"Der Rosenkavalier" Opera Talk

1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Prosser Library
Community Room

Event Details

Der Rosenkavalier

The dream cast of Renée Fleming as the Marschallin and Elīna Garanča as Octavian star in Strauss’s grandest opera.  In his new production, Robert Carsen, the director behind the Met’s recent Falstaff, places the action at the end of the Habsburg Empire, underscoring the opera’s subtext of class and conflict against a rich backdrop of gilt and red damask, in a staging that also stars Günther Groissböck as Baron Ochs. Sebastian Weigle conducts the sparklingly perfect score.

The opera is originally set in Vienna in the 1740s. Genuine historical references are merged with fictitious inventions (like the “noble custom” of the presentation of the silver rose to a fiancée, which never actually existed) and anachronisms (like the Viennese Waltz, which did not yet exist at that time). It’s a mixture that creates a seductive mythical landscape, a ceremonious and impossibly beautiful Vienna-that-never-was. The Met’s new production moves the setting to the last years of the Habsburg Empire.

Music historian Jeffrey Engel will present today’s opera talk, offering historical context for the composer and the opera story.  In Paris for 14 years, Mr. Engel studied cello, art history and earned diplomas in French.  As a cellist he played with orchestras in rance, including the Paris Opera, performed in chamber ensembles and taught in municipal conservatories.   A graduate of Ithaca College, & a teacher at Northwestern Connecticut Community College, Mr. Engel brings a rich knowledge of music history to each lecture, with  musical excerpts.

Registration is appreciated.



Event Type(s): Adult Program
Age Group(s): Adults
Presenter: Jeffrey Engel
Carol Lennig
(860) 243-9721 ext. 3558

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