The Met’s first new production since 1969 of Strauss’s rich romantic masterpiece is conducted by Music Director James Levine and directed by Robert Carsen, whose most recent Met production was the hit 2013 staging of Falstaff. Renée Fleming sings one of her signature roles as the Marschallin, opposite Elīna Garanča in her first North American performances as Octavian, the impulsive young title character. The cast also includes Günther Groissböck as Baron Ochs, Erin Morley as Sophie, Marcus Brück in his Met debut as Faninal, and Matthew Polenzani as the Italian Singer. Der Rosenkavalier is a co-production with the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, and Teatro Regio di Torino.

According to director Robert Carson Der Rosenkavalier is one of the brightest social comedies ever written. It represents an idealized version of Vienna from the past in a moment when Strauss and Hofmannstal, writing it felt that the world was facing a chasm. The Marschallin is obsessed with the fear of growing old and admits that sometimes she stops all clocks in her house as if not to feel the passage of time. Her love for Octavian brings her joy again. The artistic crew was inspired by the Vienna Secession of the early XXth  century. The setting evokes the sense of beauty and elegance, but also of melancholy and laughter through tears.

Fleming’s vocally captivating performance was daringly subtle.

Anthony Tommasini, The New York Times