# Richard Strauss's operas



## Clouds Weep Snowflakes (Feb 24, 2019)

As far as I know, he wrote quite a few; how good/popular are they? Which ones do you recommend me to get? And would placing him between late Romanticism and the 20th century be accurate? I have his "four last songs" and a few symphonic poems on a CD and I really like them, and so I want to try out some more of this composer's works.


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## superhorn (Mar 23, 2010)

Richard Strauss wrote no fewer than 15 operas in his long and productive career . The most popular would be Salome, Elektra, Der Rosenkavalier , Ariadne Auf Naxos , Die Frau Ohne Schatten, Arabella and Capriccio . 
The two earliest ones, Guntram and feuersnot ( fire famine ) are rarely performed , but Feuersnot has had a few revivals in our time. Intermezzo, Die Agyptische Helena (the Egyptian Helen,) 
Die Schweigsame Frau (the silent woman ) , Daphne, Friedenstag ( day of peace ) , Die Liebe Der Danae ( the love of Danae ) are sometimes revived but not fixtures of the operatic repertoire .
All are very much worth getting to know , and there are plenty of recordings of them conducted by such podium masters as Karl Boehm, Herbert von Karajan, Sir Georg Solti, Clemens Krauss,
Erich Leinsdorf , Bernard Haitink Erich Kleiber and others .
With such renowned singers as Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Birgit Nilsson , Leonie Rysanek , Dietrich Fischer Dieskau , Hermann Prey , Kiri Te Kanawa, Renee Fleming, Christa Ludwig and others . 
There are also plenty of DVDs of performances from the Vienna State opera, the Met, Covent Garden , the Salzburg festival , Bavarian state opera in Munich and elsewhere . 
Star with the three most popular ; Salome, Elektra and Der Rosenkavalier ; the recordings conducted by Solti, Karajan , Erich Kleiber, Giuseppe Sinopoli , Wolfgang Sawallisch are all first rate choices . 
Then procede to Ariadne , Doe Frau, Arabella etc . These opera contain so much lush, gorgeous and sometimes powerfully dissonant music music it's like an operatic feast !


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## Clouds Weep Snowflakes (Feb 24, 2019)

superhorn said:


> Richard Strauss wrote no fewer than 15 operas in his long and productive career . The most popular would be Salome, Elektra, Der Rosenkavalier , Ariadne Auf Naxos , Die Frau Ohne Schatten, Arabella and Capriccio .
> The two earliest ones, Guntram and feuersnot ( fire famine ) are rarely performed , but Feuersnot has had a few revivals in our time. Intermezzo, Die Agyptische Helena (the Egyptian Helen,)
> Die Schweigsame Frau (the silent woman ) , Daphne, Friedenstag ( day of peace ) , Die Liebe Der Danae ( the love of Danae ) are sometimes revived but not fixtures of the operatic repertoire .
> All are very much worth getting to know , and there are plenty of recordings of them conducted by such podium masters as Karl Boehm, Herbert von Karajan, Sir Georg Solti, Clemens Krauss,
> ...


Could you tell me more about her? I just listened to a performance of her and I think she has an amazing voice.

https://1qlmn4cya9t1biftq2zsfnvt-wp...Orchestra-Der-Rosenkavalier-Suite-768x768.jpg

This isn't really an opera, but still a wonderful piece of music! I'm going to listen to this all over again tomorrow!


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Renee Fleming has arguably the most gorgeous velvet throated soprano voice in opera today. What more is there to say about her? Isn't a gorgeous voice, a beautiful face, a decent actor and a smart lady enough? I say "smart lady" because she knew when it was time to step back and quit the hard life. She is a winner and we are so lucky to have had her in our lifetime.
It might be a good idea for you to read one of her autobiographies.


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## wkasimer (Jun 5, 2017)

I'd start with Ariadne auf Naxos. It's much more approachable than some of his more bombastic works, as it has some fairly memorable tunes and legitimate set pieces. Rosenkavalier is also pretty approachable. I'd hold off on Salome and especially Elektra. They may be popular I think that they're tough going for anyone not yet attuned to Strauss.


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## Clouds Weep Snowflakes (Feb 24, 2019)

nina foresti said:


> Renee Fleming has arguably the most gorgeous velvet throated soprano voice in opera today. What more is there to say about her? Isn't a gorgeous voice, a beautiful face, a decent actor and a smart lady enough? I say "smart lady" because she knew when it was time to step back and quit the hard life. She is a winner and we are so lucky to have had her in our lifetime.
> It might be a good idea for you to read one of her autobiographies.


Is she still active? Does she do singing outside the US? We had American sopranos last month here in Jerusalem for Verdi's Requiem...


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## aussiebushman (Apr 21, 2018)

wkasimer said:


> I'd start with Ariadne auf Naxos. It's much more approachable than some of his more bombastic works, as it has some fairly memorable tunes and legitimate set pieces. Rosenkavalier is also pretty approachable. I'd hold off on Salome and especially Elektra. They may be popular I think that they're tough going for anyone not yet attuned to Strauss.


Oh my revered friend! I have routinely agreed with the substance of many of your posts, but not this time. Ariadne certainly has some wonderful music, but the plot is pretty silly and the vocal exchanges at the start might well be off-putting to someone relatively unfamiliar with Strauss because one has to wait quite a while before those wonderful melodies are established.

IMHO far better to start with Elektra that has such compelling drama and a newcomer could do worse than begin with the excellent Karl Bohm DVD featuring Rysanek in the title role. Sure here are other version on DVD but for me, this version is the most compelling - and if the opening notes of the music and the final "dance" scenes do not inspire, I do not know what will.

Rosenkavalier would be another fine starting point - There are many fine recordings of this work but the classic Schwarzkopf version of the Marchallin sets this one firmly as a favorite

Then move on the Arabella - my choice being Lisa Della Casa in the title role. Sublime music? Definitely

We all have our opinions and no disrespect to you is intended


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Clouds Weep Snowflakes said:


> Is she still active? Does she do singing outside the US? We had American sopranos last month here in Jerusalem for Verdi's Requiem...


So far she is only scheduled to sing "The Light in the Piazza" at the LA Opera in October.


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## jegreenwood (Dec 25, 2015)

nina foresti said:


> So far she is only scheduled to sing "The Light in the Piazza" at the LA Opera in October.


Although, that's a musical, not an opera. She also played Nettie Fowler in the recent Broadway revival of "Carousel," a role often performed by opera singers.


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## Couchie (Dec 9, 2010)

Strauss is good. It's not Wagner, but it's the next best thing.

If you like Renee Fleming, here's a treat:


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## Couchie (Dec 9, 2010)

Elektra is a tale about family values. This Elektra is THE Elektra:


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## Couchie (Dec 9, 2010)

Salome is a simple love story... unrequited love. Who can't relate?


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

Couchie said:


> Strauss is good.* It's not Wagner, but it's the next best thing.*
> 
> If you like Renee Fleming, here's a treat:


Relatively speaking!


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Couchie said:


> Salome is a simple love story... unrequited love. Who can't relate?


I thought it was advice for teenage girls on getting a head in life.


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## Minor Sixthist (Apr 21, 2017)

Woodduck said:


> I thought it was advice for teenage girls on getting a head in life.


Where's the eye roll emote that's not smiling..


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## aussiebushman (Apr 21, 2018)

Couchie said:


> Elektra is a tale about family values. This Elektra is THE Elektra:


Yes- you nailed it!! Unfortunately, Fischer Dieskau is the only weakness in the cast. Varnay is magnificent


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Couchie said:


> Strauss is good. It's not Wagner, but it's the next best thing.
> 
> If you like Renee Fleming, here's a treat:


I'd cite a number of operas by other composers as the next best thing to Wagner. Strauss has moments of greatness sprinkled throughout his operas, but orchestral busyness and a waltz tune for every occasion can only go so far in the attempt to make chatty urbaneness, grand guignol depravity and kitsch (in various combinations) look like high art. He's at his best when he can simply settle down and luxuriate in the sensuous beauty of voices and orchestra, as in that _Rosenkavalier_ trio (and the "presentation of the rose" scene from the same opera).

Give me Strauss's songs over his operas any day.


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## millionrainbows (Jun 23, 2012)

Woodduck said:


> I'd cite a number of operas by other composers as the next best thing to Wagner. Strauss has moments of greatness sprinkled throughout his operas, but orchestral busyness and a waltz tune for every occasion can only go so far in the attempt to make chatty urbaneness, grand guignol depravity and kitsch (in various combinations) look like high art. He's at his best when he can simply settle down and luxuriate in the sensuous beauty of voices and orchestra, as in that _Rosenkavalier_ trio (and the "presentation of the rose" scene from the same opera).
> 
> Give me Strauss's songs over his operas any day.


And remember, It's not important that you offer a positive recommendation of alternatives, only that you invalidate Couchie's innocent comment with your over-serious pronouncements. :lol:


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

millionrainbows said:


> And remember, It's not important that you offer a positive recommendation of alternatives, only that you invalidate Couchie's innocent comment with your over-serious pronouncements. :lol:


I'm sure poor Couchie is right now contemplating slitting his wrists over being "invalidated."

Why show up here only to troll me? What do you care about anyone's "over-serious pronouncements" on a subject you have no apparent interest in? Feeling devastated because your cracked theory of Ionian Scalar Instability is being universally shot to pieces over in the theory department?


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## Couchie (Dec 9, 2010)

Out of interest, what is next best? I recall reading that your opinion of Mozart was not that high, and surely we are not considering Verdi or Puccini. The horror.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Couchie said:


> Out of interest, what is next best? I recall reading that your opinion of Mozart was not that high, and *surely we are not considering Verdi or Puccini. The horror.*


Well, we _might_ be... 

In fact, I'll gladly concede that Mozart's best operas are masterpieces belonging among the very best operas by anyone, despite my own lack of affinity for the Classical style and "upstairs downstairs" social comedy and farce. That Mozart could so elevate such mundane and/or silly material through sheer musical genius is an artistic miracle. But I'd put Verdi's _Otello_ and _Falstaff_ on the same exalted level. Maybe Debussy's _Pelleas,_ perhaps Mussorgsky's _Boris,_ possibly Puccini's _Madama Butterfly..._ These are all powerful works of great artistic integrity and human insight, which don't raise "yes, but.." in my mind as Strauss's operas often do.


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## millionrainbows (Jun 23, 2012)

Woodduck said:


> I'm sure poor Couchie is right now contemplating slitting his wrists over being "invalidated."
> 
> Why show up here only to troll me? What do you care about anyone's "over-serious pronouncements" on a subject you have no apparent interest in? Feeling devastated because your cracked theory of Ionian Scalar Instability is being universally shot to pieces over in the theory department?


Nobody has disproved anything yet about the Ionian Scalar Instability theory. Thanks, nice term.

You show up to "troll" me on other threads. What's good for the Duck is good for the gander.


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## millionrainbows (Jun 23, 2012)

Woodduck said:


> Well, we _might_ be...
> 
> In fact, I'll gladly concede that Mozart's best operas are masterpieces belonging among the very best operas by anyone, despite my own lack of affinity for the Classical style and "upstairs downstairs" social comedy and farce. That Mozart could so elevate such mundane and/or silly material through sheer musical genius is an artistic miracle. But I'd put Verdi's _Otello_ and _Falstaff_ on the same exalted level. Maybe Debussy's _Pelleas,_ perhaps Mussorgsky's _Boris,_ possibly Puccini's _Madama Butterfly..._ These are all powerful works of great artistic integrity and human insight, which don't raise "yes, but.." in my mind as Strauss's operas often do.


Debussy's Pelleas is just an unfocussed, meandering mess. I've got it, too. I suppose this tendency to like it comes from other operas which are vague and meandering.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

millionrainbows said:


> Debussy's Pelleas is just an unfocussed, meandering mess. I suppose this tendency to like it comes from other operas which are vague and meandering.


The "tendency" is very common. Maybe the piece is "just" better than it seems to you. In any case such total disparagements and dismissals of acknowledged masterpieces are neither insightful nor clever. It's probably best if you don't even specify what other "vague and meandering" operas you think are causing people to like _Pelleas_ as well.


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## Mandryka (Feb 22, 2013)

There was a time when I used to think that Rosenkavalier was the best of all operas, of course it isn't, but sometimes, when you see it, you think it is during and for about half an hour after. Such a beguiling mix of comedy and philosophy. Who could fail to be moved by the marschallin's reluctant acceptance of growing older, of the ineluctable passage of time? That's deep stuff, that is, for opera.

Nearly all the operas mentioned above have major failings. Rosenkav has that slapstick stuff at the start of the last act; Otello has Iago's creed and the _two_ songs she sings just before he comes home to kill her; Pelleas has the scene with the doctor. Still they can all be very good, thought provoking, nights out.

I took my internet name from a Strauss opera, so I guess at one time I liked the stuff. I seem to remember seeing a whole lot of them over a period of a couple of years, a sort of retrospective, that's when Pappano first came to London. And I remember having lunch with some opera friends, one of whom was about to go and sing Ochs to great acclaim in Vienna or New York, I can't remember now, and we all agreed about how much we loved Ariadne.


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## Zhdanov (Feb 16, 2016)

Couchie said:


> Elektra is a tale about family values.


its about reckoning among ruling elites, actually.

note when the subject was brought up: before the two world wars, empires crashing, elites purged.

that is a warning, agenda, plan disclosure.


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## Itullian (Aug 27, 2011)

I like Strauss's operas, some more than others of course.
I find they are interesting to listen to.
They can be kinda garish and vulgar at times, but also have intense beauty.
Nothing, other than Wagner, holds my interest like they do.


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## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

OK...

_Guntram_: Strauss begins his operatic career with pastiche Wagner. Wonderful overture; some lovely moments; inept plot.

_Friedenstag_: Haven't heard.

_Salome_: Brilliant, in a decadent way. Have you seen Teresa Stratas make love to the severed head of John the Baptist? Yikes!

_Elektra_: Opera for adolescent emos. Blood! More blood! I hate my mother! Strauss wanted to make his score as bright as blood; it clotted.

_Rosenkavalier_: Has two sublime moments: the Presentation of the Rose; the final trio. The Marschallin is a great character; so is Cherubino. (Freudian slip: Oktavian. And for those who want Freudian slips, we also have Freudian knickers and Freudian bras.) But there's a lot of clatter.

_Ariadne auf Naxos_: One of Strauss's most delicate scores; he avoids his usual massive forces ("LOUDER! LOUDER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I CAN STILL HEAR THE SINGERS!"), and uses chamber forces. Opera seria meets Nietzsche in pomo fashion.

_Die Frau ohne Schatten_: _Magic Flute _(and _Die Feen_?) rewritten post-Wagner. Yargle. Frnnnnt. Wagnerian Strauss aficionados think it's his best opera; my brain melts. But the chorus at the end of Act I is sublime.

_Intermezzo_: Haven't heard.

_Die aegpytische Helena_: Euripides meets Arabian Nights in an imbroglio that even confused Strauss - which may be why he didn't write music for the whole opera.

_Arabella_: My father's favorite opera; too much note-spinning for me.

_Schweigsame Frau_: If it hadn't been for the Nazis, this would be a repertoire piece. (The librettist was Jewish; Strauss wanted Stefan Zweig's on the piece; the Nazis shut it down.) Strauss's attempt to write a Rossinian comedy. Warm, humane; some sublimely beautiful moments. The wedding sextet, trio, and bass aria "Wie schoen ist doch die Musik" are wonderful. Watch the 1972 recording with the lovely Reri Grist.

_Friedenstag_: Strauss rewrites Fidelio. Hijacked by the Nazis ("Wir Friede wollen!" while their tanks roll over Eastern Europe), but it's a powerful, austere anti-war statement; the final ensemble is great.

_Daphne_: Bucolic Greek tragicomedy; ends with a wonderful transfiguration scene as the heroine is turned into a tree.

_Die Liebe der Danae_: Haven't heard.

_Capriccio_: Ghastly. Uncyclopedia sums it up thus: "Considered by many to be Strauss's finest stage work, this highly dramatic opera covers an afternoon in an eighteenth-century drawing room during which some rich French people drink cocoa and talk about Gluck. In the thrilling denouement, we mercifully come almost two hours closer to the Revolution, during which everyone is sure to be guillotined (see _Salome_), and the tension is almost unbearable as the countess, ignorant of her probable fate, looks in a mirror, wonders about something, and then has her dinner." Well-bred characters discuss aesthetics and philosophy for two and a half hours, in a self-indulgent, talky opera barren of plot or character development - like Thomas Love Peacock set to music. The opening string sextet and Mondscheinmusik are lovely; the quarrel octet is ingenious; but it's Strauss at low ebb. Much of it is - as one character complains - recitative, recitative, without any arias. We do get quotes from Gluck (the sublime overture to _Iphigénie en Aulide_), and pastiche Rameau and Piccinni. But it lacks the tunes to swoon to of _Rosenkavalier_, the drama of _Salome _, or the imagination of _Ariadne_.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

I like a lot of Strauss, but some of his operas suffer from being too long for their musical material (I would put _Capriccio_, _Rosenkavalier_ and _Ariadne_ in that boat). My favourites are the more expressionist, less romantic ones - so _Elektra_, _Salome_ and _Frau_. I would start with _Elektra_ and _Rosenkavalier_ AND the Four Last Songs. If none of that speaks to you or does anything for you, then I don't think you will find any Strauss opera that rocks your boat.

N.


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## JoeSaunders (Jan 29, 2015)

I agree that Strauss is at his best when he's concise. There's a lot of musical thumb-twiddling in _Rosenkavalier_, _Arabella _and perhaps _Ariadne _too. _Elektra _and _Salome _are electrifying one-act introductions to his output, but they lack those sublime romantic moments that pop up occasionally in his other works. Still, the best way to start I reckon. I think _Daphne _strikes a good balance between these two extremes: it's short and to the point (perhaps too short in my opinion - there are a lot of musical sentences which seem to get cut off half-way through) and contains some very beautiful musical moments, especially the transformation scene and Apollo's epic reveal aria. Sadly the drama is a bit stilted, and there's only really one recording which does the work justice.

I'm going to watch _Schweigsame Frau_ later today and see how that goes.

EDIT: Scratch that, the video I was going to watch was disgustingly out of sync and I'm now very annoyed


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## Couchie (Dec 9, 2010)

millionrainbows said:


> Debussy's Pelleas is just an unfocussed, meandering mess. I've got it, too. I suppose this tendency to like it comes from other operas which are vague and meandering.


I like Pelleas but Debussy's aesthetic works best for pieces <10 minutes.


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

Dr. Shatterhand said:


> OK...
> 
> _Guntram_: Strauss begins his operatic career with pastiche Wagner. Wonderful overture; some lovely moments; inept plot.
> 
> ...


Couldn't disagree more, particularly with regards to Elektra, FROSCH and Capriccio. I get the feeling you're not a huge Strauss opera fan but I may be wrong.


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## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

Barbebleu said:


> Couldn't disagree more, particularly with regards to Elektra, FROSCH and Capriccio. I get the feeling you're not a huge Strauss opera fan but I may be wrong.


Some Strauss I like a lot, others less so.

And with regards to Schweigsame Frau and Friedenstag? 

I prefer Theodorakis' Elektra to Strauss's. His three Greek tragedy operas (homages to Bellini, Verdi, Puccini) are something special. Have you heard them?


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

Schweigsame Frau and Friedenstag? Not bowled over by them. Not in my division one of Strauss operas. I've not heard Theodorakis' take on Elektra or the other two so I can't comment.


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

Dr. Shatterhand said:


> Some Strauss I like a lot, others less so.
> 
> And with regards to Schweigsame Frau and Friedenstag?
> 
> I prefer Theodorakis' Elektra to Strauss's. His three Greek tragedy operas (homages to Bellini, Verdi, Puccini) are something special. Have you heard them?


With regard to your earlier comment on Die Aegyptische Helena in post #28 what did you mean when you said that Strauss didn't write music for the whole opera? I think you'll find he did.

If you mean that Hofmannsthal and Strauss didn't set all of Euripides tale to music then that's an entirely different thing.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

I used to like Strauss much more than I do now, but I find much of his music just a bit too overwrought for my taste. (Funnily enough I feel the same about D H Lawrence, whom I adored in my youth.)

In his non operatic output I still love the _Vier letzte Lieder_ and his other Lieder, but the orchestral works, which I played a great deal when I was younger, are now only occasional visitors to my player.

I'm a bit selective about the operas too; *Salome*, *Der Rosenkavalier* (it has its longeurs but the music for the Marschallin is sublime, as is the _Presentation of the Silver Rose_ and the _Final Trio_), *Ariadne auf Naxos* bits of *Arabella* and *Capriccio* (and then mostly for the closing scene). *Elektra* just seems like too many women screaming at each other and I keep thinking I should like FROSCH more, but it too seems far too overwought for me.

I must say I prefer him when he's not trying to blast me out of my seat.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Tsaraslondon said:


> I used to like Strauss much more than I do now, but I find much of his music just a bit too overwrought for my taste. (Funnily enough I feel the same about D H Lawrence, whom I adored in my youth.)


I'm reminded of an episode of Frasier, and the following exchange:

_Frasier:_ "Niles, do you remember when we thought the 1812 Overture was a great piece of music?"

_Niles:_ "Ha! Were we ever that young?"


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## Barelytenor (Nov 19, 2011)

FROSCH is a lot easier to enjoy if you quit trying to understand the plot :tiphat:

Saw/heard it at Covent Garden ca. 2000 with Deborah Voigt (WAY pre-little-black-dress fiasco) and Johan Botha. They were vocally, and in every other way, massively impressive. But I have scarcely revisited it since, whereas Rosenkavalier is practically a yearly treat for me. Except for the Ox. Uh, Ochs.

Kind regards,

George


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## aussiebushman (Apr 21, 2018)

Barelytenor said:


> Rosenkavalier is practically a yearly treat for me. Except for the Ox. Uh, Ochs.
> 
> Kind regards,
> 
> George


Come now, George. Ochs is one of the great comic characters in Opera. Try some of these:

Kurt Bohme - if you have note heard this performance, you have never heard it at its best

Otto Edelmann - another performance not to be missed

Mihaly Szekely - This superb Hungarian bass portrays all of the charm of the seducer with the humour of the buffoon' Try it here:
*https://www.roh.org.uk/news/10-of-operas-greatest-bass-roles*


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

As I read the libretto to _Rosenkavalier,_ I frequently ask myself how anyone could set such a mass of mundane chitchat to music. Hoffmansthal is often cited for his literary skill, and he and Strauss obviously enjoyed his wordsmithing, but is that really what music, and specifically opera, require? Verdi would not have thought so; even Wagner, who is sometimes considered prolix, knew how to craft his dialogue for specifically musical effect. Mozart's Da Ponte might be thought the most direct point of comparison, but as an experienced librettist he had a sure instinct for what could be set meaningfully to music and what an opera audience could grasp from across the footlights. Opera is not spoken theater, and reams of sophisticated verbal conceits, insinuations and idle banter do not cry out for musical expression. The wordiness of Hoffmansthal finds a match in the "notiness" of Strauss's music, and the result too often comes across to me as a lot of chatter, busyness and bustle. In _Rosenkavalier_ I wait for the big, emotional moments, and with a character like Ochs, who has nothing to say that touches me in any way but spends an awful lot of time saying it, the wait is just too long. (It isn't just _Rosenkavalier._ When the Met did _Arabella_ recently I got tired of waiting for the musically meaningless chatter to give way to some real melody and gave up.)


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

Dr. Shatterhand said:


> _*Capriccio*_: Ghastly. Uncyclopedia sums it up thus: "Considered by many to be Strauss's finest stage work, this highly dramatic opera covers an afternoon in an eighteenth-century drawing room during which some rich French people drink cocoa and talk about Gluck. In the thrilling denouement, we mercifully come almost two hours closer to the Revolution, during which everyone is sure to be guillotined (see _Salome_), and the tension is almost unbearable as the countess, ignorant of her probable fate, looks in a mirror, wonders about something, and then has her dinner." Well-bred characters discuss aesthetics and philosophy for two and a half hours, in a self-indulgent, talky opera barren of plot or character development - like Thomas Love Peacock set to music. The opening string sextet and Mondscheinmusik are lovely; the quarrel octet is ingenious; but it's Strauss at low ebb. Much of it is - as one character complains - recitative, recitative, without any arias. We do get quotes from Gluck (the sublime overture to _Iphigénie en Aulide_), and pastiche Rameau and Piccinni. But it lacks the tunes to swoon to of _Rosenkavalier_, the drama of _Salome _, or the imagination of _Ariadne_.


Ugh! I watched this one on DVD and was bored sick but stuck with it to the end hoping to see which one she would choose for her beau. She didn't choose. The whole thing ended up like a sick joke where you are made to listen to this long story and no punchline. I am a glutton for punishment because I bought another copy. Te Kawana didn't do it for me but I think Fleming may redeem this one. Don't know. Still sits on the unwatched pile.

Die Frau ohne Schatten is my favorite Strauss opera and the only other one I have watched or listened to.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

Elektra and Salome are different from the latter operas, partly because they are shorter, their subject matter is more brash and violent without any of the bourgeois frou frou of Rosenkavalier or Arabella. I love Elektra and Salome. There is no extraneous fuss, they are no longer than they have to be and they are dramatically effective both as far as the text and music are concerned (they were both plays that were adapted into operas rather than being written from scratch).

I agree with many of the comments here about is other works. Whilst there are some wonderful musical moments, the 'chatter' doesn't hold any theatrical interest. I don't think Arabella or Rosenkavalier would work as plays as they both lack the tension that makes theatre so captivating. The Marschallin seems to give up Octavian too easily. Arabella is essentially a Jane Austin marriage plot with the twists and turns that make a narrative interesting ironed out.

That said, give me Schwarzkopf, Studer or Varady and I enjoy listening to much of Strauss' operatic music.

N.


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