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[Met Performance] CID:282040



Der Rosenkavalier
Metropolitan Opera House, Fri, September 27, 1985

Debut : Günther Reich, Dénes Gulyás, Karol Teiko, Ross Crolius







Der Rosenkavalier received twelve performances this season.

Review 1:

Review of Will Crutchfield in The New York Times

It would probably be rash to say that Kathleen Battle is the finest Sophie in the entire 74-year history of "Der Rosenkavalier," but the performance she gave Friday night at the Metropolitan Opera certainly raised the possibility.

Can she be? Comparing remembered recordings (just about every prominent Sophie has recorded at least part of the role) with exciting live performances is treacherous, and perhaps, futile. But even though something like the special magnetism of an Elisabeth Schumann can never be superseded, it really did seem Friday that Miss Battle had combined the hoped-for qualities more fully and in better balance than anyone else: a cause for rejoicing.

But so was the entire performance. A lot, we know, is wrong with opera these days, but something important must be right for a "Rosenkavalier" like this to emerge under ordinary circumstances in a repertory house. Credit first, after Miss Battle, to the "house" elements. The 1969 staging has been revived smartly by Bruce Donnell. The sets and costumes (Robert O'Hearn) are still among the Met's most handsome. The secondary singers - too many to name - were for the most part quite good, and held together as a lively and disciplined ensemble. The orchestra was superb: page after page of rich, exquisitely judged playing.

And James Levine's conducting became memorable in the same passages as "Rosenkavalier" itself: the pensive, serious stillness at the end of the first act; the gentle rush of passion in the second, when the young lovers meet; the slow arch of the great trio. In the noisy crowd scenes, it was possible to feel that the noise was being italicized and underlined, and even in some of the "personal" parts of the opera I wished he would play softer -- but when he did, the effect was magical.

All the principals gave strong performances. Tatiana Troyanos's Octavian is familiar, and it is one of the adornments of the company: passionate, impetuous, elegant, witty. She throws herself at this role with joy. Aage Haugland, giant of frame, voice and facial expression sang Ochs. He really did sing, and he played the part with a superficial geniality that was at once appealing and unpleasant; one could feel the ugliness of what Ochs represents more readily than with a merely gemütlich interpretation.

The Marschallin was Gwyneth Jones, a soprano whose career choices have not been calculated to preserve her voice in prime condition. But she is an artist, utterly absorbed in her character. She was so good in the many passages that are more or less spoken on pitch -- spoken in tender, delicate, precise accents, with thoughtful, unhurried penetration, going right to the heart of things -- that one easily forgave her the passages that had to be sustained in tones no longer reliable.

Two artists made effective debuts in smaller parts. Gunther Reich, as Sophie's blustering father, -displayed a baritone that rode the orchestra easily and sounded likable insofar as this music gives one a chance to like it. Denes Gulyas sang the Italian Tenor's song with admirable security

and ring, but was too strenuous in tone and style for the impression to be one of beauty.

That impression came- above all from Miss Battle, and her radiant tones dominated the performance even amidst so much ensemble excellence. One of her great gifts is the ability to put declamatory pressure on her voice without even lightly impinging on its purity. Her acting is natural and winning, quite touching at times. The characterization is perhaps not yet fully rounded: to her revulsion for Ochs, for instance, she did not add the poignant conflict of trying to suppress or disguise it out of filial duty. Her petulance can sometimes seem rather decided upon rather arising out of believably spontaneous interaction. But it's all to the good that there should be further levels for her to explore in her art, because the singing itself Friday was as close to perfect as might decently be asked for.

Search by season: 1985-86

Search by title: Der Rosenkavalier,



Met careers

• James Levine [Conductor]
• Tatiana Troyanos [Octavian]
• Gwyneth Jones [Princess von Werdenberg (Marschallin)]
• Aage Haugland [Baron Ochs]
• Kathleen Battle [Sophie]
• Günther Reich [Faninal]
• Claudia Catania [Annina]
• Anthony Laciura [Valzacchi]
• Dénes Gulyás [Italian Singer]
• Loretta Di Franco [Marianne]
• Efrain Bracero [Mahomet]
• Andrea Velis [Princess' Major-domo]
• Barbara Bystrom [Orphan]
• Mary Fercana [Orphan]
• Karol Teiko [Orphan]
• Linda Mays [Milliner]
• John Hanriot [Animal Vendor]
• Sam Cardea [Hairdresser]
• James Courtney [Notary]
• Erbert Aldridge [Leopold]
• Frank Coffey [Lackey]
• Ross Crolius [Lackey]
• Richard Firmin [Lackey]
• Dennis Steff [Lackey]
• Michael Best [Faninal's Major-domo]
• James Atherton [Innkeeper]
• Spiro Malas [Police Commissioner]
• Nathaniel Merrill [Production]
• Robert O'Hearn [Designer]
• Gil Wechsler [Lighting Designer]
• Bruce Donnell [Stage Director]