Richard Strauss, Der Rosenkavalier

by Richard Strauss

The English National Opera Guides were originally conceived in partnership with the English National Opera and edited by Nicholas John, the ENO's dramaturg, who died tragically in an accident in the Alps. Most of the guides are devoted to a single opera, which is described in detail—with many articles that cover its history and information about the composer and his times. The complete libretto is included in both the original language and in a modern singing translation—except where the opera was written in English. Each has a thematic guide to the most important musical themes in musical notation and each guide is lavishly illustrated. They also contain a bibliography and a discography which is updated at each reprint. The ENO guides are widely regarded as the best series of their kind and excellent value.

Genres: Music, Plays, German Literature, Theatre

203 pages, Hardcover

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...)