During the latter part of his career, Hungarian-born director Paul Czinner helmed a number of British-produced film adaptations of operatic classics—one of the most commercially popular being this 1962 production, which provides an invaluable record of the acclaimed Salzburg Festival presentation of the titular Richard Strauss favorite. With Herbert von Karajan offering his typically robust conducting of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, this version of Der Rosenkavalier gets off to a memorable start: the opening scene, which features the comic romantic chemistry between the legendary Elisabeth Schwarzkopf in her signature role as aging beauty Princess von Werdenberg and the versatile Sena Jurinac as the charming young Octavian, is one of the most delightful operatic sequences ever captured on film—all the more treasured since both performers rarely appeared onscreen. The production unfolds with great charm and gusto, as well as subtle wit infusing each plot twist, as Baron Ochs (Otto Edelmann) asks Octavian to deliver a marriage proposal to the beautiful young Sophie (Anneliese Rothenberger) and love blooms between messenger and recipient. Czinner's intelligent camera placement is never intrusive—he captures both the emotional depth of the individual performances and the wider opulence of the overall design (the handsomely restored and digitally remastered production brings out the full vibrancy of the Eastmancolor cinematography). Presented in LPCM stereo, the return of this Der Rosenkavalier is a great treat for opera lovers. Highly recommended. (P. Hall)
Der Rosenkavalier
(1962) 191 min. DVD: $29.99, Blu-ray: $44.99. Kultur International Films (avail. from most distributors). ISBN: 978-0-7697-9033-6 (dvd). Volume 26, Issue 2
Der Rosenkavalier
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