Richard Strauss - Der Rosenkavalier / Carlos Kleiber, Otto Schenk - Lott, von Otter, Bonney - Wiener Staatsoper

Starring:Felicity Lott, Kurt Moll, Anne Sofie von Otter, Gottfried Hornik, Barbara Bonney, Olivera Miljakovic, Heinz Zednik, Anna Gonda, Peter Wimberger, Waldemar Kmentt, Franz Kasemann, Wolfgang Bankl, Peter Jelosits, Keith Ikaia-Purdy, Lotte Leitner, Carlos Kleiber
Director: Horant H. Hohlfeld
Studio: Deutsche Grammophon
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Amazon.com
After the tonality-stretching dissonance of Salome and especially Elektra, Richard Strauss moved onto a different musical path with his next opera. The epic grandeur of Der Rosenkavalier stems not just from its immense length (over three hours) but from the all-too-human complexity of its characters--each of whom is smitten with someone else--and the endless stream of graceful melodies the composer conjures. The music's sheer gorgeousness has given this most heartbreaking of 20th century operas its pride of place in the repertory.

For this 1994 performance at the Vienna Opera House, conductor Carlos Kleiber leads a committed reading of the buoyant score that savors every note. The three leads are superb singer-actresses who get full marks for embodying Strauss's most richly romantic creations: Felicity Lott (the Marschallin), Anne Sophie von Otter (Octavian), and Barbara Bonney (Sophie) also offer a truly entrancing final trio, one of the great scenes in all opera. The stereo sound mix is solid, as is the video transfer. --Kevin Filipski
Description
Cast list:

Felicity Lott: Marschallin
Kurt Moll: Der Baron Ochs auf Lerchenau
Anne Sofie von Otter: Octavian
Gottfried Hornik: Herr von Faninal
Barbara Bonney: Sophie
Olivera Miljakovic: Jungfer Marianne Leitmetzerin
Heinz Zednik: Valzacchi
Anna Gonda: Annina
Keith Ikaia-Purdy: Ein Sänger
Lotte Leitner: Eine Modistin

Amazon.com

After the tonality-stretching dissonance of Salome and especially Elektra, Richard Strauss moved onto a different musical path with his next opera. The epic grandeur of Der Rosenkavalier stems not just from its immense length (over three hours) but from the all-too-human complexity of its characters--each of whom is smitten with someone else--and the endless stream of graceful melodies the composer conjures. The music's sheer gorgeousness has given this most heartbreaking of 20th century operas its pride of place in the repertory.

Description

Cast list:

Vienna State Opera Chorus and Orchestra, Carlos Kleiber, conductor. Based on a stage production by Otto Schenk

Customer Reviews:

A great performance treasure..........2007-01-25

I purchased this DVD for the purpose of one Aria, Di Rigori Amato. What I ended up getting is a great performance treasure of a great show. If you love Strauss, this is a must have.

Embarrassment of Riches.......2006-01-02

Carlos Kleiber's conducting once made this Vienna performance of Rosenkavalier the preferred DVD of the opera. It has an inner glow and musicality hard to resist. It is mellow but never slacks. Perhaps it has a melancholy edge, but it does not exploit sentiment. The many thematic references (quasi leitmotivs) in the score are always structurally cogent, conducted as to be clearly and easily grasped without underlining, never losing momentum and flow. The Wiener Staatsoper Orchestra (outside the pit known as the Vienna Philharmonic) clearly return the love with which they are conducted. One could speculate that Kleiber fashioned this performance mindful of the Marschallin throughout, though the central character is indeed the Rosenkavalier. And in von Otter, it boasted THE Octavian of her generation. This veiled valedictory (never maudling) tone is not unique to Kleiber, and certainly not a misconception; it is a distinctive characteristic of this performance.

HOWEVER..... now we have a new DVD of a Munich performance fifteen years earlier, and, as it happens, Kleiber's strongest competition turns out to be his younger self. Munich gives us faster, more incisive tempos (indeed, the performance is 7 minutes shorter). It is lively and rambunctious though always executed with the clarity and structural cogency found in the Vienna performance as noted above. If Vienna is in the spirit of the Marschallin, Munich embodies Octavian, who, after all, is young, happy, in love, and the character after whom the opera is named. And in Brigitte Fassbaender it has THE prime exponent of the part in the post-Christa Ludwig era.

So, where do we come out? The direction for both performances is by Otto Schenk (though Vienna is a revival of Schenk's original by somebody else). Anyway, it has not varied much in fifteen years. Munich seems fresher, more alert, indeed happier, mirroring Kleiber's more extrovert conception. The Munich voices are all bigger and in excellent shape. Gwyneth Jones, a superb actress, then reigning queen at Bayreuth and without the unsteadiness which could occassionally creep into her powerful instrument, gives here, as the Marschallin one of the most subtle, colorful and moving performances of her career, one that has included roles such as all Brunnhildes, Sieglinde, Isolde, Ortrud, Aida, Cherubini's Medea and Strauss's Helen. Felicity Lott's intelligence and thorough professionalism are no match for the sum of qualities, including vocal richness, Jones brings to the part. Barbara Bonney is a charming, vocally secure, sweet Sophie in Vienna, but, again, no match for the vocal prowess, communicative skills, the sheer musical joy conveyed by Lucia Popp as Sophie in Munich(note: before her untimely and shockingly sudden death a handful of years ago, Popp had already graduated to the Marschallin, the same leap taken by Schwarzkopf many years before). Octavian is Brigitte Fassbaender, a wonderful actress with a distinctive, powerful voice (a Fricka, a Brangaene) who exhuberantly embodies the raging hormones of our barely post-adolescent hero. As artists, von Otter and Fassbaender are more evenly matched than the others mentioned, though their approaches to Octavian are different: both are aristocratic, wilfull, elegant, clearly in love with love, von Otter is funnier, Fassbaender is lustier (the bigger, darker, more colorful voice helps). I have seen quite a few Octavians on stage, starting with Christa Ludwig in the sixties, all of them very good, but, after Ludwig, none better than the two ladies here. Kurt Moll is a wonderful Ochs, vocally splendid throughout, quite well suited to Kleiber's overall conception in Vienna. On the other hand, in this part I prefer the vocal brilliance and stage magnetism of Manfred Jungwirth (though, unlike Moll, to my knowledge he never was a Gurnemanz, a Marke, a Zarastro) . The Italian tenor in Munich is Francisco Araiza at the start of his career. For the record, I was fortunate to see Kleiber conduct Rosenkavalier at the Met, in a different production, but with virtually the same cast as in the Vienna DVD.

So, if one loves the opera and has the means, why choose? There are enough differences to appreciate each performance on its own terms and both will give much pleasure. Get both. If there are other priorities and one has to choose, I'd go for Munich. The strengths are palpable from the pit to the kinder in the final act. Whatever you do, one can't go wrong with either of Kleiber's performances.

I can think of no conductor I have ever enjoyed watching conduct more than Kleiber, live or on DVD. Apart from the awesome interpretative values he brought to his performances, his joy in making music was exhilarating and contagious. Without detracting from stage business, both DVD's give us ample shots of orchestra and conductor.

Kleiber 1994 versus Kleiber 1979 ... the winner is ..........2005-08-18

Carlos Kleiber, one of the most magnetic masters on the podium, leads this radiant and utterly enjoyable DVD performance of Rosenkavalier, recorded in 1994, Vienna. His approach less brilliant, but more relaxed than his 1979 tape with the Munich Staatsoper. As to the principals: Kurt Moll's imparts his velvety bass cantabile to a role all too often taken for a comic ride. His Baron, in fact, is astonishingly smooth; he is entirely comfortable in those very low parts Strauss gives him. Anne Sofie Von Otter, a tall and lanky Octavian, plays the male-female mix better than anyone I have heard before. She is a true virtuoso and great comedienne in the tavern scene. Her voice is has an astonishing freshness and clarity; it can be, at one point sweet, at another luscious, and, at another spare and comic. Felicity Lott is a stately and mature Feldmarschellin and a fine contrast to Barbara Bonney's girlish Sophie. The Trio that ends Act III, is amazing; the three women's voices are breathtaking. The Vienna State Opera Orchestra (largely drawn from the Vienna Philharmonic) is, as expected, first rate.

For those who already have Kleiber's tape performance of 1979, make sure you buy this DVD as well. Kleiber's earlier performance is glittering and pointillist in approach. By 1994, the conductor, who seemed to have aged ungracefully in fifteen years, is far more "gemütlich" -- tender and warm -- than in the earlier sensational and brash interpretation. The Munich orchestra is far brighter, but the Vienna has a certain inner glow. Manfred Jungwirth's Baron is more comedic (a la W.C. Fields) than Moll's, but, as mentioned before Moll's voice is perfect. Moll's only bad habit, one that would not be seen from afar, is to habitually look aside for prompts. Brigitte Fassbaender, the 1979 Octavian, is really boyish and betters von Otter in playing a boy-who-is-playing-a-girl. Fassbaender looks awkward, and walks like a faux-femme in the Tavern scene. However, von Otter's voice wins. Gwyneth Jones's Feldmarschellin is, I think, more refined than Lott's. Lucia Popp is equaled by Barbara Bonney. However, the original 1979 staging is far better (original Schenk) than in the 1994 (based-on Schenk)

Warning: The sound in the 1979 is actually better for older TVs and VCRs; in fact, it's amazingly good. But, if you play this new 1994 DVD on older equipment, it may sound rather pale. It wasn't until I popped it in a surround-sound system that I really heard the *all* the music.

Summing up: A must get!

BIG NAMES/POOR RESULTS.......2005-05-10

Sorry BUT this entire production left me cold
absolutelyZERO WARMTH OR PASSION
VIEWED IT TWICE AND THEN HAPPILY SOLD IT

My Second Favorite "Der Rosenkavalier".......2005-01-17

First of all, any discussion of this DVD must begin (and probably end) with the superb conducting of Carlos Kleiber. From the first bar of music, you know you're in for an altogether different "Der Rosenkavalier." His is an extraordinary approach: spirited, agressive even -- and it is wholly successful. The production itself is lovely (although I would not have set Act III in what looks like a warehouse basement; when the innkeeper asks Ochs if he'd like a larger room, you can't help thinking "Larger than THIS?!") and the singers are quite wonderful. I have minor reservations, mainly because I absolutely adore the Covent Garden DVD with Kiri Te Kanawa (who is unparalleled perfection) and can't help making comparisons. Felicity Lott, Vienna's Feldmarschallin, is a supremely intelligent singer/actress, but I think she's a shade long-in-the-tooth for the role (the character is written as being 32); that said, the performance is dignified and in every way valid. It took me a while to warm up to von Otter's Octavian, but she really bloomed in Act 2, and the confusion, heartbreak and joy of Act 3 were convincing and right. Bonney is, if possible, better here than on the Covent Garden DVD; she is the ultimate Sophie. I was looking forward to Kurt Moll's Baron, but felt it was a rather subdued portrayal. He isn't as buffoonish as other Ochs I've seen; he's wilier, a bit more malevolent -- and it doesn't really come off. That said, his interactions with von Otter in Act 3 are quite amusing. All in all, this is a good companion piece to the Covent Garden DVD, which is sublime, and on the whole, more satisfying. True, Solti's more traditional conducting is not as exciting as Kleiber's and it's Ann Howells' Octavian that is too old, but that's the DVD I will probably find myself going back to more often.

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