Our Opera Lovers Group watched an outstanding performance of the Richard Strauss opera Rosenkavalier on Thursday 24 July 2025. This was an outstanding 2005 performance by the Bayerische Staatsoper under the baton of Carlos Kleiber, the famous Austrian conductor.
The cast included Gwyneth Jones as the Feldmarschallin, Manfred Jungwirth as Baron Ochs, Brigitte Fassbänder as Octavian, Benno Kusche as von Faninal and Lucia Popp as his daughter Sophie.
The Opera starts in the Feldmarschallin’s bedroom prior to the Morning Levee at which Baron Ochs appears with a proposal of marriage to the young Sophie, and selects Octavian to deliver the proposal in the form of a silver rose as his Rosenkavalier. Octavian had kept the Feldmarschallin company the previous night, and has to change into a maid’s costume before he is discovered. Baron Ochs sees him in the maid’s costume and flirts with him before disappears. Octavian must quickly change back to his own clothes to accept the task over delivering the marriage proposal for Baron Ochs.
Octavian delivers the silver rose, and in the process falls helplessly in love himself with Sophie. Baron Ochs then arrives with his retinue and creates havoc with the household of Sophie’s father, von Faninal. Eventually a plot emerges to confront Baron Ochs as being an unsuitable suitor for Sophie and there is a duel between the Baron and Octavian. Baron Ochs receives a tiny scratch from Octavian’s sword but makes a terrible fuss, clearly thinking that he is about to die from a scratch. The plot thickens when Baron Ochs starts asking to arrange a secret rendez-vous with the maid he saw at the Feldmarschallin’s levee.
The scene changes to private room in an inn in Vienna, where the Baron’s staff are secreted and a group of children trained to call the Baron ‘Papa’. Octavian has dressed again as the maid and waits for the Baron’s arrival. Baron Ochs arrives and starts chasing the maid around the room. There is then a commotion, and the police are called. Octavian quickly changes back in time for Sophie to arrive with the police. With the children calling Baron Ochs ‘Papa’, Sophie rejects his offer of marriage. Her father arrives and sees that Baron Ochs already has a string of children calling him ‘Papa’ and agrees to cancel the betrothal. Finally the Feldmarschallin arrives, the staff, the children and the police leave with the Baron, and there is a sublime trio in which she detaches herself from Octavian so that he may marry Sophie.
It is a long Opera, but this was a superb performance, and was much appreciated by all those who attended.