg)
Tracks:
Composition | Artist Credit |
---|---|
(Der) Rosenkavalier |
Richard Strauss, Composer
Edo de Waart, Conductor Evelyn Lear, Die Feldmarschallin, Soprano Frederica von Stade, Octavian, Soprano Jules Bastin, Baron Ochs, Bass Richard Strauss, Composer Ruth Welting, Sophie, Soprano |
Author: David Patrick Stearns
More than anyone, de Waart makes the opera into a triptych: character details in the first act are found in the wind-writing and miniature wind symphonies such as the breakfast music between the Marshallin and Octavian, showing these rarefied Viennese circumstances in counterpoint to a simple-folk sense of play. Act 2 is in the intense, grand harmonic world of Also Sprach Zarathustra; those famous orchestral effects suggesting the gleam of the silver rose are as forward-looking as anything in Elektra. In the final act, de Waart has the farcical buoyance of operetta until the famously cathartic trio – climaxed with supreme effect – when the Marschallin frees Octavian to marry age-appropriate Sophie.
Vocally, Frederica von Stade is at her peak in a particularly tormented, emotionally mature portrayal of Octavian. As Baron Ochs, Jules Bastin’s bass has none of the pitch-obscuring rumble of his German counterparts, so that nothing gets in the way of the flood of character details from his considerable theatrical imagination. Ruth Welting’s Sophie is just fine, vocally and theatrically, if not that distinctive. José Carreras is in fine voice but shouts his way through his aria. Evelyn Lear’s Marschallin, long considered this set’s sticking-point, is better than its reputation: once past the opening scene (whose fine emotional shading is lost in her demure singing), she’s animated with the Baron, and stays that way, even if her vocal freshness varies from scene to scene. Too bad this set wasn’t taken from the live performances prior to the studio sessions: if Lear was in iffy voice, a live performance might have brought out a stronger communicative imperative.
Discover the world's largest classical music catalogue with Presto Music.
![](/media/252399/gramophone_-10_24-_magsubscriptions-images_600x600px2.png?anchor=center&mode=crop&width=370&height=500&rnd=133700837660000000?quality=60)
Gramophone Digital Club
- Digital Edition
- Digital Archive
- Reviews Database
- Full website access
From £8.75 / month
Subscribe![](/media/252400/gramophone_-10_24-_magsubscriptions-images_600x600px3.png?anchor=center&mode=crop&width=370&height=500&rnd=133700837800000000?quality=60)
Gramophone Full Club
- Print Edition
- Digital Edition
- Digital Archive
- Reviews Database
- Full website access
From £11.00 / month
Subscribe
If you are a library, university or other organisation that would be interested in an institutional subscription to Gramophone please click here for further information.