A Dresden Rosenkavalier
By ANDREW POWELL
Published: November 19, 2012
DRESDEN — Christian Thielemann made his opera debut here yesterday (Nov. 18), 37 months after agreeing to replace Fabio Luisi as Chefdirigent of the Sächsische Staatskapelle, effectively music director of the Semperoper company.
The vehicle, Uwe Eric Laufenberg’s 12-year-old, quasi-faithful staging of Der Rosenkavalier — notable for its Act II, set in a Trump high-rise, complete with high-wire paparazzo window cleaner — looked a little clunky for the grand occasion. Then again, the 102-year-old score itself was not so inevitable a choice as it may seem, having ties to the Saxon capital that are more historic than genetic.
In the event, the Munich Philharmonic’s ex-boss unfurled his Strauss credentials to powerful effect, stressing neatness and intermittent propulsion.
Daniela Sindram sang with warm impetuosity as the Knight, mooring the cast. Soile Isokoski shaped and shaded the Feldmarschallin’s music with poignant know-how. Veteran baritone Hans-Joachim Ketelsen, jumping in for a sick Martin Gantner, found the high-lying duties of Faninal a bit strenuous. Also straining at the top, at least in Act I, was Wolfgang Bankl as Ochs. Sadly for him, this was the role most impaired by Laufenberg’s comedy-defeating tendency to enrich the action, already finely calibrated by librettist Hofmannsthal. Daniela Fally introduced a too-cute, small-voiced Sophie, who blew easy chances to relate to her fellow protagonists.
For the first quarter-hour, at least one out-of-balance woodwind musician sparred with Thielemann. Then a nifty ascending phrase triggered smiles, and peace ensued. Eventually a refined steadiness was achieved across all sections of the orchestra, and it did not let up.
In contrast to recent Rosenkavaliers in Munich and Vienna — where handsome werktreuen Otto Schenk stagings dating to 1972 and 1968 hold sway, and where casts are gathered on longer purse strings — this performance cohered as a piece of music, one work. Rhythms chugged or raced where needed, elsewhere pulsing their way with nonchalance. Vocal lines prevailed through instrumental storms. Climaxes rose without advance detection. Waltzing came naturally.
The saintly-quiet Dresden audience, bewildered and agog at curtain at the effect of Strauss’s Act III dénouement properly executed, just stayed put and applauded one call after another until the conductor effectively ordered an end with a low sweep of his arm.
This production returns next June with a different cast. Thielemann’s other 2012–13 Dresden stage engagements are Lohengrin in January and, against type, Manon Lescaut in March, for a grand total of twelve dates.
Tags: Christian Thielemann, Daniela Fally, Daniela Sindram, Der Rosenkavalier, Dresden, Dresden Staatskapelle, Hans-Joachim Ketelsen, Lohengrin, Manon Lescaut, Martin Gantner, Munich, Munich Philharmonic, Munich Times, Richard Strauss, Sächsische Staatskapelle, Semperoper, Soile Isokoski, Uwe Eric Laufenberg, Vienna State Opera, Wolfgang Bankl
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Tags: Christian Thielemann, Daniela Fally, Daniela Sindram, Der Rosenkavalier, Dresden, Dresden Staatskapelle, Hans-Joachim Ketelsen, Lohengrin, Manon Lescaut, Martin Gantner, Munich, Munich Philharmonic, Munich Times, Richard Strauss, Sächsische Staatskapelle, Semperoper, Soile Isokoski, Uwe Eric Laufenberg, Vienna State Opera, Wolfgang Bankl