A superb cast (Evelyn Lear, Frederica von Stade, Jose Carreras) and a Rotterdam Philharmonic in great form, under the inspiring baton of Edo de Waart, a specialist in Late Romantic repertoire, mark this Rosenkavalier as a must-have for opera fans and music lovers in general. 

Richard Strauss, undoubtedly one of the most famous musical figures to have emerged from Germany, enjoyed early success both as a conductor and composer. Having developed the symphonic poem to an unsurpassed level of expressiveness, he went on to achieve great success with a string of notable operas – of which Der Rosenkavalier, presented on this disc, is his best known.

Set in Vienna during the early years of the Empress Maria Theresa’s reign, the work takes the form of a comedy in three acts, set to an original German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. It bears a strong resemblance in terms of plot to Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro as well as Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, and is written in a very different vein to Strauss’s preceding avant-gardist creations Salome and Elektra – something for which the composer, appearing to have succumbed to popular taste, was heavily criticised.

But this is a petty observation: Strauss’s combining of overt parody with psychological insight into matters of both the head and heart – not to mention the torments of growing up and the terrors of growing old – makes it a highly sophisticated work that stands firmly on a par with Mozart’s and Wagner’s. Featuring a superb cast of internationally renowned singers, this recording does full justice to the intricate and sublimely beautiful quality of Strauss’s writing.

Part of the Brilliant Classics Opera Collection.