Reviews

Der Rosenkavalier
Vancouver Opera

Photo: Beth Clayton as Octavian, Tracy Dahl as Sophie

"...a rock-solid ensemble production..."

"The stage was alive with minor characters, purposely at work with business that never distracted. Each and every secondary role was solidly presented.

"Gately's conception was always theatrically effective, and his approach to the long wordy libretto was briskly entertaining."

— Vancouver Sun



God knows how the subject came up, but a barnacled opera queen once told me his two part recipe for a happy death. Decency forbids I should mention component number two, but it was to be administered immediately after seeing a first-rate production of Der Rosenkavalier. I've lost track of the OQ in question, but should he be still among us, he should get his saggy ass to Vancouver, where there are well-equipped specialists from whom he might procure one of his requirements, and a season opener from the Vancouver Opera that will provide the other.

This was the opera's first production in Vancouver, and it was well worth the wait. This was a fabulous night in the theatre: in the house, on the stage, and in the pit.

Stage director David Gately managed to keep the three long acts focused and lively, a great study in the art of creating tension and release.

Hearing the three leading women sing the gorgeous "Trio" that's Rosenkavalier's extended musical climax, I was struck by how the Vancouver Opera has achieved a new maturity. It was a transcendant moment. You could have died happy.

— The Georgia Straight



The challenge of this opera is that it must find a way to maintain its dignity and still touch our hearts in the midst of so much playfulness. Strauss was up to his elbows in merry pranks in Rosenkavalier, from characters to music, and this production plays its farce to the hilt. Director David Gately makes us laugh a lot and gives us plenty to look at, choreographing Strauss's score almost as if it were a ballet. Gately moves his singers around the stage extremely deftly; nobody just stands there and sings.

— The Globe and Mail