'I may not be a first-rate composer, but I am a first-class second-rate composer.' The amazing and hugely influential operas of Richard Strauss are given a whole week at the Met during our term break. It's especially interesting because they showcase a different director for each. And some comparisons of singers, particularly great divas, (in fabulous period dresses) over time.
And significantly, it offers the work of this radical composer over a long life. The tragedies come first. In 1905, as he turned to opera, Strauss produced Salome. Elektra followed in 1909, then the sweet/sad Der Rosenkavalier in 1911, Ariadne auf Naxos in 1912, Arabella 1933, Capriccio in 1942. Strauss wrote, 'Must one become seventy years old to recognize that one's greatest strength lies in creating musical kitsch?' (Even when one's country is Germany, at war.)
Here's the schedule (dates adjusted to our time). Go here for the Met's backgrounders and schedule. And go here to watch the current live stream.
Tuesday, July 6 Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier Starring Kiri Te Kanawa, Tatiana Troyanos, Judith Blegen, Luciano Pavarotti, Derek Hammond-Stroud, and Kurt Moll, conducted by James Levine. Production by Nathaniel Merrill. From October 7, 1982.
This is a week for Kiri fans - her much acclaimed performance as the Marchellin in the lovely Rosenkavalier starts the Strauss lineup. (She returns as Arabella on Sunday our time, a decade later.)
And it's a week for lovers of this gloriously musical opera. Our final Strauss screening for the week is of the Met's 2017 production with Renee Fleming.
Wednesday, July 7 Strauss’s Elektra We've had screenings of this brilliant performance by Nina Stemme earlier in lockdown. Our earlier post is here.
An exception to the 'lovely period dresses' comment above - this great diva here is portrayed as literally down to earth.
The three women of this tragedy are Nina Stemme, Adrianne Pieczonka, Waltraud Meier, and Eric Owens plays Oreste. Conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen. Production by Patrice Chéreau. From April 30, 2016.
Thursday, July 8 Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos
Here's one for the admirers of these two divas - playing two divas. Deborah Voigt is Ariadne and Natalie Dessay brilliant as the cheeky Zerbinetta. Conducted by James Levine. Production by Elijah Moshinsky. From April 3, 2003. NY Times review here.
Which is the greater art, poetry or music? Why not ask it within an opera? They do, at length, but there's some great music as they play out this strange either/or in a love triangle - in an opera written in the middle of WWII. As the NYTimes puts it, 'The opera never resolves the question. Somehow this was the perfect way for Strauss to end his opera career.'
Here's Fleming doing the final scene at the 2008-09 gala.
Starring Renée Fleming, Sarah Connolly, Joseph Kaiser, Russell Braun, Morten Frank Larsen, and Peter Rose, conducted by Sir Andrew Davis (remember him from MSO days?). Production by John Cox. From April 23, 2011.
Saturday, July 10 Strauss’s Salome Starring Karita Mattila, Ildikó Komlósi, Kim Begley, Joseph Kaiser, and Juha Uusitalo, conducted by Patrick Summers. Production by Jürgen Flimm. From October 11, 2008. Prepare for a formidable combination of music and drama, dominated by Mattila's portrayal of the princess as a spoilt, greedy, slightly crazy young woman.
Salome was the audacious breakthrough opera of Strauss's career. A fascinating account here of reactions from colleagues and audiences.
Kiri returns, years later, to Strauss at the Met, and this opera is the return by Strauss to a period piece of intrigue and complex plot. Same librettist (Hofmannsthal's last collaboration with Strauss). NYTimes review regrets Kiri's Arabella of before and comments that Natalie Dessay 'proved to have lots of potential'.
Starring Kiri Te Kanawa, Marie McLaughlin, Helga Dernesch, Natalie Dessay, David Kuebler, Wolfgang Brendel, and Donald McIntyre, conducted by Christian Thielemann. Production by Otto Schenk. From November 3, 1994.
Monday, July 11 Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier
Starring Renée Fleming, Elīna Garanča, Erin Morley, Matthew Polenzani, Marcus Brück, and Günther Groissböck, conducted by Sebastian Weigle. Production by Robert Carsen. From May 13, 2017.
We've been offered this gem earlier in lockdown. Fleming first played the Marschallin in 2000, and she performed it 70 times. It was her exit role in 2017. There’s a thinkpiece about the role and the diva here.
Lyn 2 July 2021