The set for Act I of Garsington Opera’s revival of Richard Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier is dominated by a large, canopied four-poster bed, with the curtains drawn. Rather than a traditional overture; there, the opera opens with an introduction (Einleitung) that, as the Australian conductor Simone Young has pointed out, musically describes exactly what is going on behind those curtains. The magnificent, graphic opening bars of Der Rosenkavalier come straight to the point. The rising horn signals Octavian’s erection (yes, it really does), which lasts just under a minute and a half, after which the music softens and takes on an air of sexual satisfaction.
Octavian (Niamh O’Sullivan) draws back the curtains to reveal the Fieldmarschallin (Matilda Sterby) having a post-coital nap. While hardly shocking for today’s audiences, at the 1911 Dresden premiere, the censors only allowed the Marschallin to receive her young lover while sitting on a sofa. The Lord Chamberlain’s office in the UK went even further, demanding the entire seductive scene take place in a ‘petit-salon furnished with a small table, chairs, etc.’
Today we find it more shocking that the middle-aged Marschallin is having an affair with the seventeen year old Count Rafrino, alias Octavian. Yet in the 1740s – the original setting of the opera – boys in most European countries reached the age of consent at 12 or 14. On the other hand, a 32-year old (the Marschallin’s actual age) was considered middle-aged. I am not aware of any sopranos that have sung the Marschallin in major opera houses at 32. Not only does the role require a considerable stage presence, but there is an awful lot of text to memorise. From a purely vocal perspective, this is not the most challenging part, but a singer must be in complete control of the parlando technique. It is not enough to sound good; the role requires serious acting ability, particularly in the two monologues – which are not arias – towards the end of Act I. Taking all these factors into account, casting directors and conductors usually opt for a highly experienced soprano in her late 30s or 40s, or even 50s. Quite a few divas of the past started out singing Sophie, progressed to Octavian, and took on the Marschallin, as their voice developed.
Matilda Sterby is a very promising discovery. Her voice is 22-karat, almost pure gold, blended with silvery tones in her upper tessitura. The conversational, sometimes rhythmically challenging passages come naturally to her. While hers is not the most lyrical voice, her timbre and youthfulness more than make for it. There is an audible gasp from the audience when Sterby makes her entrance in a 1950s, three-tone yellow Grace Kellye-sque outfit. She could not look more ravishing while delivering her two introspective soliloquies.
Fresh out of the convent, the young Marschallin was forced into wedlock with a much older man. Now battling with the early signs of ageing, she snaps at her hairdresser, accusing her of making her look old. When Octavian returns, she engages in a bit of ‘conscious uncoupling’ telling her young lover that he should find a lover his own age. Comedy is abandoned for serious reflections on the meaning of Time: ¨ Time is a strange thing/ while one lives just for a moment (without concern) it is nothing,/ But then all at once/ We feel nothing else but it.¨
She tells Octavian that half the time she is merry and half the time she is sad. Is this a woman on the verge of a mental breakdown? Or is she suffering from neurosis, to use a somewhat dated, Freudian term? The opera’s librettist, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, was well-read and claimed to have studied all of Freud’s works. The impact is noticeable, though the influence of Arthur Schnitzler’s play Reigen – which tackles the hypocrisies of turn-of-the-century romantic morality – may even be greater.
The Marschallin’s soliloquies can seem incongruous in an opera that, until this point has been a comedy. Suddenly, we find ourselves in a music drama. Strauss allows the words to dominate while the orchestra takes a backseat, reducing the accompaniment to a chamber sized scale.
In Sterby’s delivery there is no sense of bitterness or sadness. Her tone is slightly melancholic, but no hint of an emotional crises. Perhaps, she just wants to do right by Octavian when she turns him away? That seems a bit unlikely. Sterby could still benefit from adding more colour to her words and her performance lacks a bit of emotional profundity. However I am certain that depth will come with time. I expect her to receive plenty of invitations to sing the Marschallin for many years to come – Though the role of Octavian would suit her beautifully as well.
Octavian is sung by the Irish mezzo-soprano Niamh O’Sullivan, who last year received warm praise for her interpretation of the role in a production at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées. Her voice has a darker patina that is ideal for breeches roles. Octavian shares many similarities with Cherubino in the Marriage of Figaro – the other outstanding trouser role. O’Sullivan avoids overdoing the young Count’s swagger and sex drive. In Act II she is equally convincing as the serious-minded ‘silver knight’ presenting Sophie with the rose, before chivalrously intervening when the naïve young woman is about to sign the marriage contract with Baron Ochs. Then, in the Third Act, disguised as the chambermaid Mariandel, she flirts with awkward, masculine overtones, while aconstantly fending off the odious Baron. In the final love duet, Octavian and Sophie literally break the fourth wall, stepping out of the frame to address the audience directly: “ it is a dream, it cannot be real/that we two are together”
The British-Iranian soprano Soraya Mafi is ideally cast as Sophie, the daughter of the nouveau riche and newly ennobled Herr von Faninal, who tries to force her into marrying the Baron for his aristocratic lineage. Mafi’s light voice soars in the Presentation of the Rose scene (Mir ist die Ehre widerfahren) effortlessly to crystal clear altitudes where not too many sopranos can venture. No wonder she has been invited to repeat the role next season in both Dresden and Houston.
