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April 28th 2015
RICHARD STRAUSSʼ DER ROSENKAVALIER AT OPER FRANKFURT CONDUCTED BY SEBASTIAN WEIGLE AND DIRECTED BY CLAUS GUTH
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I would like to invite you to the opening night (or a later performance) of the tenth new
production in Oper Frankfurt's 2014/15 season:
Sunday May 24th 2015 (Whit Sunday), at 18.00hrs in the Opera House
Premiere
DER ROSENKAVALIER
Opera in three acts by Richard Strauss
Libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal
Sung in German with German surtitles
Conductor: Sebastian Weigle
Director: Claus Guth
Stage and Costume Designer: Christian Schmidt
Lighting Designer: Olaf Winter
Dramaturge: Norbert Abels
Chorus Master: Tilman Michael
Choreography: Ramses Sigl
With generous support from the DZ Bank
I do hope you might be able to cover this event.
For further information, ordering photographs and reserving your press tickets please
contact me on +49 (0)69 - 212 46 727. My fax number is +49 (0)69 - 212 37 164, or you
can reach me by email: holger.engelhardt@buehnen-frankfurt.de.
With many thanks in advance for your cooperation and
best wishes
Holger Engelhardt
Pressereferent
Premiere
DER ROSENKAVALIER
Opera in three acts by Richard Strauss
Libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal
Sung in German with German surtitles
Conductor: Sebastian Weigle
Director: Claus Guth
Stage and Costume Designer: Christian Schmidt
Lighting Designer: Olaf Winter
Dramaturge: Norbert Abels
Chorus Master: Tilman Michael
Choreography: Ramses Sigl
Die Feldmarschallin Fürstin Werdenberg: Amanda Majeski
Baron Ochs auf Lerchenau: Bjarni Thor Kristinsson
Octavian: Paula Murrihy
Sophie: Christiane Karg and many others
Oper Frankfurt's Chorus and Extras; Frankfurter Opern- und Museumsorchester
With generous support from the DZ Bank
Der Rosenkavalier by Richard Strauss (1864-1949) was first performed on January 26th 1911 in Dresden. If
his preceding successful work Elektra was influenced by the music of Richard Wagner, then this opera was
inspired by compositions by, amongst others, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Verdi's Falstaff. Strauss‘
librettist, the poet Hugo von Hofmannsthal, complied with his wishes and created a comic-serious operatic
libretto, in which he included opera buffa elements of disguise and confusion. This year's new Rosenkavalier is
the sixth production of the work at Oper Frankfurt since the end of the war. The preceding one was directed by
Ruth Berghaus, designed by Erich Wonder, conducted by Spiros Argiris, and opened on December 23rd 1992.
The Feldmarschallin amuses herself with the young count Octavian while her husband is away. Their bit of
hanky-panky is suddenly interrupted by her cousin Baron Ochs auf Lerchenau, who announces his plans to
marry Sophie von Faninal and asks the Feldmarschallin for a messenger to deliver the traditional sign of a
proposal, a silver rose, to his intended bride. Sophie, who has no intention whatsoever of marrying Ochs, falls
in love with Octavian at first sight when he hands her the rose. Later on Octavian uses his cunning to make a
fool of Ochs and put an end to his marriage plans. The Feldmarschallin's renunciation of Octavian means that
the young lovers are free to embark on a future life together.
The conductor of this new production is GMD Sebastian Weigle, who recently enjoyed great success with
Weber's Der Freischütz at his former home, the Staatsoper in Berlin. It is directed by Claus Guth, who has
worked closely with the opera house in his home town for many years. His most recent production for the
company was Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande in 2012 and he is a regular guest at leading opera houses
throughout Europe. The Feldmarschallin is sung by the American soprano Amanda Majeski, back in
Frankfurt where she enjoyed great success as the Goose Girl (Humperdinck's Königskinder 2012/13) and
Dvořák's Rusalka (2013/14). Recent engagements have included appearances at the opera houses in
Zurich, Chicago and Philadelphia and the Countess in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro at the Met in New York.
Octavian is sung by the Irish mezzo-soprano Paula Murrihy, a Member of Oper Frankfurt's Ensemble. She
recently sang Dido in Frankfurt's production of Purcell's Dido and Aeneas in Los Angeles, before returning
here for very successful performances of the title role in Cesti’s L’Orontea. Christiane Karg was a Member
of the Ensemble at Oper Frankfurt from 2008 to 2013, where her most recent role was Mélisande in Claus
Guth's production of Debussy's opera. Now she is back for the first time as a free lance artist, to sing Sophie,
a role she sang in Oscar prize winner Christoph Walz's production in Antwerp, Ghent and Luxembourg and,
more recently, under Christian Thielemann at the Semperoper in Dresden. Roles this season include Pamina
in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte at Covent Garden in London and Mélisande at the Hamburg State Opera. The
Icelandic bass Bjarni Thor Kristinsson will now be singing the role of Baron Ochs auf Lerchenau instead of
Clive Bayley, who had to withdraw for personal reasons. Places where Kristinsson has sung the role include
the Staatsoper in Berlin and Cologne Opera. He made his debut in Frankfurt in 2009, singing Heinrich der
Vogler in a new production of Wagner's Lohengrin, replacing a colleague who was ill. Nearly all the other
roles are being performed by Members of the Ensemble, (former) Members of the Opera Studio and
Solists from Oper Frankfurt's Chorus.
Premiere: Sunday May 24th 2015 (Whit Sunday), at 18.00hrs in the Opera House
Further performances: May 29th, June 4th, 7th (15.30hrs, with free child minding for children between the
ages of 3 and 9), 14th, 20th, 24th, July 2nd, 5th, 11th 2015
Unless otherwise stated, all performances begin at 18.00hrs
Tickets cost: € 15 to € 165 (with a 12.5% pre-booking fee when not purchased direct from the theatre)
Tickets can be obtained from the usual outlets, by telephone +49 (0)69 – 212 49 49 4 or online
www.oper-frankfurt.de.