Der Rosenkavalier: Live in HD Transmission Transcript
READ: Voigt Show Intro
DEBORAH VOIGT: Hello. I'm Deborah Voigt, and I'm delighted to be your host for today's performance of Richard Strauss's beautiful and bittersweet comedy, Der Rosenkavalier. Last season, Met movie theater audiences experienced the incredible artistry of soprano Lise Davidsen when she sang the title role in another Strauss opera, one of my personal favorites, Ariadne auf Naxos. Now she's taking on a new Strauss role as the Marschallin, the glamorous princess who must grapple with the passage of time. Lise is joined today by mezzo-soprano Samantha Hankey, who is having a breakout success in the opera's title role, Octavian, the Marschallin's teenaged lover. Der Rosenkavalier is Octavian's coming of age story too.
Returning to roles in which they've won tremendous acclaim are soprano Erin Morley, as the ingenue Sophie, and bass Günther Groissböck as her boorish betrothed, Baron Ochs.
In this handsome production, director Robert Carsen updates the action from Vienna in the 18th century to Vienna preparing for World War I. Baritone Brian Mulligan is Sophie's father, Faninal, a nouveau riche arms dealer hoping to be accepted into the upper classes with the marriage of his daughter to the aristocracy. But Strauss and his librettist, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, have infused the plot with many surprises for this rich cast of characters as the action moves from boudoir to bordello. Maestro Simone Young is ready to go to the pit. Here is Der Rosenkavalier.
READ: Voigt Throw to Tape
DEBORAH VOIGT: Lise Davidsen follows in the footsteps of supremely gifted sopranos who've owned the role of the Marschallin at the Met. We'll speak with Lise in a moment. But first, here's a look at some of her illustrious predecessors.
ROLL-IN C: Marschallin Intro
DEBORAH VOIGT: The Marschallin in the Met’s very first production of Der Rosenkavalier, in 1913, was German soprano Frieda Hempel, one of the brightest stars of opera’s Golden Age. In 1935, the German-American lyric soprano Lotte Lehman became the reigning Marschallin, recognized worldwide for her masterful interpretation, and for the honor of being the first woman in history to sing all three leading female roles in Der Rosenkavalier.
Swiss soprano Lisa della Casa also famously performed all three leading roles. She was renowned for her depth and sensitivity of expression in the great Act I monologue, in which the Marschallin comes to terms with the passage of time.
American soprano Eleanor Steber first sang the role of Sophie at the Met in 1940. But just nine years later, she began captivating audiences as the Marschallin, winning them over with her honest vocal delivery and her superb musicality. German soprano Elisabeth Schwarzkopf made her Met debut, and virtually her only Met appearances, as the Marschallin, in 1964. She embodied the character’s aristocratic stature, as well as the subtle details of the text, through her phrasing and the varied colors of her voice.
In the 1980s, the New Zealand-born lyric soprano Kiri te Kanawa became the leading Marschallin. She movingly captured the character’s strength and nobility, as well as her dignified frailty.
And in the year 2000, American soprano Renee Fleming first sang the Marschallin on the Met stage. With her graceful lyricism, her nuanced expression, and the emotional vulnerability of her singing, this became one of her signature roles for nearly two decades.
INTERVIEW: Voigt w/ Lise Davidsen
DEBORAH VOIGT: Lise Davidsen is with me now. Hi, Lise.
LISE DAVIDSEN: Hi.
DEBORAH VOIGT: Brava for such a moving performance in Act I. It's really hard to believe that this is the very first time you've sung the role of the Marschallin. How does it feel?
LISE DAVIDSEN: Well, that's very kind. I've worked on it a long time. But it feels really nice, and I'm happy the Live HD is towards the end of the run. So I had some shows to–to get to know it a bit.
DEBORAH VOIGT: Yeah, settle down a little bit.
LISE DAVIDSEN: Yeah.
DEBORAH VOIGT: Well, we just heard you sing the great Act I monologue in which the Marschallin philosophizes about the passage of time. But by today's standards, she's actually quite a young woman, and so are you. Are you able to relate to her feelings about aging?
LISE DAVIDSEN: Yeah. I think I–I think these feelings come sort of–they come at 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70 and so on. We always have to take this. We stop in time and we think, okay, am I here, am I where I want to be, all these things. And my friends and family, they're establishing, you know, kids, all of that, which is very relatable for my age. So I can definitely relate to it in a way, maybe not the same way as one would do at 60 and 70–
DEBORAH VOIGT: Right.
LISE DAVIDSEN: –but emotions are the same. They just appear in different–different times.
DEBORAH VOIGT: Well, what have you learned about this character in the process of preparing, rehearsing and performing her that you couldn't have known before?
LISE DAVIDSEN: I think what I love about Marschallin is that she's so generous and she's so ahead of what normal people's actions would be. I mean, I'm not as smart as she is, you know? She–she thinks that– she believes that Octavian should have a better life than she and of course Sophie. And that's so generous, and I think that is something we can take with us, to not always be self-centered and maybe include other people as well. Yeah.
DEBORAH VOIGT: That's a lovely thought. Yes. This role has attracted such a range of different types of soprano voices. What is your vocal approach?
LISE DAVIDSEN: Well, it's–it's literally two different acts in a way. I feel the first really need to be the lower, the mezzo part.
DEBORAH VOIGT: Right.
LISE DAVIDSEN: And the–and the talking part is much more dialogue and then there's these very, very centered singing pieces. And then towards the end, there's a much more open up. But it's been a little extra work on that. Yeah.
DEBORAH VOIGT: I'm sure. Next, the Met has just announced next season that you will be singing the role of Leonora in Verdi's epic opera, La forza del destino. How do you balance the demands of Verdi, Strauss and Wagner?
LISE DAVIDSEN: Well, time will show. I'm doing my first Verdi now at Royal Opera, Don Carlo. But I worked on other Italian operas that were canceled during COVID. So I feel it's different. But we sing with the same voice. So just have to find a way to balance it.
DEBORAH VOIGT: Well, Lise, congrats on this wonderful performance you're giving today, and thank you for joining me.
LISE DAVIDSEN: Thank you. I just have to say hi to my Norwegian family. They're all watching, and I love that. Hi.
INTERVIEW: Voigt w/ Günther Groissböck
DEBORAH VOIGT: Now I get to speak with the lecherous Baron Ochs, bass Günther Groissböck. Hello, Günther, and bravo, bravo.
GÜNTHER GROISSBÖCK: Hello, Debbie.
DEBORAH VOIGT: What do you find in this libretto by your fellow Austrian, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, and in Strauss's music that inspires your characterization?
GÜNTHER GROISSBÖCK: Well, I think that would be much too much for this three minutes, whatever we have. It's just the poetry, which Hugo von Hofmannsthal composed in his way because it's very musical.
DEBORAH VOIGT: Yes.
GÜNTHER GROISSBÖCK: It's art for its own, and you can listen and you can read just the–just the libretto, and it's–you hear the music. And it's so interesting. If you read the letters, what they wrote to reach other, Richard Strauss and Hugo von Hofmannsthal, how this piece was created, it's just a work in progress and the most interesting thing. And I can only recommend. I think it's also translated in English. Do this because it's also two different characters. They were so inspiring each other and for me it's also kind of psychotherapy, as a native Austrian, to show all these little nasty things between the lines and not only the vocal things, which is very demanding, but also these little things, especially with the Marschallin. We have this code. We know each other, and she knows me and so it's this twinkle of an eye.
DEBORAH VOIGT: In Robert Carsen's production, there is a lot of physical comedy, as we saw, and we'll be seeing in the acts to come. Is that different from other productions of Der Rosenkavalier that you've been in?
GÜNTHER GROISSBÖCK: Well, I did the first production in Salzburg. 2014 was my debut. It was a bit like Lise, a crazy mission where everybody says you can do this.
DEBORAH VOIGT: Yeah.
GÜNTHER GROISSBÖCK: But we made it. And the thing is, after a while, it's a production. But you're a part of it, and the stage director uses your physicality and then it's–you can't even say is it you or is it the stage director. And sometimes I catch myself in old productions where I'm doing stuff of Carsen's production, of the Harry Kupfer production and everybody asks what staging is it. And I say, well, I think it's what is there. It's just–it's so natural, and that's the secret of this opera.
DEBORAH VOIGT: Well, you still have a lot of words and music to go. How do you pace yourself?
GÜNTHER GROISSBÖCK: Well, for me, the first act is the most demanding. Although the Act II is the Ochs act and you have these beautiful lines and then you can sing, but the first act is really, really tough because you have – he never shuts up.
DEBORAH VOIGT: True.
GÜNTHER GROISSBÖCK: So, and it's really dangerous because you're not only responsible for yourself and for beautiful singing or whatever. It's very dangerous. If you, may I say, f**k it up, you really get a problem for–you get a problem also for the others, and you have to really be very, very careful in what you do, and that's a–I always call it, it's driving, texting and eating, which is not allowed, and it's a bit this sort of multitasking. The first act is like this. You have to be very, very, you know, in alert mode all the time.
DEBORAH VOIGT: Very on your game.
GÜNTHER GROISSBÖCK: Yes.
DEBORAH VOIGT: Günther, thanks so much for speaking with me and go rest up for the next two acts.
GÜNTHER GROISSBÖCK: Thank you, Debbie.
DEBORAH VOIGT: All right. Take care.
READ: Voigt Neubauer / Toll / Throw to Break
DEBORAH VOIGT: The Met's Live in HD series is made possible thanks to its founding sponsor, the Neubauer Family Foundation. Digital support is provided by Bloomberg Philanthropies. The Met Live in HD series is supported by Rolex. Today's performance of Der Rosenkavalier is being heard over the Toll Brothers Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network. We'll be back after a break.
READ: Voigt Throw to Tape
DEBORAH VOIGT: Welcome back. Our star singers aren't the only ones giving unforgettable performances today. As we saw in the first act, there are two Borzois, a pair of Afghan Hounds and a Sheltie who are all supremely ready for their close-ups.
ROLL-IN D: The Dogs of Rosenkavalier
NANCY NOVOGRAD: I'm Nancy Novograd. I have a company called All-Tame Animals. We provide animals for movies, commercials, television, special events, ballet and The Metropolitan Opera. We work with everything from elephants to insects. All-Tame has provided horses and donkeys and dogs, a horse and a donkey for Bohème, four horses for Aida, and now we have five dogs for Rosenkavalier.
But we have to have five dogs that get along with one another because they're in a small space, they're walking onstage and offstage together, and then we have to have dogs that walk nicely on leash. And a lot of the show dogs, which may not work for other kinds of work, work perfectly for this. First, they're beautiful, they look great from the audience, and they walk nicely on leash, most of the time.
So Rosenkavalier is unusual because the owner/trainer of the dogs is actually on stage with them, in costume, and that's a very nice thing for both the dog and the owner because that's unusual. Usually it's talent that is handling an animal in a production.
GRETCHEN THIELE: Well, these are Borzoi, so, just like Afghan Hounds. Most countries have their sort of form of the Greyhound. That's Afghan, this is Russian, Scottish Deerhound, Irish Wolfhound. So fast, running, hunting dog. And this is just winterized for Russian weather. And they’re retired show dogs.
Well, Borzoi in general are, you know, are a lot of fun. They have a lot of personality. You know, he is an early riser, I mean, he's my rooster in the house and as soon as that sun comes up it's–
Sam is a rescue from New Jersey Sheltie Rescue. We've had him for about eight years, and he's having a great time. This is his first opera. So, today started out at 10 o'clock, with baths and things like that, because we have to get maximum floofiness for the stage. When you have a white dog, you have to have a clean dog, because it will show.
And, you know, we go for walkies, we come in, we groom and then we sack out for a while, and then we go on stage. They will recognize their cue to get up and get ready before I do, and things like that. They have a much better musical memory. I flubbed every audition in grade school, junior high and high school and whenever because I never wanted to be on a stage ever. And guess where I made my stage debut. I think I would be severely freaked out if I ever looked in the audience, but I guess you're not supposed to do that, so.
DRU SHEPHERD: Well this is Cinder and she's a show dog. She's actually a Grand Champion. And this is Pansy. Pansy is a Champion, also show dog. They look at the body type of a show dog, their coat quality, they check their teeth. They have a certain gait, Afghans have a certain gait when they go around the ring, and they're very fast.
So this is their first opera, and they've been very good onstage. They don't seem to mind the audience because they're used to an audience. But they enjoy all the attention here, they enjoy meeting all the new people. They've had a good time with that. It's very interesting and exciting.
NANCY NOVOGRAD: These dogs love being pet and the attention they get from the cast members. Everybody's happy to see them. And that's a lot of the positive reinforcement that they get for being onstage, and they like that. Any kind of work enriches the bond between the trainer and the animal, and that is very positive, and the animals like that. This is more time to spend with, for lack of a better word, for a dog, their pack, their person.
READ: Voigt Intro to Don Giovanni Rehearsal
DEBORAH VOIGT: I'm inside a Met rehearsal room where director Ivo van Hove is preparing his new production of Mozart's Don Giovanni. Baritone Peter Mattei stars in the title role, and he's just now working on the Don's Act 2 seduction aria, Deh! vieni alla finestra. Let's listen.
INTERVIEW: Voigt w/ Peter Mattei & Ivo van Hove
DEBORAH VOIGT: Hi. Debbie. Nice to meet you. Hi, Peter. Hi. Oh. Peter, Ivo–Peter, Ivo, hello. That was gorgeous, and thanks to the Met assistant conductor, Jonathan Cameron Kelly, on piano. Peter, what is Don Giovanni up to in that aria?
PETER MATTEI: I think it goes to basic instinct in that aria, how to receive something very innocent and maybe also something forgotten in himself maybe.
DEBORAH VOIGT: Peter–I'm sorry.
PETER MATTEI: Re-waking something over–over–I think it's a little bit more than just bringing out something, bringing out something to be for him. It's also bringing out something in him also maybe.
DEBORAH VOIGT: Peter, you've sung Don Giovanni 36 times at the Met alone, and many more elsewhere. What is about this–
PETER MATTEI: I think it's 30 years ago, my first one.
DEBORAH VOIGT: Oh, really?
PETER MATTEI: Yes.
DEBORAH VOIGT: Wow. Wow, that's wonderful to still be able to sing it that many years later.
PETER MATTEI: Yes, let's hope so.
DEBORAH VOIGT: Yeah. Yeah. I’m sure. We know that you can, based on what we just heard. What is it about this character that keeps you–keeps holding your interest after so many years?
PETER MATTEI: The interest is he needs all the things that I can bring. I mean, and little more always, and it's so intense. Even the softest, the loudest and what in between, it's always with this kind of intention, intensivity–can you say that?
DEBORAH VOIGT: Yes, intensity.
PETER MATTEI: Yeah. Intensity. Yes, of course. And then you can bring the whole–the whole palette. You have to have a huge one, not only black and white. You have the whole range of different things to bring in. And I'm so happy that Mozart wrote this piece because it–it–it–it's the only piece that really brings in everything you have for one show, for one night. I mean, not–yeah, maybe too long answers.
DEBORAH VOIGT: No, no. No. Very good. Ivo, some directors view Don Giovanni as an incorrigible seducer and others an outright rapist. How do you see this character and what do you think Mozart would say?
IVO VAN HOVE: Well, Mozart had an original title, which was not Don Giovanni. It was Il dissoluto punito, so like the villain punished, you know?
DEBORAH VOIGT: Right.
IVO VAN HOVE: His point of view was quite clear. So for me, not–he is of course a seducer. But he is also somebody that transgresses, you know, has transgressive behavior, you know, on the sexual level but also on the physical level. He kills somebody within the first ten minutes of the opera, you know, without really any reason.
DEBORAH VOIGT: Right.
IVO VAN HOVE: You know, and he's also abusive verbally. And I think these are themes, you know, that can resonate a lot with audiences today, also with younger people in today.
DEBORAH VOIGT: Peter, the aria we just heard is so beautiful. But you also have the rapid-fire champagne aria and this–
PETER MATTEI: Again, opposite, opposites and the range of these two–
DEBORAH VOIGT: True. True.
PETER MATTEI: And that's the whole character, always these kind of things.
DEBORAH VOIGT: Well, and then also the seductive La ci darem la mano.
PETER MATTEI: Yes. Yes.
DEBORAH VOIGT: Could you speak a little bit about how Mozart challenges the many facets of your voice?
PETER MATTEI: Well, yeah.
DEBORAH VOIGT: Well, that says it all right there.
PETER MATTEI: He does that in a very wonderful way because it is wonderful, everything is wonderful. Even if it's horrible, it's still wonderful. I don’t know how he writes it so beautifully. Like Beethoven writes the best when he's writing for evil person. But Mozart writes good for all the characters, when you are in the beauty, when you are in the middle and in the darkness. I mean, and that's–it–so when you have a good day on this piece, it is coming instinctly and naturally. So you have to be fresh and you have to have slept–
DEBORAH VOIGT: Yes, yes.
PETER MATTEI: –and to be the medium to go in for this event and to be as open as you can and never decide anything to do before the show. Keep the spontaneity.
DEBORAH VOIGT: Yes.
PETER MATTEI: You have to know where to go a little bit and here and there. but you have to–that's also an important element, the freshness of it that is happening in the moment.
DEBORAH VOIGT: Ivo, tell us about your approach to the production. I'd love to hear about when and where you've placed the action.
IVO VAN HOVE: Well, for me, every opera that I do–
PETER MATTEI: Me too.
IVO VAN HOVE: You know very well. Every opera that I do, I consider as a contemporary opera. Otherwise, I don’t do it. If I don’t feel–it's just not–for me, it's not a relic of the past. It's something that talks about today. It's like Shakespeare, you know? Mozart is for me like for Shakespeare is in the theater, you know? He really talks about themes, about people, you know, that we should recognize. So it's a contemporary production and contemporary costumes also. But I don’t situate it in a specific time or a specific place. So it's sometime, somewhere, but it's today anyway.
DEBORAH VOIGT: Ivo, Peter, thank you for speaking with me, and we can't wait to see Don Giovanni in movie theaters on May 20th.
READ: Voigt Throw to Act II
DEBORAH VOIGT: Now it's time to get back to Der Rosenkavalier. At the end of the previous act, Octavian has stormed out of the Marschallin's home, pained by her suggestion that he might leave her for a younger woman. But when the next act begins, that younger woman makes herself known in the sublime "Presentation of the Rose". Here is Act II.
READ: Voigt Throw to Tape
DEBORAH VOIGT: Mezzo-soprano Samantha Hankey is coming into her own on the Met stage with her performances as Octavian, which she's already sung to great acclaim in Europe. Our cameras recently followed Samantha backstage.
ROLL-IN E: Octavian Intro
SAMANTHA HANKEY: Let’s show you a little behind the scenes action today. The wig and makeup department at the Met help me transform from Sam to Octavian in just a couple of minutes. By this time, I have my own hair prepped for my wig. For this character, my makeup is quite simple, trying to make me look masculine. The line of the hair helps a lot in creating this illusion.
Final touches and I’m ready to go to the stage. For my first entrance, I’m wearing a nightgown. Now on set, I take a few minutes before the curtain rises up to warm my body. And, let’s go. The first act is very busy for me. I have three quick changes right offstage, behind the set wall. This is the first one, just adding a robe. The second one, swapping the robe for a military jacket, and the field marshal's really funny hat. Here comes the third change, and for this one I really have to run.
Now I’ve completed my disguise into Mariandel, a chambermaid, all while still being a boy. I’m back at my dressing room, and it’s time to get into my Act II costume.
Now I’m getting ready for one of my favorite moments in the opera, the “Presentation of the Rose,” which is where I get my nickname the Knight of the Rose, or “Der Rosenkavalier.” I wait for my cue from the stage manager and here we go!
INTERVIEW: Voigt w/ Samantha Hankey
DEBORAH VOIGT: Quick change. Mezzo-soprano Samantha Hankey is with me now. Hello, and brava for two brilliant acts, with one to go.
SAMANTHA HANKEY: Thank you.
DEBORAH VOIGT: Does playing a boy playing a girl ever leave you in a state of confusion?
SAMANTHA HANKEY: Not so much because my mind is so focused on being Octavian, I'm not really thinking about being a woman playing a guy playing a girl. I'm just thinking as Octavian in the moment.
DEBORAH VOIGT: Well, Octavian has been kind of a breakout role for you both in Germany and in here. What do you love about singing it and why is it such a good fit for you?
SAMANTHA HANKEY: You know, there's something about the score. It just feels written in my bones, and when I'm able to sing this music, I feel like I can bear my soul. It's just–Strauss's writing is absolutely magnificent.
DEBORAH VOIGT: Yeah, and it's a marathon of a role.
SAMANTHA HANKEY: Yes.
DEBORAH VOIGT: But you sound so fresh and beautiful.
SAMANTHA HANKEY: Thank you.
DEBORAH VOIGT: Is stamina an issue for you at all?
SAMANTHA HANKEY: You know, I need to get a good night's sleep. I plan out my meals during the intermission. So I've already had some tofu and apple.
DEBORAH VOIGT: Okay.
SAMANTHA HANKEY: I'm going to go have some coffee–
DEBORAH VOIGT: Okay.
SAMANTHA HANKEY: – and a protein shake and hope for the best.
DEBORAH VOIGT: How much of your portrayal is affected by your interplay with your costars, Lise, Erin and Günther?
SAMANTHA HANKEY: Absolutely. I mean, it's major. We're playing off of each other so much. We need that spontaneity in the moment and a sense of playfulness and the freedom and safety in order to improvise.
DEBORAH VOIGT: We're all looking forward to the exquisite trio near the end of the opera.
SAMANTHA HANKEY: Yes.
DEBORAH VOIGT: Can you tell me what you focus on when you come to that moment?
SAMANTHA HANKEY: I think just the sincerity of the confusion, but the decision that Octavian makes to go for–for Sophie.
DEBORAH VOIGT: Samantha, Octavian is the biggest role that you've sung so far at the Met. Any other characters you have your eye on and would like to sing?
SAMANTHA HANKEY: Well, I'm very much looking forward to Stéphano next season in Roméo et Juliette.
DEBORAH VOIGT: All right. Now's the time to give a list if you have one. Samantha, you're so impressive out there today. Thank you for chatting with me.
SAMANTHA HANKEY: Thank you for having me.
READ: Voigt Throw to Tape
DEBORAH VOIGT: Our maestro today, Simone Young, conducted at the Met in the late 1990s with a series of performances of La bohème, Il trovatore, Cavalleria rusticana and Pagliacci and Les Contes d'Hoffmann. Now she's finally back after two celebrated decades in Europe and her native Australia. We spoke to her recently about the enduring popularity of Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier.
ROLL-IN F: Simone Young
SIMONE YOUNG: Although Strauss’s Rosenkavalier premiered, actually, in Dresden, it is absolutely the archetypal Viennese opera. The irony, the humor, is just, yeah, the only word that fits it is “Viennese.”
Robert Carsen's production has taken the action of Rosenkavalier out of the French Revolution period, and moved it into the 20th century, rather around the period of when Strauss was actually writing the opera, 1911, 1912, and of course the similarities between the two periods at the end of the 18th century, where, at the time of the French Revolution there is a kind of society, a particular kind of nobility, aristocracy, that is coming to an end. And you find a very similar situation in Vienna in 1912, as the First World War is looming. And it's the last years of the Grand Austrian Hungarian empire, so there is a similar political undertone.
So we find ourselves in Rosenkavalier in the world of, actually, an extremely tonal musical language. It's still elaborate and colorful. I think it's what has made Rosenkavalier also one of his most loved operas, because it's a music that it is very easy to get inside of, and it's immediately emotional.
And it's virtuosic. There is not a single part played anywhere in this opera that is not virtuosic – the strings, the woodwinds – beautiful, but hugely difficult. Big orchestra: two harps, a lot of percussion, celesta in the pit, an offstage orchestra – a complete orchestra offstage just for about six minutes at the top of Act III.
So it places enormous demands – physically, mentally, emotionally – on the musicians. And weaving all of that together and keeping it in balance with the exquisite but also hugely challenging vocal lines and performances that are going on onstage, that's my job, that's my challenge.
And Strauss, he also expects the orchestra to be more than an accompaniment. It is a symphonic work, at times accompanying, at times commenting, at times almost overwhelming what's happening on the stage. It's not voices with orchestra, it is a unit.
And the text is so divine. I mean, the text–the text is delicious. Hofmannsthal, who is Strauss's partner in creating Rosenkavalier, Hofmannsthal takes the German language and codifies it according to class, status, regional and so on. And these fine differences, they're all reflected in how Strauss writes for the voice, then, in these languages.
I think one of the joys of this piece is that every single role has its own challenges, and therefore, its own rewards. I mean, the Marschallin, her elegance, her introspection, her wonderfully abstract and objective examination of the situation and of life, is reflected in her vocal lines. And he places demands on the Marschallin's voice to be, at times, enormous, and at times, down to the tiniest fine thread.
Octavian, on the other hand, is volatile. And this volatility, this change from passion, to anger, to tension, that's there in the demands vocally. At times, huge, glorious, warm lines up into the higher stretches of the voice, and at other times very chatty, very busy, very much in the middle voice.
And Sophie sings up into the stratosphere as she discovers, probably for the first time in her very sheltered life, a whole new emotion that she hadn't even imagined might take over her soul.
I've been conducting this opera for nearly a quarter of a century, and I still stand in awe of many, many passages of this work. And I don't–I don’t ever want that to change. I want to keep conducting it for another couple of decades, and I want to be able to keep coming back to this opera with fresh eyes and fresh ears, and ready to find something new in it, because it's–it is a true masterpiece.
READ: Voigt Neubauer / Throw to Break
DEBORAH VOIGT: It's wonderful to have Maestro Young back at the Met after all these years. The Met's Live in HD Series is made possible thanks to its founding sponsor, the Neubauer Family Foundation. Digital support is provided by Bloomberg Philanthropies. The Met Live in HD Series is supported by Rolex. We'll be back after a break.
READ: Voigt Throw to Tape
DEBORAH VOIGT: Welcome back. Earlier this week, Terence Blanchard's Champion had an electrifying premiere on this stage. The opera, which we'll be seeing live in cinemas on April 29th, tells the true, double life story of closeted boxer Emile Griffith who killed his opponent in the ring and spent the rest of his life seeking redemption. Ryan Speedo Green stars as young Emile and Eric Owens is his older self. Here are scenes from the final dress rehearsal, including part of young Emile's great aria, What makes a man a man.
READ: Voigt PSA / Fundraising / Throw to Tape
DEBORAH VOIGT: Wow. What a thrilling production, and an incredibly moving story. Both Ryan Speedo Green and Eric Owens give powerful performances in Champion, and I know you won't want to miss it when the Met presents the opera in cinemas on April 29th, two weeks from today. But as exhilarating as this production will be on screen, you simply can't get the full effect of these heartrending performances unless you're here in the opera house. So please come to the Met or experience opera at your local opera company.
Champion represents the Met's initiative to present new and recent works on our stage. Opera audiences love the classics. But they also love seeing the repertory expanded in new, bold directions. But whether it's in an ingenious staging like the classic Der Rosenkavalier today or a steering–stirring new work like Champion in two weeks' time, presenting productions at a high artistic level is very expensive.
The Met relies on audiences like you to help make this important artistic work possible. So if you're able to make a donation, please visit metopera.org/membership or call us at 1-800-MET-OPERA. You can also text HDLIVE to 44321 to make a contribution. All of us at the Met thank you for your support. There are three more Live in HD movie theater presentations left this season. Here's a look.
READ: Voigt Throw to Tape
DEBORAH VOIGT: Opera aficionados know that soprano Erin Morley is not just a fabulous singer. She's also an amazing pianist. She recently talked about her role as Sophie while illustrating a few musical points at the keyboard.
ROLL-IN I: Sophie Intro
ERIN MORLEY: Of course I love singing Sophie’s high, long, floating, silvery lines. There is this incredible swell in the orchestra, building up to the arrival of Octavian and the “Presentation of the Rose.” And all these tremolos are, of course, the flutterings of her heart. She is so excited for this moment, and has looked forward to it for so long.
Octavian arrives and presents her with the silver rose. And she responds, "Ich bin Euer Liebden sehr verbunden," and then she decides she’s going to embellish on that a little bit more, "Ich bin Euer Liebden in aller Ewigkeit verbunden."
INTERVIEW: Voigt w/ Erin Morley
DEBORAH VOIGT: And here she is. Hi, Erin.
ERIN MORLEY: Hi, Debbie.
DEBORAH VOIGT: Erin, a lot of opera singers can play the piano. But the level of talent we just saw in that clip is off the charts. When did you get so good on the piano?
ERIN MORLEY: You know, I've been playing the piano since I was a little girl. My mom was my first teacher, and then growing up in Utah, I had a really wonderful teacher. Her name was Solveig Lunde Madsen.
DEBORAH VOIGT: Okay.
ERIN MORLEY: And actually she talked a lot about the connection between singing and playing, and she was always talking about the taking inspiration from the human voice and, you know, mimicking that sound as we play a melody with the right hand. And likewise, I think that prepared me for a career in singing because now I can, you know, sit down with a score like Der Rosenkavalier, which–
DEBORAH VOIGT: And teach yourself.
ERIN MORLEY: –we know is so difficult.
DEBORAH VOIGT: Yeah. Yes.
ERIN MORLEY: Actually a lot of my pianist friends tell me that learning the piano reduction of Rosenkavalier is harder than learning something like Berg's Lulu.
DEBORAH VOIGT: Oh, my.
ERIN MORLEY: Like, it's just that hard because I think a lot of people think of Rosenkavalier as a series of beautiful waltzes and wonderful, sentimental moments. But it's more than that. It's also really, really hard chromatic music.
DEBORAH VOIGT: Absolutely.
ERIN MORLEY: And I don’t have time to learn the whole piano reduction. But I really do love knowing the intricacies of what's happening in the orchestra when I sing. That's really important to me. It helps me to listen. It helps me to–it's–it's essential for ensemble.
DEBORAH VOIGT: Well, you were a sublime Sophie when this production premiered in 2017, and now you're back.
ERIN MORLEY: I'm back.
DEBORAH VOIGT: And just as sublime.
ERIN MORLEY: Thank you.
DEBORAH VOIGT: Sophie is the ingenue. But you have a way of making her deeper than that. How do you see her?
ERIN MORLEY: Thank you. You know, she's so young. She's 15 or 16 probably. But she is a modern girl. And she's in a world that's trying to hold onto the past. But she's different. She finds a way to control the course of her own life. She wants to be in charge. And that's I think really–she's the catalyst for change in this opera. And, you know, she has to find the gumption. She has to be clever enough to find a way to manipulate the people are around her in a way. I think underneath all of that innocence, there's a lot of–she's just very, very clever. She finds a way to get out of this pickle she's in. I mean, the Baron is a disgusting human.
DEBORAH VOIGT: True.
ERIN MORLEY: He turns out to be really horrible, so yeah.
DEBORAH VOIGT: You have been a very lucky Sophie at the Met. The last time you sang Der Rosenkavalier here, your costars were Renee Fleming and Elīna Garanča.
ERIN MORLEY: I know.
DEBORAH VOIGT: How does that dynamic shift for you with a new Marschallin and Octavian.
ERIN MORLEY: I have been spoiled with a wealth of great costars in this–in this–in the show. You know, it's wonderful to see Lise and Sam really take over these roles and make them their own, and it's so fresh. And they bring something so different to it. Likewise, the conductor, Simone, and working with Paula Suozzi, everyone is bringing new ideas and bringing out different details that I hadn't thought about before. And so it's really a joy. It's a completely different piece than it was before.
DEBORAH VOIGT: Now as soon as this Rosenkavalier wraps, you'll start rehearsing the Met's new production of Die Zauberflöte–
ERIN MORLEY: Yes.
DEBORAH VOIGT: –directed by Simon McBurney, in which you'll star as Pamina, opposite Lawrence Brownlee as Tamino.
ERIN MORLEY: Yeah.
DEBORAH VOIGT: Thoughts on that upcoming new production?
ERIN MORLEY: Oh, you guys, it's really cool. It's really cool. We've just actually started a couple of days ago. I'm really looking forward to this. It's actually a role debut. I've never sung Pamina in German.
DEBORAH VOIGT: Oh, a good place to debut it.
ERIN MORLEY: Yeah, hello. It looks very cool and I can't wait to do some Mozart.
DEBORAH VOIGT: Well, Erin, it's been lovely to talk with you, and I wish you good luck with the rest of the performance.
ERIN MORLEY: Thank you, Debbie.
DEBORAH VOIGT: All right.
READ: Throw to Act III
DEBORAH VOIGT: At the end of the previous act, Sophie has refused to marry Baron Ochs, who nurses his wounds by redirecting his libido toward a rendezvous with the Marschallin's maid. But it's all part of Octavian's plan to serve Ochs his well-deserved comeuppance. Here is the comic and poignant conclusion to Der Rosenkavalier.