Der Rosenkavalier Is Jan. 4, 2020, Met Opera Saturday Matinee Broadcast

Summary: Der Rosenkavalier is the Jan. 4, 2020, Met Opera Saturday matinee broadcast, airing as fifth in the season’s 23 radio matinees.

The 2019-2020 Met Opera season revives Canadian opera director Robert Carsen’s staging of Der Rosenkavalier, which debuted as a new production in the 2016-2017 Met Opera season: The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera, via Facebook Aug. 19, 2019

Der Rosenkavalier is the Jan. 4, 2020, Met Opera Saturday matinee broadcast, airing at 12 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) and numbering as the fifth of 23 scheduled Saturday radio matinees during the 2019-2020 Met Opera season.

German composer Richard Strauss (June 11, 1864-Sept. 8, 1949) set his musical score to a German libretto written by Austrian librettist and writer Hugo Laurenz August Hofmann von Hofmannsthal (Feb. 1, 1874-July 15, 1929). The libretto’s literary sources were a memoir-styled novel (roman-mémoires), Les Amours du Chevalier de Faublas, by French playwright and writer Jean-Baptiste Louvet de Couvrai (June 12, 1760-Aug. 25, 1797) and a three-act comédie-ballet, Monsieur de Pourceaugnac, by French actor and playwright Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (Jan. 15, 1622-Feb. 17, 1673), known by his stage name of Molière.

Der Rosenkavalier (“The Knight of the Rose”) premiered Thursday, Jan. 26, 1911, at Königliches Opernhaus (“Royal Opera House”), now known as Semperoper. The opera house located in the historic center of Dresden, Saxony, east central Germany. Dresden’s opera house is also known as Semperoper Dresden.

The first Semper Opera House, which opened April 13, 1841, was designed and built by German architect and art theorist Gottfried Semper (Nov. 28, 1803-May 15, 1879). A fire destroyed the first Semperoper Sept. 21, 1869. Gottfried’s oldest son, Manfred Semper (May 3, 1838-Sept. 13, 1913), built the second Semperoper according to plans designed by his father. The second Semperoper, which hosted Der Rosenkavalier, opened Feb. 2, 1878.

The Metropolitan Opera hosted the United States premiere of Der Rosenkavalier on Dec. 9, 1913. The opera received 11 performances during the 1913-1914 season.

The 2019-2020 Met Opera season offers seven performances of Der Rosenkavalier. The season’s first performance happened Friday, Dec. 13, at 7 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST). December’s four additional performances took place Tuesday, Dec. 17, at 7 p.m.; Friday, Dec. 20, at 7 p.m.; Monday, Dec. 23, at 7 p.m.; and Saturday, Dec. 28, at 7:30 p.m.

The season’s last two performances of Der Rosenkavalier are scheduled for January 2020. The New Year’s Day performance, Wednesday, Jan. 1, begins at 7 p.m. The opera’s closing performance begins Jan. 4, at 12 p.m. as the season’s fifth Saturday matinee broadcast.

The three-act opera has an estimated run time of 4 hours 16 minutes. Act I spans 72 minutes. An intermission of 34 minutes follows. Act II is estimated at 58 minutes. An intermission of 31 minutes follows. Act III lasts for 61 minutes.

Sir Simon Rattle conducts six (Friday, Dec. 13; Tuesday, Dec. 17; Friday, Dec. 20; Monday, Dec. 23; Wednesday, Jan. 1; Saturday matinee broadcast, Jan. 4) of the season's seven performances. The English conductor had made his Met Opera debut Friday, Dec. 17, 2010, in the opera house’s 110th performance of Pelléas et Mélisande by French Impressionist composer Achille-Claude Debussy (Aug. 22, 1862-March 25, 1918).

Sir Simon originally was scheduled to conduct all seven performances. The Metropolitan Opera announced via Twitter Dec. 30, 2019, that Gareth Morrell would conduct the Saturday, Dec. 28, performance. The British conductor had made his Met Opera debut Wednesday, Jan. 20, 1999, in the opera company's 516th performance of Lucia di Lammermoor by Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti (Nov. 29, 1797-April 8, 1848).

Camilla Nylund appears as time-conscious Marschallin for six performances (Friday, Dec. 13; Tuesday, Dec. 17; Friday, Dec. 20; Monday, Dec. 23; Wednesday, Jan. 1; Saturday matinee broadcast, Jan. 4). The Finnish operatic soprano made her Met Opera debut on opening night, Friday, Dec. 13.

Camilla Nylund shares Marschallin with Katie Van Kooten, who appears in the Saturday, Dec. 28, performance. The American soprano made her first appearance Wednesday, June 13, 2007, as Marguerite in the opera company’s 730th performance of Faust by 19th century French composer Charles-François Gounod (June 17, 1818-Oct. 18, 1893). She had made her Met Opera debut Monday, Feb. 23, 2009, as Magda in the opera company’s 27th performance of Rondine by Italian opera composer Giacomo Puccini (Dec. 22, 1858-Nov. 29, 1924).

Magdalena Kožená appears as Octavian, Marschallin's young lover, for six performances (Friday, Dec. 13; Tuesday, Dec. 17; Friday, Dec. 20; Monday, Dec. 23; Wednesday, Jan. 1; Saturday matinee broadcast, Jan. 4). The Czech mezzo-soprano made her Metropolitan Opera debut Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2003, as Cherubino in the opera company’s 408th performance of Le Nozze di Figaro by 18th-century Classical Era composer Wolfgang Mozart (Jan. 27, 1756-Dec. 5, 1791).

Magdalena Kožená shares the trouser role with Angela Brower, who appears in the Saturday, Dec. 28, performance. The American mezzo-soprano’s performance Dec. 28 marked her Metropolitan Opera debut.

Golda Schultz appears in all performances as Sophie, who falls in love with Octavian. The South African soprano made her Met Opera debut Wednesday Sept. 27, 2017, as Pamina in the opera company’s 433rd performance of Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte. In the 2019-2020 Met Opera season, Golda Schultz also appears as Clara in Porgy and Bess by American composer and pianist George Gershwin (Sept. 26, 1898-July 11, 1937).

Katharine Goeldner appears in all performances as Annina, an intriguer. The American mezzo-soprano made her Metropolitan Opera debut Friday, April 12, 2002, in the roles of Dress, Schoolboy and Page in the opera company’s 31st performance of Lulu by Austrian composer Alban Berg (Feb. 9, 1885-Dec. 24, 1935).

Matthew Polenzani appears as a Singer in six performances (Friday, Dec. 13; Tuesday, Dec. 17; Friday, Dec. 20; Saturday, Dec. 28; Wednesday, Jan. 1; Saturday matinee broadcast, Jan. 4). The American lyric tenor had made his Met Opera debut Friday, Dec. 19, 1997, as Khrushchov in the opera company’s 251st performance of Boris Godunov by Russian composer Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky (March 21, 1839-March 28, 1881). During the 2019-2020 Met Opera season, Matthew Polenzani also appears as Macduff in Macbeth by 19th-century Italian opera composer Giuseppe Verdi (Oct. 10, 1813-Jan. 27, 1901) and as Rodolfo in Puccini’s La Bohème and in the New Year’s Eve Gala.

Matthew Polenzani shares the role with Alok Kumar, who appears in the Monday, Dec. 23, performance. The India-born American operatic tenor had made his Met Opera debut Thursday, Oct. 4, 2018, as Harry in the opera company’s 105th performance of Puccini’s La Fanciulla del West. In the 2019-2020 Met Opera season, Alok Kumar also appears as the Steersman in Der Fliegende Holländer by German composer Wilhelm Richard Wagner (May 22, 1813-Feb. 13, 1883).

Thomas Ebenstein appears in all performances as Valzacchi, an intriguer. The Austrian tenor’s appearance opening night, Dec. 13, marked his Metropolitan Opera debut.

Markus Eiche appears in all performances as Faninal, a wealthy merchant. The German baritone’s appearance opening night, Dec. 13, marked his Metropolitan Opera debut.

Günther Groissböck appears in all performances as financially-distressed, lecherous Baron Ochs. He reprises his role debut from the 2016-2017 Met Opera season. The Austrian bass had made his Met Opera debut Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2010, as Colline in the opera company’s 1,224th performance of Puccini’s La Bohème.

The 2019-2020 Met Opera season’s performances of Der Rosenkavalier revive staging by Robert Carsen. The Canadian opera director’s new Met Opera production debuted Thursday, April 13, 2017, in the opera company’s 385th performance of the opera.

Robert Carsen’s production resets the opera’s time period. Strauss placed the opera in Vienna in the 1740s, during the early years of the reign of only female Habsburg ruler Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina (May 13, 1717-Nov. 29, 1780). Carsen sets Der Rosenkavalier in the year in which the opera was created, 1910.

Robert Carsen’s production team comprises Paul Steinberg, set designer; Brigitte Reiffenstuel, costume designer; Philippe Giraudeau, choreographer. Carsen shares lighting design credits with Peter Van Praet.

The takeaway for Der Rosenkavalier as the Jan. 4, 2020, Met Opera Saturday matinee broadcast is that the late Romantic-early modern composer’s comedy of manners airs at 12 p.m. Eastern Standard Time and numbers as the fifth of 23 Saturday matinees broadcast weekly through Saturday, May 9, 2020.

In the 2019-2020 Met Opera season, American lyric tenor Matthew Polenzani reprises his role as the Italian singer from Canadian opera director’s 2016-2017 new production of Richard Strauss’ operatic comedy of manners, Der Rosenkavalier: Matthew Polenzani @MatthewPolenzani, via Facebook April 10, 2017

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

The 2019-2020 Met Opera season revives Canadian opera director Robert Carsen’s staging of Der Rosenkavalier, which debuted as a new production in the 2016-2017 Met Opera season: The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera, via Facebook Aug. 19, 2019, @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOpera/posts/10162349352045533

In the 2019-2020 Met Opera season, American lyric tenor Matthew Polenzani reprises his role as the Italian singer from Canadian opera director’s 2016-2017 new production of Richard Strauss’ operatic comedy of manners, Der Rosenkavalier: Matthew Polenzani @MatthewPolenzani, via Facebook April 10, 2017, @ https://www.facebook.com/MatthewPolenzani/photos/a.140830739682799/298703577228847/

For further information:

“Debut: Gareth Morrell.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 331336 Lucia di Lammermoor {516} Metropolitan Opera House: 01/20/1999.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=331336

“Debut: Katie Van Kooten.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 352893 La Rondine {27} Metropolitan Opera House: 02/23/2009.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=352893

“Debut: Magdalena Kozená.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 350784 Le Nozze di Figaro {408} Metropolitan Opera House: 11/19/2003.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=350784

“Debut: Simon Rattle.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 353687 Pelléas et Mélisande {110} Metropolitan Opera House: 12/17/2010.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=353687

“Debuts: Alok Kumar, Adrian Timpaul.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 357009 La Fanciulla del West {105} Metropolitan Opera House: 10/04/2018.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=357009

“Debuts: Constantin Pluzhnikov . . . Matthew Polenzani.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 330264 Boris Godunov {251} Metropolitan Opera House: 12/19/1997.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=330264

“Debuts: Dimitri Tiliakos, Günther Groissböck, Brandon Mayberry.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 353654 La Bohème {1224} Metropolitan Opera House: 12/01/2010.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=353654

“Debuts: Golda Schultz, Lucas Mann.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 356741 Die Zauberflöte {433} Metropolitan Opera House: 09/27/2017.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=356741

“Debuts: Katharine Goeldner, Daniel Sutin, Kristine Winkler.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 350037 Lulu {31} Metropolitan Opera House: 04/12/2002.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=350027

“First appearance: David Pomeroy, Katie van Kooten. ” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 352042 Faust {4730} Metropolitan Opera House 06/13/2007.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=35352042

Marriner, Derdriu. “Der Rosenkavalier Is the May 13, 2017, Metropolitan Opera Saturday Matinee Broadcast.” Earth and Space News. Monday, May 8, 2017.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2017/05/der-rosenkavalier-is-may-13-2017.html

Matthew Polenzani @MatthewPolenzani. “In my costume for Rosenkavalier during the dress rehearsal today. It’s a phenomenal cast and fabulous new production. I hope to see you there!” Facebook. April 10, 2017.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/MatthewPolenzani/photos/a.140830739682799/298703577228847/

Metropolitan Opera ‏@MetOpera. "Gareth Morrell will conduct the December 28 performance of Der Rosenkavalier, replacing Sir Simon Rattle. #CastChange." Twitter. Oct. 30, 2019.
Available @ https://twitter.com/MetOpera/status/1189595257048109056

The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera. “Robert Carsen’s delightful staging of Der Rosenkavalier returns to the Met next season, with Sir Simon Rattle on the podium. Set in Vienna in the last years of the Hapsburg Empire, Strauss’s most popular opera concerns an aristocratic woman and her impetuous young lover. Experience this stunning production, on stage December 13–January 4. Buy tickets: bit.ly/2P6LvNC Photo by Ken Howard / Met Opera.” Facebook. Aug. 19, 2019.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOpera/posts/10162349352045533

“New Production: Der Rosenkavalier.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 356690 Der Rosenkavalier {385} Metropolitan Opera House: 04/13/2017.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=356690

“United States Premiere: Der Rosenkavalier.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 55260 United States Premiere Der Rosenkavalier {1} Metropolitan Opera House: 12/9/1913.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=55260