[Met Performance] CID:176730
Der Rosenkavalier {166} Metropolitan Opera House: 01/9/1958.
(Review)
Metropolitan Opera House
January 9, 1958
DER ROSENKAVALIER {166}
Octavian.....................Mildred Miller
Princess von Werdenberg......Lisa Della Casa
Baron Ochs...................Otto Edelmann
Sophie.......................Laurel Hurley
Faninal......................Ralph Herbert
Annina.......................Margaret Roggero
Valzacchi....................Alessio De Paolis
Italian Singer...............Kurt Baum
Marianne.....................Thelma Votipka
Mahomet......................Marsha Warren
Princess' Major-domo.........Robert Nagy
Orphan.......................Madelaine Chambers
Orphan.......................Emilia Cundari
Orphan.......................Helen Vanni
Milliner.....................Mildred Allen
Animal Vendor................Gabor Carelli
Hairdresser..................Steve Wiland
Notary.......................Gerhard Pechner
Leopold......................Rudolf Mayreder
Faninal's Major-domo.........Charles Anthony
Innkeeper....................Paul Franke
Police Commissioner..........Osie Hawkins
Conductor....................Karl Böhm
Review signed R. A. E. in Musical America
Laurel Hurley took over the role of Sophie for the first time at the Metropolitan in this performance and Mildred Miller the role of Octavian for the first time this season. Together with Lisa Della Casa, as the Marschallin, and Otto Edelmann, as Baron Ochs, they headed a highly satisfactory cast in a performance superbly conducted by Karl Boehm.
Miss Miller was a most handsome Octavian, full of the ardor of youth, almost boyish, and adopting Mariandl's masquerade with a restraint that increased its comic effectiveness. There was a fresh, unblemished glow to her voice and a purity of intonation that made her contributions to the final trio and duet faultless.
As might have been expected, Miss Hurley was a thoroughly delightful Sophie. The character's various emotions and facets - ecstasy, rebelliousness, occasional bourgeois commonness, timidity - were fully comprehended and conveyed. The voice was always lovely and frequently ravishing in Sophie's exquisite, high-lying phrases. With Miss Miller she made the final duet seem perfection itself. Margaret Roggero, singing the role for the first time at the Metropolitan, was a most engaging Annina, a graceful figure in the waltz scene at the end of Act II, and she brought a rich, sizable voice to the music.