Director

Ahead of your visit this summer, discover more about Der Rosenkavalier in this insight talk inc conversation with classical music critic Fiona Maddocks and director Bruno Ravella with musical excerpts performed by singers from our Emerging Artists’ Programme.

Fiona Maddocks is a music critic who specialises in classical music. She has worked in radio, TV, magazines and newspapers, including as founder editor of BBC Music Magazine. Maddocks is also The Observer’s classical music critic. Bruno Ravella is an international opera director and made his debut at Garsington in 2015 with Strauss’ Intermezzo, and is returning this year to direct Der Rosenkavalier" class="css-u850">Der Rosenkavalier which first debuted at Garsington in 2021. Together they will discuss the historical context behind Der Rosenkavalier and tell us more about Strauss and his musical world.

Insight Talk: Der Rosenkavalier

Garsington Studios

In the decadent world of Vienna, a story of romantic entanglements unfolds between a youthful nobleman, his mature mistress, and a young woman engaged to be married to an older Baron. Who is to give in or give up their heart?

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Der Rosenkavalier

Santa Fe Opera

A royal, Succession-like power struggle. Lust and death at every turn. A king who desires his wild and wilful step-daughter. Her erotic fascination with a condemned prophet. The result is a horrific trade. Based on Oscar Wilde’s play.

Salome

Bord Gáis Energy Theatre

National Opera House

Der Rosenkavalier weaves opulent, bittersweet waltzes with lush late-Romantic orchestration, evoking both nostalgic elegance and the ache of time passing. Strauss’s co-creator, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, wrote of a world of ceremony and lavish ritual, in which the characters are helplessly entangled.

This is the much-anticipated return of Bruno Ravella and Gary McCann’s stylish and opulent 2021 production, which had to be performed to a limited audience after lockdown. Making their Garsington debuts are conductor Finnegan Downie Dear, Matilda Sterby, Andreas Bauer Kanabas and Niamh O’Sullivan, whose Octavian at Théâtre des Champs-Élysées received great acclaim. We are also delighted to welcome back Soraya Mafi as Sophie and Robert Murray as Valzacchi.

Wormsley

Adapted from the Oscar Wilde play of the same name, Salome has been thrilling and shocking audiences since its premiere in 1905. And it's easy to see why: a biblical story complete with a lecherous king, a willful princess, and an unyielding prophet is bound to get attention. Add in a power struggle, a dangerous obsession, and a dance that scandalizes audiences to this day, all set to Strauss's iconic music, and you're in for a wild and gripping performance.

Director

Bruno Ravella

Events

Upcoming events

May 28 - Jun 29, 2026

Der Rosenkavalier · Garsington Opera

17 - 31 Oct, 2026

Salome · Seattle Opera

Past events

Apr 21, 2026

Insight Talk: Der Rosenkavalier · Garsington Opera

Jul 20 - Aug 15, 2024

Der Rosenkavalier · Santa Fe Opera

About

Bruno Ravella hasn't added a bio