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[Met Performance] CID:192350



Der Rosenkavalier
Metropolitan Opera House, Mon, November 19, 1962

Debut : Hertha Töpper, Régine Crespin, Ada Calabrese, Erbert Aldridge, Lotte Lehmann







Der Rosenkavalier received nine performances this season.

Review 1:

Review of Harold C. Schonberg in The New York Times

If one were a sentimentalist, the temptation would be say that the success of last night's "Rosenkavalier" at the Metropolitan Opera was the result of an emanation from one of the boxes. Lotte Lehmann, the greatest of all Marschallins, was sitting in it (she received quite an ovation before the curtain went up on Act II), and she was also responsible, with Ralph Herbert, for the staging.

"Rosenkavalier" was being done for the first time in two seasons, and of the four leading roles, three were new to the house. Régine Crespin and Hertha Töpper made their debuts as the Marschallin and Octavian, and Anneliese Rothenberger sang Sophie for the first time.

The occasion was supposed to mark Miss Crespin's American debut, but the Metropolitan had released her to Chicago, where she recently sang a few performances at the Lyric Opera.

First things first. In Miss Crespin, the Metropolitan and "Der Rosenkavalier" have a singer worthy of the great tradition of house and opera. She gave a simply beautiful performance. A rather large and handsome woman, she proved a brilliant actress who handled herself with complete finesse. And vocally she was far out of the ordinary.

Her voice is extremely large, but as she sings the sound is never extended. She is not a vocalist who has to operate at maximum. Its lack of vibrato makes the voice tend a little toward coolness, but that does not mean there was no color in it. Miss Crespin, as the artist she is, employed all kinds of delicate shading.

The most unusual thing about the voice, though, was its absolute security. In matters of production and intonation, Miss Crespin was at all times a flawless technician. She never had to slide into a note, nor grope for it, and was in complete command. And when she let out, the voice soared over the orchestra and all over the house-big, confident, and beautiful.

To add to the luster of the occasion were the contributions of Miss Töpper and Miss Rothenberger. The latter was an adorable Sophie. Since she is a petite woman, she looked the part; and since she is a wonderful artist in this kind of repertory, her conception was utterly believable. She brought out all kinds of dramatic detail to suggest the child-woman that Sophie should be and almost never is. And she sang it with lovely quality of tone, though once in a while she tried to push her voice a little too hard for comfort. It is not that big. But, taken as a whole, her Sophie was the best seen at the house for many a year.

Miss Töpper proved a reliable singer, one well versed in the tradition of the opera. Her costuming was a bit against her. She has the figure for Octavian. Then why a second-act costume that emphasized her femininity, especially the jacket with the flare at the hips? The illusion was lost. But she is nevertheless a strong singer, and a good musician besides, who worked well with orchestra and her colleagues on stage.

Otto Edelmann, previously seen hereabouts in this opera, reappeared as Ochs. He sounded a little more comfortable than he did during his Metropolitan appearances last season. One might quarrel with his conception but certainly not with the authority with which he approaches it.

In the lesser but important role of Faninal, Karl Dönch disappointed nobody who had seen his previous work, notably Beckmesser, and the Doctor in "Wozzeck." He is a fine singing actor, with plenty of voice; and he provided a less burlesqued Faninal than most singers do. Especially worthy of note were the signs of concern he showed as Ochs started pawing Sophie.

Lorin Maazel conducted this opera for the first time at the Metropolitan. His work was a little disappointing. Control was strongly present, but also a tendency to push, to take fast tempos and to fall into metronomic patters. Mr. Maazel is a little too intense in his work, and one would like to see a little more relaxation.

In the meantime there is a "Rosenkavalier" at the Metropolitan that has some of the most accomplished singing and acting that contemporary opera has to show.

After the curtain, Madame Lehmann came on stage to share the applause with the cast. The audience went wild, and would not let her go until she took a series of solo curtain calls. She also took some with the new Marschallin, Miss Crespin, whom she had coached for the performance.

Photograph of Regine Crespin and Lotte Lehmann rehearsing for Der Rosenkavalier.

Photograph of Regine Crespin as the Princess von Werdenberg in Der Rosenkavalier by Louis Mélançon/Metropolitan Opera

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Met careers

• Lorin Maazel [Conductor]
• Hertha Töpper [Octavian]
• Régine Crespin [Princess von Werdenberg (Marschallin)]
• Otto Edelmann [Baron Ochs]
• Anneliese Rothenberger [Sophie]
• Karl Dönch [Faninal]
• Rosalind Elias [Annina]
• Paul Franke [Valzacchi]
• Daniele Barioni [Italian Singer]
• Thelma Votipka [Marianne]
• Marsha Warren [Mahomet]
• Robert Nagy [Princess' Major-domo]
• Ada Calabrese [Orphan]
• Alexandra Jones [Orphan]
• Dorothy Shawn [Orphan]
• Mary Fercana [Milliner]
• Frank D'Elia [Animal Vendor]
• Harry Jones [Hairdresser]
• Gerhard Pechner [Notary]
• Erbert Aldridge [Leopold]
• Joseph Folmer [Lackey]
• John Trehy [Lackey]
• Lou Marcella [Lackey]
• Edward Ghazal [Lackey]
• Andrea Velis [Faninal's Major-domo]
• Charles Anthony [Innkeeper]
• Norman Scott [Police Commissioner]
• Lotte Lehmann [Director]
• Ralph Herbert [Director]
• Rolf Gérard [Designer]