New Rosenkavalier at the Royal Danish Opera

In Der Rosenkavalier, satire, comedy, melancholy and romance unfold within Strauss’ dazzling score. Under the artistic leadership of Elisabeth Linton, Artistic Director of the Royal Danish Opera, and Principal Conductor Marie Jacquot, the production marks the first time both artists bring Strauss’ celebrated masterpiece to the stage.

Der Rosenkavalier tells the story of the very young Sophie, who becomes the subject of a transaction between two men. She is destined to marry Baron Ochs in order to secure her father a higher position in society, while granting the Baron access to the family fortune. At the same time, the opera is a story of passion and youthful love, of finding one’s own path, and of a generation of young people beginning to rebel against the world order of their elders – a social structure whose foundations are slowly starting to crumble.

A dream project for Elisabeth Linton and Marie Jacquot
For Elisabeth Linton, Artistic Director of the Royal Danish Opera, staging Strauss’s opera is the fulfilment of a long-held ambition. “Der Rosenkavalier is one of my absolute favourite operas. Strauss has the rare ability to open something within us that we did not know – or perhaps had forgotten – existed deep inside: emotions and experiences we seldom find words for. Strauss and his librettist Hofmannsthal are true theatre-makers, creating characters of such richness and complexity that we breathe and feel alongside them,” she says.

Elisabeth Linton has chosen to set Der Rosenkavalier in 1911 – the year of the opera’s world premiere. It was a moment in history when questions of gender, power and rights were increasingly coming to the fore. In that very year, Vienna witnessed its first public demonstration in support of women’s suffrage.

“Der Rosenkavalier is, in many ways, a surprisingly modern story about a young woman who decides for herself whom she will marry, and a young man who suddenly experiences first-hand what it means to be a woman in a male-dominated world. The struggle for rights we see unfolding in Der Rosenkavalier is not something we read into the work with the benefit of hindsight; it was already present in the era in which the opera was created. The work premiered at a turning point in history, when the structures of the past were still intact and privileges firmly in place. Yet it was also a time when ripples of change were clearly visible, and when the women’s movement was beginning to gather real momentum,” says Elisabeth Linton.

The Royal Danish Theatre’s Principal Conductor, Marie Jacquot, is equally delighted to be conducting Der Rosenkavalier for the first time.

“Der Rosenkavalier is one of the most beautiful works ever written. It is my favourite opera because its meaning changes as we grow older. When you’re young, you focus on the love story; in middle age, you might see Ochs as a parallel to people you know. As you grow older, you begin to reflect on the importance of time and the art of letting go. And when you’re much older, I imagine you look back on it all, hopefully with a smile, accepting that time has passed, but it was a good time!,” says Marie Jacquot.

Set designer Julia Hansen places Der Rosenkavalier in a commercial exchange inspired in part by Copenhagen’s historic Stock Exchange building, while Anja Vang Kragh creates the production’s striking costumes.

The roles of Sophie and Octavian are sung by Clara Cecilie Thomsen and Elisabeth Jansson. Gisela Stille appears as the Marschallin, and the German bass Patrick Zielke performs the role of Baron Ochs. Among the many other performers are Jens Søndergaard, My Johansson, Jens Christian Tvilum, Jacob Skov Andersen/ Granit Musliu and Francine Vis, together with the Royal Danish Opera Chorus and the Royal Danish Orchestra.

Der Rosenkavalier premieres on 26 March at the Opera House and runs until 3 May.

Read more about Der Rosenkavalier HERE