Cinema
Der Rosenkavalier
Robert Wiene · 1926
Synopsis
Vienna, in the time of Maria Theresa. While her husband, the Field Marshal, is away at war, the Marschallin consoles herself with the young Octavian. Her cousin, Baron Ochs, wants to marry the daughter of a rich merchant, and it is Octavian whom she appoints to bring the bride-to-be the silver rose of betrothal. The film also shows the Field Marshal on the battlefield, which the opera did not do.
Context
Filming began on 18 June 1925 at the theatre of Schönbrunn Palace and lasted, with interruptions caused by the weather, until the last days of August. The screenplay, credited to the librettist, also owes something to Wiene and to Ludwig Nerz, and adds scenes absent from the stage work. The composer arranged his score for orchestra, worked into it pages from other works, and himself conducted the première, on 10 January 1926, at the Dresden Opera, where the work had been first performed fifteen years earlier, then the London première, in April. The last reel is lost; what is missing is evoked by production photographs.
Who it is for
A silent film designed to be played with a large orchestra, whose projectionist set the projection speed by the conductor. It is best seen as a film-concert.
Prizes and reception
Restored by the Filmarchiv Austria with the Semperoper and Arte, it was screened there again on 6 September 2006, eighty years after its premiere.
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