Rosenkavalier

Baron von Lerchenau - Der Rosenkavelier - Richard Strauss

Rosenkavelier was the result of Richard Strauss’ request of his librettist, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, for a comic story. Strauss was tired of drama after writing Salome and Elektra. He and Hofmannsthal had adapted Hofmannsthal’s drama Elektra, creating a one-act opera first produced in Dresden in 1909. Hofmannsthal struggled to find a story that he could submit to Strauss, originally trying to write a libretto about Casanova, a subject he had been interested in since 1898.

He corresponded with Count Harry Clément Ulrich Kessler, an Anglo-German aesthete, publisher, art collector, world traveler, writer, part-time diplomat, and socialite. Kessler traveled throughout Europe meeting the greatest artists of the day, attending premieres and performances of plays and operas, and was sometime known to advise young artists. Kessler offered suggestions for the Casanova play, but knowing of Strauss’ request went on to suggest the story of L'ingenu libertin (1907) by Louis Artus and Claude Terrasse, which Kessler saw during the 1907-8 season at the Theatre des Bouffes-Parisiens. It was based on an old story that included a cross-dressing character, similar to Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro. Kessler and Hofmannsthal developed a scenario over seven days and sent it to Strauss, who accepted it immediately. He did make some minor changes while working on it, like adding the heavenly duet of the two lovers after the trio in Act III.

The 2nd act of L'ingenu libertin takes place at a country inn. Hofmannsthal, Strauss and Kessler moved this scene to the final act of Rosenkavalier. In this scene Baron Ochs auf Lerchenau has made an assignation with Mariandel, who is really Octavian disguised as the Marschallin’s maid. Octavian creates a surprise for him by hiring Valzacchi and Annina, two Italian intriguers, who were present in act I’s reception scene in the Marschallin’s quarters. They have hidden apparitions around the inn and a fake Ochs family who appear calling him papa. The time setting for Rosenkavalier is 1740, at the beginning of the reign of the Empress Maria Theresa, and this inn would be one in what would now be the suburbs of Vienna. I found an inn that existed at that time. Och’s inn could have looked like the Altes Presshaus in the heart of the wine-growing town of Dürnstein. Here are pictures showing how it looks today. In the opera, it is generally a bit grander than this but it gives you a good idea of the style of the times.

The meeting between Mariandel and Baron Ochs is over dinner at the inn. The Baron knows there is a bed in an alcove of the dining room and hopes that the dinner will end there. The question is what would they have been serving him at the inn in 1740. I was lucky enough to discover a new translation of an Austrian cookbook that was published in 1736. It was at the beginning of Maria Theresa’s reign, and the French influence that she imported in food had probably not started yet. Baron Ochs was a minor impoverished nobleman, but was still probably used to a many-course dinner. Though a lowly inn, the cooks were probably preparing many of the staples of a baroque dinner. Soup of all kinds were an important part of every dinner. This love of soup continued, and Beethoven is quoted as saying, “Whoever tells a lie is not pure of heart, and such a person can not cook a clean soup.”

Maria Theresa and Francis Wedding Breakfast, by Martin van Meytens

Maria Theresa of Austria, by Vincenzo Giannini

Fish was very important in Baroque times because of Lenten fasting. Maria Theresa demanded that fish be eaten on Friday, Saturday and on all fasting days. Fish eaten at the time in Austria included char, trout, carp, Danube salmon, bulkhead catfish, burbot, beluga sturgeon, pike and dried cod. Oysters were a delicacy in the court often imported from Venice. Fish, though, was very expensive, so here it was probably not a fish from Venice but a locally caught fish like pike.

Other courses included meats, though not necessarily pork as it was not popular in Austria at the time. One reason given was that you can’t get milk, butter, cheese or wool from a pig. Wallowing in mud and eating refuse made people think the pig unclean. So meat would have been either beef, lamb or veal. Poultry was very popular and would certainly have been part of the meal. It is said that Mozart’s favorite dish was capon. Goethe lived on fowl and called the other meats coarse. Game birds were also popular and could be found in markets. Small portions were served. Men got legs, women wings.

Pies and dishes largely made of flour were also part of the baroque table. Mehlspeisen, flour dishes like noodles, cake or pancakes, were mostly meatless and were often sweet. The absence of meat made them perfect fasting foods. Pies in the Baroque period had become the pinnacle of cuisine. They consist of a flaky pastry filled with a mixture of meat, bacon, offal or a ragout spiced with salt, pepper, cardamom, mace, ginger and cloves. Sweet pies didn’t really reach Austria until the 19th century.

At the beginning of the 3rd Act Valzacchi, Annina and Octavian are preparing the scene for the arrival of the Baron. A buffet has been set up with the food and wine. Waiters are helping, but when the Baron arrives he tells them to leave and let his valet serve him. The Baron offers Mariandel (Octavian) wine which she at first refuses but then pretends to be very drunk. The comedy begins, but we wonder what food could have been laid out there. I have to credit “Baroque Coking 1740 - Authentic Austrian recipes from the time of Empress Maria Theresa by Adi Bittermann and Katharina Pischnig”” for the suggestions of food and the recipes.

I would have proposed this dinner if I was the landlord of the inn

Click on the recipe name for complete recipe.

Der Rosenkavalier Act 3: Marchallin - Elisabeth Schwarzkopf; Octavian - Sena Jurinac; Sophie - Anneliese Rothenberger; Baron Ochs - Otto Edelmann; Conductor - Herbert von Karajan; Salzburg Mozarteum Orchestra

Crayfish soup - A pea stock with sautéd crayfish
Poached Pike on horseradish sauce - Pike would be a cheaper local fish
Capon pie with sauerkraut, bratwurst and smoked ribs - The favorite fowl of Mozart, cooked in a pie
Boiled beef with cucumber - Tafelspitze is still a popular dish in Vienna and its suburbs, such as the heurigers of Grinzing.
Bacon dumplings
Linzer Tart - The Linzer tart first appeared at the beginning of the 18th century.

All recipes and images of the cooked dish are from

Baroque Cooking 1740 - Authentic Austrian recipes from the time of Empress Marie Therese.

This can be purchased here: https://www.geschichte-kunst.at/en/books/baroque-cooking-1740

OperasDavid AnchelMarch 26, 20191 Comment