Der Rosenkavalier

The popularity of Der Rosenkavalier was such following its premiere at the Semperoper Dresden in 1911 that, with the advent of silent cinema, a film version of the story was produced. Richard Strauss himself created the soundtrack for this film, which premiered at the Semperoper in 1926 with the composer conducting the orchestra. A great Marschallin, such as Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, thanked Victoria for not having sung the role of Marie-Thérèse in a heartfelt letter at the end of their careers; as early as 1947, Victoria had received an offer from the Liceu to sing Octavian. Strauss played an important role in the early stages of her career and, indeed, Victoria was responsible for the Italian premiere of Ariadne auf Naxos at Teatro alla Scala in 1949, performing the title role. What would have happened if Victoria had performed the title role of Der Rosenkavalier? We propose this impossible dialogue with Strauss's work, where cinema, opera, music, Elisabeth, and Victoria engage in an endless Straussian mirror game.