The Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier is supposed to be no older than 32 - sensitive, sensual and emphatically sensible. Richard Strauss told us so. She is seldom played that way. Over the decades, the role has become the specialty of well-upholstered divas of a certain age who stress regal pathos at the expense of erotic allure. It wasn't like that, however, on Friday at the Met, where Angela Denoke basked in revisionist revelation.
The German soprano is almost girlish, eminently charming and wise. She projects kittenish physicality for the post-coital scene in bed with Octavian and later invokes dignified repose when his attention wanders. The progression is totally plausible. Vocally, she is radiant, sweet-toned and capable of ravishing soft-edged climaxes. Denoke's youth did create an inadvertent problem in matters of dramatic contrast. Although Octavian and his next love, Sophie, are supposed to be teenagers, Susan Graham and Laura Aiken hardly look younger than this Marschallin. One had to suspend a degree of disbelief. But the voices blend exquisitely in the climactic trio. Graham's elegance and authority remain intact while her mezzo-soprano seems to have lost some colour and weight. Aiken soars with breathless ease. The final duet has seldom sounded so ethereal.
Peter Rose, the crusty, yet hardly rusty, Baron Ochs, lacks the power displayed in 2000 and has acquired a bad-jokey bow-tie, but avoids grotesquerie and caricature. The supporting cast includes Hakan Hagegard as a blustery Faninal, Matthew Polenzani as a suave Italian tenor, Wendy White as a too-boisterous Annina and Greg Fedderly as a properly slimy Valzacchi. Donald Runnicles reinforces verve and introspection with equal savoir-faire in the pit. The ultra-traditional production dates from 1969 and looks its age.
Incidental intelligence: last year Runnicles declared his reluctance to return to the US if George Bush were re-elected. In January, Graham sang at Bush's inauguration. One wonders what they chatted about during rehearsals.
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