DER ROSENKAVALIER

About the show

Artistic Director Elisabeth Linton and Principal Conductor Marie Jacquot lead a new production of Richard Strauss’s lavish opera. In Der Rosenkavalier, satire, comedy, melancholy, and romance merge with dazzling music. The Royal Danish Opera’s Artistic Director, Elisabeth Linton, stages the production, with Principal Conductor Marie Jacquot leading the orchestra. The wealthy Herr von Faninal is eager to elevate his status and secure a noble son-in-law, so he strikes a deal with Baron Ochs, who is in dire need of a financial boost. Faninal’s young daughter, Sophie, is little more than a bargaining chip in their arrangement—she is to marry the baron, whether she wishes to or not. For Elisabeth Linton, staging Strauss’s masterful opera is a dream come true, while Marie Jacquot, conducting the production, is also an ardent admirer of Strauss. Linton’s staging sets Der Rosenkavalier in 1911, the year of its world premiere—a time when men ruled and women were seen as commodities, valued only as long as they were young and beautiful. But it was also an era when the burgeoning women’s movement was beginning to make its mark. Set designer Julia Hansen places the action in a world of commerce, inspired by Copenhagen’s historic Stock Exchange, while Anja Vang Kragh designs the production’s striking costumes. German bass Patrick Zielke, one of today’s leading interpreters of Baron Ochs, takes on the role, with Gisela Stille as the Feldmarschallin. Elisabeth Jansson and Clara Cecilie Thomsen perform as Octavian and Sophie von Faninal. Der Rosenkavalier is performed in German with Danish and English surtitles.