The opera DER ROSENKAVALIER leads into the bedroom of a princess and straight into the intimate conversation with her youthful lover. Inspired by the ancient tragedy ELEKTRA, Richard Strauss and the poet Hugo von Hofmannsthal envisioned something entirely new: a comedy for music. Cheerful, light, and elegant, conciliatory yet profound in its emotions and thoughts – and, of course, Austrian in its burlesque wit while at the same time touched by melancholy reflection. Thus the authors created the famous figure of the Field Marshal's wife, Princess Werdenberg who bears the first name Marie-Thérèse for good reason and entrusted her with the leading role in the opera DER ROSENKAVALIER, premiered in 1911.

EPSG:4326

Der Rosenkavalier

Cologne Opera

The biblical episode is well known: during a banquet, Princess Salome dances for Herod and he promises her anything in return; the young woman asks for and obtains the head of John the Baptist. In 1891, Oscar Wilde turned the story into a drama, enriched with new elements, which enjoyed great success in Germany and consolidated the image of Salome as a combination of innocence and perversion. Richard Strauss, in search of a subject for a new opera, did not let it slip away and set Wilde’s text (translated into German) to music as it stood, with only minor changes.

Michael Smallwood

Events

Upcoming events

Sep 27 - Dec 20, 2026

Der Rosenkavalier · Oper Köln

6 - 17 Apr, 2027

Salome · Teatro Regio Torino

Future and recently performed repertoire

The Marshal's Steward / An Innkeeper in Der Rosenkavalier by Strauss

Oper Köln

Secondo giudeo in Salome by Strauss

Teatro Regio Torino

About

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