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Director: Paul Czinner
Conductor: Herbert von Karajan
Stars: Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Otto Edelmann, Sena Jurinac, Erich Kunz, Anneliese Rothenberger.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056426/
First performed 1911
Time: 1740s, in the first years of the reign of Empress Maria Theresa
Place: Vienna
Really shouldn't have bought this. The box has UPC 032031468498 and says it's remastered (distr. Kultur), but the image is blurry. The colors are gorgeous, but I wonder if the blu-ray looks like this. BD costs a lot more on eBay; same release date.
Felt the need to have this because I'd seen it on YouTube (without subtitles; found it very confusing; I've learned it by now), and it's E.Schwarzkopf's only full opera on video. She's fabulous, both vocally and acting. A little old for the role, but still great. The sets and costumes are beautiful (traditional staging, although the tavern is more booby-trapped than others I've seen).
I still dislike the sing-speak. The orchestral music underneath is gorgeous. Why, oh why, is the regression to fancy, prolonged recitative considered progress? Maybe the Wagner course will explain, but I'm weeks away from tackling that.
This Baron Ochs is less grotesque than others I've seen, which makes it easier to watch.
How were they able to light this so well in '61? Were they really performing before an audience, or was that faked? (Don't think I saw any actual audience here, just hear applause during curtain calls.)
The Rank Organization & more, cond. Von Karajan; 7-
HA! This is the 3rd time I've written about this. See also:
http://bdrdiary.blogspot.com/2018/06/strauss-der-rosenkavalier-1961-6.html
http://bdrdiary.blogspot.com/2018/08/strauss-der-rosenkavalier-1961-7.html
I didn't look at their contents today.
