RICHARD STR AUSS
DER ROSENKAVALIER
PHILIPPE JORDAN
THE HUMAN SIDE OF DER ROSENKAVALIER Hugo von Hofmannsthal is said to have remarked that the union of text, music and theatre in Der Rosenkavalier is unique. We can agree with him without hesitation. However, we should note that the performers are all challenged to the same extent. It is not just that the work has a great deal to offer, it also demands a great deal. Der Rosen kavalier requires broad knowledge that cannot be easily and quickly acquired from one day to the next; it takes years to prepare for this work, to grow with it and grow into it. And it is absolutely not just about the music. Der Rosenkavalier needs far-sight because the work encompasses a broad spectrum: tinkering with epochs, the contemporary features reflected in the imaginary era, the atmosphere, the language, the quotations, the entire compendium of feeling and thinking at the turn of the century. And yet one must take care to ensure that Der Rosenkavalier – which is in so many ways a huge undertaking (a legacy of Wagner’s) – floats lightly along and is
at all times responsive. Der Rosenkava lier is by no means a Tristan or a Götter dämmerung, but in the best sense of the word an operetta or – to use Strauss’s language – a Mozart opera. And this is where we see one of the characteristic features of the work: naturally, it is a 20th century piece, yet it takes place in a fictitious Rococo setting and, as the authors stress, is closely related to Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro. Der Rosenkavalier must be fully in the spirit of Mozart and, despite all its complexity, must sound clear and light. After all, we know that Mozart was a constant reference point for Strauss, something that became more pronounced from Der Rosenka valier on and resulted in a partial separation from Richard Wagner. At the same time – and this shows the extent to which this opera is the child of two different worlds – Der Rosenkavalier cannot and does not seek to deny its roots in the beginning of the 20th century. The connection with its time and its movements is clear, you feel – I
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T H E H U M A N S I D E O F DE R RO S E N K AVA L I E R
mentioned operetta earlier – a connection to the sound and space for example of a Franz Lehár in terms of agogic features. The diversity of Der Rosenkavalier also stems from the fact that, despite the proximity to Rococo, Strauss did not want to conceal the coarseness and crudeness of the era, as he explicitly detailed in a letter to conductor Willem Mengelberg. That too was part of this cosmos, and it too must be shown and set to music – provided one does not slip into the vulgar. In this context, the performers must have a feeling for where the boundaries lie. Ochs, for example, should be around 35 years old according to Strauss, a Don Juan from the country – a “handsome one” too – who can behave in at least a halfway civilised manner in the boudoir of the Marschallin. So you have to ensure that the artist performing the role does not sing too crudely – the music paints an adequately earthy character anyway. And we come back once again to Mozart’s simplicity and clarity: in act 1 the Marschallin must restrain from indulging in any great drama, in too tragic a tone. Strauss describes this in a letter to Willi Schuh: she doesn’t believe that she will have to give up Octavian so soon. But “she was just upset about the hairdresser,” Strauss wrote. And he stresses that with three exclamation marks. I love this sentence, because it explains so much. So, no grand drama, just a bad mood. How singers love to drag the tempo at this point, and how we conductors like to feel obliged to reinforce that. But it is wrong. “Light, flowing tempi” Strauss wrote. “Light, flowing tempi”! That means that in Der Rosenkava lier many things should not be taken so
hard; it also means that the Marschallin can by all means be humanized a little. She is considered the great philosopher amongst Strauss’ characters – and, given this idea, she is sometimes burdened with far too much pathos. I see in her a rather shrewd character and even suspect something about her past. In act 3 she already knows the police commissioner who enters, and she mentions this fact: “Were you not the Field Marshall’s loyal orderly?” I think the two of them had some kind of relationship and that this was the one-time case mentioned in act 1 when she was caught by her husband. The intentionally ambiguous “loyal” orderly was thereupon demoted to a suburban police station. So, she is a very kind woman in her prime, living her life; she is not a cold statue. By the same token, the Field Marshall does not chase just bears and lynxes in the Croatian woods. For me, the Marschallin’s big moment is not the monologue in act 1, but the question “Have you come to love him so quickly?” at the end of the opera, when she releases Octavian to Sophie. Incidentally, this is also emphasised in the music. And that is exactly what Hofmannsthal means when he talks about the harmony of contrasts: the deeply human and the fascinatingly special blend in some of the characters in an almost inimitable way. Let us move on from music-drama tur gical considerations and examine purely technical musical issues. We know that as a child Richard Strauss learned to play several instruments. However, when we study his compositions, it almost seems as if he mastered all instruments, because he writes incredibly well for every instrument,
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