Conductor Stuart Stratford’s Strauss Collection expertly blended fragments of Richard Strauss’ operas to create a wonderful two hours that captured the composer’s essence. Outstanding curation, stellar individual performances, and a remarkable orchestra combined to produce such a wonderful evening.
The evening started with an excerpt from Ariadne auf Naxos, the Composer refusing to compromise his vision of the opera, until faced with harsh economic truths and the charms of a young woman. Stratford stepped in at this point and gave a speech that detailed Strauss’ unique use of the orchestral sections and instruments; comparing him to Mozart and highlighting the subtle yet crucial differences, made for a far more accessible evening and removed any looks of thorough confusion (namely my flatmate’s!).
The remaining hour and a half saw snippets from Arabella (which follows a destitute noble family seeking to save their fortunes by marrying off one daughter, while the other dresses as a boy to save money) and Der Rosenkavalier (exploring the effects of the throes of love on the Marschallin and her teenage lover Octavian).
An incredible range of human emotion was captured through the three excerpts alongside the overarching quest for a universal emotional truth. From passion and sensuality in Der Rosenkavalier to existential philosophical searching in Ariadne auf Naxos, the outstanding performances from Helena Dix and Hannah Hipp infused these characters with a very real vulnerability.
While it was an indulgence to see the orchestra out of the pit, it perhaps resulted in infrequent overshadowing of the vocal talent and a difficulty in hearing them. Combined with the, again infrequent, technical difficulties, left a little to be desired, but it was a beautiful homage to Strauss and was a shame that the audience was so sparse to not better celebrate it.
Image via Scottish Opera