Der Rosenkavalier

Philipp M. Krenn, director of Schlaflos in the 2023/24 season, is staging Richard Strauss and Hugo von Hofmannsthal’s melancholy global success, in which the soaring waltz melodies are just as much historical fiction as the timeless portrait of society full of arrogance, calculated intrigues and complex amours. The celebrated Hungarian soprano Polina Pastirchak returns to Graz Opera as the Marschallin, and former ensemble member Tetiana Miyus as Sophie. At her side: audience favourite Wilfried Zelinka as Ochs von Lerchenau.

Planned as a light Mozartian play opera, as a cheerful conversation piece, Der Rosenkavalier is full of insight into life and mischief. Strauss’ popular waltzes are a musical projection onto an 18th century in which this dance was still largely unknown. The handing over of roses by a young cavalier also comes from the imagination of an author who, after their successful collaboration on Elektra, responded to Richard Strauss’ wish to create a completely new work together. Their correspondence reflects the intense struggle between the subtle, hyper-sensitive Hofmannsthal and the down-to-earth Bavarian Strauss, and their often passionate differences of opinion, which led to one of the most productive collaborations in the field of musical theatre.
The very young, nouveau riche Sophie is to marry the coarse Baron Ochs auf Lerchenau, a reciprocal deal: young money for old nobility! The deal goes badly wrong, as the eponymous suitor – who is also the youthful lover of an ageing marshal – falls in love with the bride he is courting and vice versa. A work whose topicality lies in its charming and endearing portrayal of complex human relationships and in centralising the perception of time in an era that is sometimes perceived as the end of time.