Three hours of horny Viennese aristocrats singing their feelings? Yes, and it's *magnificent*.
With their “musical comedy” in the spirit of Mozart, Richard Strauss and his brilliant librettist Hugo von Hofmannsthal created the most popular of all their works and one of the most frequently performed operas of all time. Disguised as a refined comedy, light as a feather and extremely entertaining, “Der Rosenkavalier” tackles universal themes such as love, sexuality, marital fidelity, and the changes that human relationships undergo over time. All set to music of the most sumptuous kind. With its prestigious cast under the inspired direction of Harry Kupfer, the 2014 Salzburg Festival production of *Der Rosenkavalier* was one of the most internationally acclaimed interpretations of the work since the start of the new millennium.
Acting
Stoyanova's Marschallin: devastating dignity in every gesture.
Direction
Kupfer stages the bedroom scenes with farcical precision.
Score
Strauss's orchestral orgasms—those horn solos!
Director
Harry Kupfer
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The role of Octavian was created for a mezzo-soprano because Strauss wanted that specific vocal texture—no teenage boy could sing it, and no tenor sounded young enough.
Kupfer's production strips away Rococo decoration to expose the power dynamics: this isn't nostalgic Vienna, it's a cold world where women trade youth for security.
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