August can be a busy time for Seattle Opera, whose 2006 summer offering "Der Rosenkavalier" opens last week. The Richard Strauss work was staged in Seattle in January 1969, September 1975 and August 1997. My husband Hal and I attended the 1969 production, which I much enjoyed, but I have fond memories of the 1975 production during the Glynn Ross era.
In August 1975, Seattle Opera's resident stage director Lincoln Clark had just returned from a trip to Santa Barbara where he had visited his former teacher, sponsor and good friend Lotte Lehmann seeking advice on staging Seattle's upcoming production. It was advice Lehman was most qualified and willing to give. She had worked with the composer, Richard Strauss and his librettist, and was very familiar with the opera, having started singing the role of Sophie, then Octavian and finally graduating to the role of the Marschallin; indeed, she became the composer's favorite Marschallin for the way she interpreted his music and staging. She played the role for many years in Europe and the United States, winning universal acclaim as the definitive Marschallin of her time.
The highlights of Madame Lehmann's advice were shared at a preview and surprise birthday party for my Leo-born husband. The late Archie Drake, among others, was present at the party and had many stories to share of the legendary Lotte, having also been a student of hers. Lotte Lehmann died in August 1976 at the age of 89. Lincoln Clark, grateful that he had made that final visit to his mentor, put her advice to good use, making the Seattle Opera's 1975 production of "Der Rosenkavalier" a most memorable one.
The 1997 "Rosenkavalier" was a luscious, lavish production, featuring sumptuous sets and opulent, colorful costumes. Strauss's music was beautifully interpreted. The dazzling Act Two was all in silver-and-white satin when Octavian, in his capacity as Rosenkavalier, delivers the silver rose to Sophie. The silver rose signifies the perfection of true love not affected by the passage of time; it will neither wither nor fade. The blossoming of young love as they sang the rose duet to the richly descriptive music of Strauss under the sensitive baton of conductor Asher Fisch was one of the highlights of the production, and after nine years is still fresh in my memory.
The wonderful 1997 production has been revived for the current season, directed by Dieter Kaegi. Bruno Schwengl's fabulous costumes and sets, all built in Seattle Opera's scenes and costumes shops, have graced the stage of San Francisco Opera and been out on loan to other companies. These fabulous sets are being seen again in all their glory this month.
The cast is worthy of note. Carol Vaness, a Seattle favorite who has turned down the role several times over the years, is playing her first Marschallin and chose Seattle Opera, her favorite opera company, to preview the role. Alice Coote, a young mezzo-soprano who has already won much acclaim in her native Manchester in the North of England, is making her Seattle debut in the pants role as Octavian. Peter Rose, another Brit - from Canterbury - and one of the world's great basses, has returned in his signature role of Baron Ochs. Frances Lucey, soprano, from Dublin, was set to sing Sophie, but due to Lucey's indisposition the role is being taken by Julianne Gerhart, of Seattle Opera's Young Artists program. Supporting are local favorites Mary McLaughlin as Marianne and Vinson Cole as the Italian singer.
"Rosenkavalier" is a story of the passage of time, with its central figure of the Marschallin. Princess Marie Therese (named for the Empress of Austria) von Werdenberg is the unfortunate victim of an unhappy arranged marriage at an early age to Field Marshal von Werdenberg; hence the name the Marschallin. The worthy Marshal spends much of his time on away from home on hunting trips and fighting for his Empress.
The Marschallin, a gracious lady sensitive yet resigned to the fact that she is aging, realizes that her young lover Octavian, in spite of his ardent promises of undying love, will very soon leave her for a younger and prettier woman. She gives him up graciously, passing him on to Sophie, who has been promised to the Marschallin's elderly cousin, Baron Ochs, a boorish aristocrat; in other words, Sophie has been condemned to the same fate as the Marschallin. The mature and wise lady engineers a complicated and amusing plot whereby young love triumphs, in spite of the many obstacles, and Sophie is saved from her fate. The story has all the usual comic relief of buffo opera: sex farce, cross dressing (a woman playing the part of a man disguised as a girl), jolly peasants and hypocritical high society - all set in the lighthearted, fairy-tale era of old Vienna in the secure and opulent 18th century, with beautiful music and several waltzes as a tribute to the other, unrelated Strauss, the Waltz King.
"Der Rosenkavalier"'s remaining performancs are Aug. 9, 12, 15, 18, 20 (matinee), 23 and 26 in Marion Oliver McCaw Hall, 321 Mercer St., evenings at 7 p.m. and matinees at 2 p.m.
Attention all Wagner enthusiasts
Attend the inaugural evening of the International Wagner Competition, a new event created to identify and help nurture the next generation of Wagner singers, on Aug. 19 at 7:30 p.m. Following auditions in London, Paris, Berlin, New York and Seattle, eight finalists have been selected to perform in concert with full orchestra at McCaw Hall. At the end of the evening, a panel of celebrated opera-industry professionals will award two $15,000 prizes.
The finalists are: Carolyn Betty, of Wilmington, Del.; Jason Collins, of Columbia, S.C.; Dorothy Grandia, of Mt. Kisco, N.Y.; Paul McNamara, of Dublin, Ireland; Miriam Murphy, of Dublin; James Rutherford, of Dulwich, England; Andrew Lindsay Sritheran, of Wellington, New Zealand; and Carsten Wittmoser, of Essen, Germany.
The distinguished panel of judges is comprised of Stephanie Blythe, Dr. Dorothea Glatt, Sir Peter Jonas, Peter Kazaras and Stephen Wadsworth. Seattle's Asher Fisch will conduct.
For tickets, call 389-7676 or visit seattleopera.org
-L.G.[[In-content Ad]]
