Whether or not this is the greatest Rosenkavalier, Schwarzkopf, Edelmann, Karajan, et al. have the style of this music and drama in their blood. They perform it with an ease and authority that was their birthright.

Sadly, it is now only available in this wretched pan and scan video which looks as if it had been tranferred from a grainy 16mm print. Kultur video needs to pass the rights to this treasure on to a company who can give us the restored DVD edition that this classic document deserves.


Better late than never   January 12, 2000
 52 out of 54 found this review helpful

I have never been a Schwarzkopf fan and for the past 18 years preferred Regine Crespin's Marschallin (on Decca), even in the complete Solti recording, where her voice allegedly was in decline (critics are always happy to point out these imperfections). I also never warmed up to Otto Edelmann's Baron Ochs, and felt his timbre gives the role a cunning/evil twist rather than a comic one (I prefer Manfred Jungwirth). My first reaction to this tape was that the production is conservative and unimaginative, compared for example with the newer Covent Garden production with Solti and Te Kanawa. However, on repeat viewing I finally gave in - I feel the critics were right all these years and Schwarzkopf IS the greatest Marschallin ever. I still am not a fan of hers as a voice - Crespin's voluptuous voice and seductive yet motherly characterization are a rare gem. Yet Schwarzkopf's interpretation is highly intelligent and very subtle (it took me 18 years to appreciate it). It is a very unusual role of a lover who displays rare wisdom and maturity in her love and understands when to let her lover go as an act of love. Schwarzkopf displays a deep understanding of the Marschallin's dilemma and choice with very fine nuances of singing and acting. I felt that watching her acting added depth to just listening to her on discs. In that sense the very restrained production serves to highlight Schwarzkopf's nuances. Even Otto Edelmann's Baron Ochs is more complete when viewed on stage. His baron Ochs is a stupid, crude and conniving character, rather than funny, and as a result it is more difficult to forgive him (he's never really silly). He represents the complete antithesis to the Marschallin's truly noble handling of her love object - he wants to grab, hold on to, use and thereby demean his chosen one. Their conception of these roles is highly idiomatic and no singer who wasn't raised on the German language can quite match that. They project a degree of self confidence in these roles that comes with the experience of many live performances together - they rarely look in the direction of the conductor to get their cues. This film is a classic.