This new production of Der Rosenkavalier from the Welsh National Opera, the first for over fifteen years, brought together some fabulous music making and considerable food for thought in its balance of sixpenny farce and heart-aching romance. Making a vital contribution was Musical Director Tomáš Hanus (making his operatic debut with the company) who drew marvellously supportive playing from his orchestral forces and assured singing from a strong cast – all the more impressive for this hugely successful opening performance.
Strauss sets the opera in mid-18th century Vienna and, like other directors, German-born Olivia Fuchs chose to update the action to 1911 – the year of its première. While other productions may wish to emphasise imperial decline or the corrosive influence of time on human relationships, Fuchs' focused on the inevitability of ageing in visual clues that became obsessive. For this, actor Margaret Baiton (a former WNO chorus member) lurked on the periphery as the Marschallin’s older self like a ghostly presence, mirror in hand and musing silently on a past that is irrevocable.
Running alongside this conceit was a sands of time image where layers of sand progressively encroached on the set – reminding us (as if it were necessary) that society was about to dismember itself, with the outbreak of World War One just a few years away. Fuchs' concept put me in mind of Tennyson’s words “the old order changeth”.
Lighting designer Ian Jones brought some discreetly telling effects – notably the panelled walls of the bedroom transforming from a warm gold to a desolate grey during the Marschallin’s “stop the clocks” soliloquy. Later, destructive images foreshadowing the war added further to the sense of impending doom. Niki Turner’s sets moved from the simple grandeur of a palatial bedroom with single chandelier to a distorted, brutalised design evocative of post-war collapse.