Opera guides
Der Rosenkavalier: synopsis, roles, arias and diction notes
Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier in one page: librettist, premiere, voice types, the silver rose plot act by act, key musical numbers and German diction notes.
Diction Desk editors · Checked 19 October 2026 against 6 sources
Der Rosenkavalier is a German-language opera by Richard Strauss to a libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal, premiered on 26 January 1911 in Dresden under Ernst von Schuch1. It is set in 1740s Vienna and turns on a silver rose carried to a bride-to-be by a young count, sung by a mezzo-soprano en travesti1,5.
- Composer
- Richard Strauss, 1864 to 19496
- Premiere
- 26 January 1911, Dresden, conducted by Ernst von Schuch1
- Language
- German1
- Setting
- Vienna in the 1740s, early in the reign of Maria Theresa1
- Octavian
- A mezzo-soprano en travesti, aged 17 in the story1
Contents
Der Rosenkavalier asks for a soprano, a mezzo-soprano en travesti, a high soprano and a bass, and its plot is a tangle of disguises that you should know cold before the first rehearsal. This page covers the facts to check first, one of the guides in the operas section.
At a glance
Richard Strauss, a German composer and conductor, lived from 1864 to 19496. His librettist Hugo von Hofmannsthal was an Austrian novelist, librettist, poet and dramatist who lived from 1874 to 19292. The libretto is in German1. The opera is set in Vienna in the 1740s, in the first years of the reign of Empress Maria Theresa1. Until the premiere the working title was Ochs auf Lerchenau1.
The story is a complex tangle of machinations to pair the young lovers Octavian and Sophie while distracting the oafish and predatory Baron Ochs4. Strauss’s opening music is also a wry look at Wagner4.
Who’s who
| Role | Voice type | Premiere singer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Marschallin, Princess Marie Therese von Werdenberg | Soprano | Margarethe Siems | Octavian’s lover1 |
| Octavian, Count Rofrano | Mezzo-soprano (en travesti) | Eva von der Osten | Her 17-year-old lover, known as Quinquin1 |
| Baron Ochs auf Lerchenau | Bass | Karl Perron | The Marschallin’s overbearing and crude cousin1,5 |
| Sophie von Faninal | High soprano or soubrette | Minnie Nast | The young woman Ochs intends to marry1,5 |
Ochs is a nobleman with little money, and he intends to marry the rich bourgeois Sophie5.
Synopsis
Act 1
The Marschallin and her young lover Octavian have spent the night together3. A tenor sent by the Portuguese ambassador serenades her1. The Marschallin recognizes the voice of her overbearing and crude cousin, Baron Ochs5. Ochs must find a well-born messenger to present a perfumed silver rose to his bride5. The Marschallin mischievously recommends Count Rofrano, Octavian, for the job, and Ochs agrees5.
Octavian reappears disguised as a chambermaid, “Mariandel”, just before Ochs arrives3. Ochs propositions “Mariandel”, who evades him and flees as soon as possible3. The Marschallin ponders her waning youth and the unhappiness of her forced marriage1. She sends Octavian away and then realizes she has forgotten to kiss him goodbye3.
Act 2
Octavian arrives with great pomp, dressed all in silver, and presents the silver rose to Sophie1. Sophie smells the scented oil of the silver rose in the Presentation of the Rose scene4. Octavian and Sophie fall in love on the spot1.
Act 3
The setting is a private room in a shabby inn1. Fed up with the Baron, Valzacchi and Annina help Octavian prepare a trap for the next evening1. Ochs arrives with “Mariandl”, ready for a cozy dinner at a table set for two1. He attempts to seduce the chambermaid but is unnerved by her resemblance to Octavian3. Annina, in disguise, enters with a gaggle of children and claims that Ochs is her husband3. Octavian secretly lets the Police Inspector in on the plot3.
The Police Inspector greets the Marschallin before clearing the room, and she explains to the Baron that he has been fooled1. Octavian emerges in his own clothes, and Ochs finally comprehends the truth3. The Marschallin introduces herself to Sophie, recognizing that the day she feared has come, and releases Octavian to be with the woman he loves1. Ochs ingloriously departs, pursued by children and bill collectors1.
The famous numbers
| Number | Role | Act | First line |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monologue on waning youth | Marschallin | Act 1 | Da geht er hin…1 |
| Italian tenor aria at the levee | Singer sent by the Portuguese ambassador | Act 1 | Di rigori armato il seno1,5 |
| Trio | Marschallin, Sophie, Octavian | Act 3 | Marie Theres’! / Hab’ mir’s gelobt1 |
| Original | Our translation |
|---|---|
| Da geht er hin…1 | There he goes… |
| Marie Theres’!1 | Marie Theres’! (her own name, shortened) |
| Hab’ mir’s gelobt1 | I swore it to myself. |
| Di rigori armato il seno1 | His breast armed against severity |
The Italian aria makes time stand still for a moment during the Marschallin’s morning ritual5. Hofmannsthal died in 1929 and Strauss in 1949, so both texts are long in the public domain2,6.
Background, premiere and reception
Strauss was impressed by Hofmannsthal’s play Elektra (1903) and adapted it into an opera that premiered on 25 January 19091. Their partnership is often likened to Mozart’s three operas with Lorenzo da Ponte, and it was unique in opera4. Strauss and Hofmannsthal were among the five founders of the Salzburg Festival in 19204. Hofmannsthal died young, at age 55, in 19294.
Der Rosenkavalier premiered on 26 January 1911 in Dresden under Ernst von Schuch, and tickets reportedly sold out almost immediately1. Within two months of the premiere the work was translated into Italian and performed at La Scala1. The United Kingdom premiere took place at the Royal Opera House in London on 29 January 19131. It was the most popular opera of Strauss’s lifetime and remains a staple of the repertoire1. Compare the Mozart model in Le nozze di Figaro.
Language and diction notes
The libretto is German, so the rules in German diction for singers apply from the first line. The Italian tenor aria needs a switch to Italian diction for one number. Octavian sings en travesti, so the mezzo-soprano plays a young man and, in Acts 1 and 3, a chambermaid disguise on top of that1,3.
For another German-language opera, try Hansel und Gretel.
