OPD 7046 Strauss-Der Rosenkavalier: German-English Libretto

by Richard Strauss

R. STRAUSS: Der Rosenkavalier (complete opera) Newly translated libretto, program notes, and synopsis. Link to audio tracks.

Claire Watson, Karl Ridderbusch, Brigitte Fassbaender: vocal soloists
Bavarian State Opera Orchestra & Chorus Carlos Kleiber: conductor

Another entry in the immortal catalogue of conductor Carlos Kleiber (1930–2004), a colossus among 20th-century musicians. Although Kleiber had one of the most limited repertoires of any conductor, within his sphere he was often unapproachable. His legendary recording of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony has been called the greatest of all the countless versions recorded over the past hundred years. Likewise his recording of Weber’s Der Freischütz, called by some critics “the greatest opera recording ever made.”

Born in Berlin to a father who was also a famous conductor—Erich Kleiber—Carlos was taken to Argentina as a small child when his family fled Nazi Germany. He worked his way up through the European opera houses, demanding exacting standards of his players, becoming reclusive, and never giving interviews. He never held a permanent position with any orchestra, preferring to remain a wandering “guest conductor.” He was especially famous for his opera performances, and Der Rosenkavalier was among those in which he was considered peerless.

Ilustration © Rafal Olbinski,
Courtesy of Patinae Inc.

Genres: Music, Plays, German Literature, Theatre

172 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1911

About the author

Richard Georg Strauss was a German composer and conductor best known for his tone poems and operas. Considered a leading composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras, he has been described as a successor of Richard Wagner and Franz Liszt. Along with Gustav Mahler, he represents the late flowering of German Romanticism, in which pioneering subtleties of orchestration are combined with an advanced harmonic style.

Reviews

[Pavel Nedelcu · Rating 3 out of 5]

IL MELODRAMMA STORICO

Melodramma musicato da Strauss, può essere letto anche come una commedia.

In certi momenti geniale o, comunque, molto intrigante. Il dialetto viennese fa a gara per gli effetti comici con gli italianismi e i francesismi. Da un punto di vista linguistico (ma non solo) è dunque un perfetto ritratto dell'epoca rappresentata.

Dopo la prima lettura si raccomanda l'ascolto (in parallelo con la seconda lettura) del dramma cantato.

[Alessio Camobreco · Rating 2 out of 5]

Da sempre delizia dei viennesi, vuoi per l'uso del dialetto, vuoi per gli anacronistici waltzer di Strauss, il testo - letto fuori dal suo contesto storico e geografico - risulta debole assai: trama di una semplicità imbarazzante, resa però incredibilmente prolissa da una comicità grossolana e dall'uso di un linguaggio che, nel suo tentativo di essere poetico, riesce invece ai limiti del grottesco.
Due stelline solo per stima nei confronti di Richard Strauss.

[Susi Johnston · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a ripping yarn!!!

[Xenia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Plsss schaut euch die Wiener Inszenierung an!!

[Cat {Pemberley and Beyond} · Rating 5 out of 5]

A slender and very handy volume with miniature introductions and essays that contextualise, the libretto, the score, and the opera as a whole. Its size made it perfect to dip into in the intervals and give me things to listen out for and think about in the next act.

[Ubu]

Probably my favorite Opera.
(Even more than Mozart's...)