Brilliant burlesque in Vienna style [PHOTOS]

When waltz became a work of art

Thanks to the Strauss family, Vienna waltzes were danced around the world, but their works were regarded as an inferior kind of music in the artistic environment. Nevertheless, Richard Strauss, who was not related to ‘those Strausses’, elevated the Vienna operetta and waltz to the level of a work of art. Ingeniously instrumented and perfectly composed in terms of a symbiosis of text and music, it is also sentimental to a certain extent in spite of a specific climate, just like Vienna operettas, although Richard Strauss might not have been happy about such comparison. Or maybe he would have?

His ‘Knight of the Rose’ is a musical joke, a prank, a Vienna masquerade and burlesque, as the protagonists explain in the third act. But it is so masterfully arranged and so brilliantly composed that every spectator leaving the theatre will be tempted to sing a part of Baron Ochs’ aria ‘Ohne mich’ to the melody of the waltz and will be enchanted with masterful harmonious solutions in many fragments and with sophisticated sound arrangement.

The Knight of the Rose – dream vocal line-up

During the Saturday premiere in the Wroclaw Opera, the beginning of the orchestra was far from ideal, but as minutes passed, it entered the Strauss rhythm in an increasingly more confident and fully conscious manner. Extremely difficult to perform, the third act amused the audience to tears, and the duo of Octavian and Sophie in the preceding second act was simply a caress to every music lover’s ear. This resulted not only from iron discipline introduced by Ewa Michnik in the orchestra, but also from the selection of soloists.

There were surprises, anyway, because the part of Baron Ochs, the key protagonist of the entire show, was sung by Franz Hawlata, who was asked to replace another soloist because of the latter’s sudden indisposition at the last moment. It is hard to tell what this show would be like with another singer. However, we know that Hawlata endowed his protagonist – a coarse and licentious baron – not only with rough charm (emphasised by whistling), but also with some sort of naivety (or, so to say, awkwardness). Meagan Miller (the Marschallin), who had recently enchanted the Warsaw audience during the live performance of ‘Ariadne on Naxos", also by Strauss, had a successful debut in her new role, although it seems to be too early for ovations.

Anna Bernacka – star of the evening

The singer who certainly deserved applause was the mezzosoprano Anna Bernacka, whose Octavian (but also the character of the false servant Mariandel) is a vocal and acting masterpiece. She is not only excellently prepared as a singer (and she spends most time on stage, as she is present in all three acts), but she can also play with roles in an extremely interesting way – she plays the part of Octavian, a youth who falls in love with the Marschallin and then with young Sophie, and also performs the role of the maid servant Mariandel in order to humiliate Baron Ochs and win his fiancé Sophie for herself. The soprano Joanna Moskowicz performs the role of Sophie excellently in the entire second act, which is the most demanding part for her, and in the finale of the third act, during the (apparently) neverending love scene.

Real theatre in ‘The Knight of the Rose’

The director Georg Rootering proved once again that the Wroclaw Opera is a lucky stage for him. After the excellent ‘Parsifal’ by Wagner, ‘The Knight of the Rose’ can also be regarded as a successful undertaking. As Rootering had announced, he showed a piece of genuine theatre to the audience (in the opera, much talk is done through music). Each scene had a perfect punch line, the plot flowed smoothly in each ensemble, and the team of soloists and choristers was operated masterfully. The third act – the icing on the Vienna Sachertorte – was unbeatable, maybe because the tryst of Baron Ochs and Mariandel became an opportunity for Rootering to trigger the great imagination of a visionary, at the same time displaying a certain sort of viciousness that ideally suited the scene aimed at disclosing the protagonist’s stupidity. This scenic burlesque deserves comparisons with works of any excellent director. The effect is reinforced with excellent stage design by Lukas Noll and breathtaking costumes by Małgorzata Słoniowska. Well done!

Magdalena Talik

photos by Tomasz Walków

The next shows of ‘The Knight of the Rose’ are scheduled for the 20th of December at 7:00 p.m. and then for the 24th of January at 7:00 p.m. Tickets cost from PLN 20 to PLN 200.