I had the pleasure of seeing her Rosenkavalier in Berlin a couple of weeks ago. She looks STUNNING, but even more, she is able to command the stage in a way that you always suspected she might if she were smaller. The production was a little ugly, but not Debbie!

No *American* Feldmarschallin commands the stage (and the idiom) in this role like Cheryl Studer does. Full stop.

http://www.andante.com/article/article.cfm?id=21850

By Frank Cadenhead

Cheryl Studer (soprano) - the Feldmarschallin
Katharina Kammerloher (mezzo-soprano) - Octavian
Camilla Tilling (soprano) - Sophie
Franz Hawlata (bass) - Baron Ochs
Eike Wilm Schulte (baritone) - Faninal
Irmgard Vilsmaier (soprano) - Marianne Lietmetzerin
Ulrich Ress (tenor) - Valzacchi
Anne Pellekoorne (contralto) - Annina
Gerhard Auer (baritone) - Police Commissioner
Hermann Sapell (tenor) - the Marschallin's Major-domo
Francesco Petrozzi (tenor) - Faninal's Major-domo
Hans Wilbrink (baritone) - Notary
Francesco Petrozzi (tenor) - Innkeeper
Eduardo Villa (tenor) - Italian Singer

Orchestra and Chorus of the Bavarian State Opera
Peter Schneider (conductor)
Otto Schenk (original director)
J?rgen Rose (revival director)

Friday 25 July 2003
Nationaltheater, Munich
A production of the Bavarian State Opera
presented under the auspices of the 2003 Munich Opera Festival

The 2003 Munich Opera Festival's Rosenkavalier was, for once, not a
David Alden production. It was a reminder of the Bavarian State
Opera's fabled past, a revival by J?rgen Rose of Otto Schenk's classic

1972 production. Now 31 years old, this ornate staging is widely known
through the 1979 video under Carlos Kleiber's baton; it now has a
stately dark patina, much like an old painting. As with the Paris
Op?ra's 30-year-old Georgio Strehler production of Le nozze di Figaro
and Franco Zeffirelli's lavish stagings of Puccini for the
Metropolitan in New York, Schenk's Munich Rosenkavalier is a familiar
face always popular with the public.

When an opera company's general manager steps in front of the curtain
before a performance, it usually means bad news. But when State Opera
Intendant Peter Jonas appeared here, there were no groans or
expressions of dismay, even though he was announcing substitute
singers for the key roles of Octavian and Sophie. Fortunately, at this
time of year Salzburg, a mere two-hour drive south on the Autobahn, is
chock-full of operatic talent for him to raid.

Young mezzo Katharina Kammerloher, a hometown girl, had been scheduled
to make her Munich debut on 31 July as Magdalena in Die Meistersinger.
But Kristine Jepson fell ill and Kammerloher found herself suddenly
thrust into Octavian's trousers. She acquitted herself well, singing
with self-assurance and theatrical impact. Her voice seemed to lack
richness in the lower range, so one wonders if she is still
considering her proper vocal category. Camilla Tilling, also making
her State Opera debut (and filling in for Rosemary Joshua), was a
fresh, youthful Sophie with all the power needed to reach the dramatic
and music heights Strauss demands. I first saw her in Montreux a few
summers before singing John Dowland for a small audience; she has
developed into a formidable singing talent capable of lighting up a
big-city stage.

Cheryl Studer was more a muscular than a reflective Marschallin, but
her security and elegance of vocal line were a pleasure to hear.
Baritone Franz Hawlata, often seen in Baron Och's costume these days,
brought detailed characterization and rich vocal gifts to the role.
Eduardo Villa sang the Italian Singer's aria with Mediterranean warmth
but came to grief on the challenging high notes. The other secondary
cast members were without fault and contributed seamlessly to the
drama.

Conductor Peter Schneider started Act I with little Straussian wit,
charm or tenderness in evidence. Fortunately, he fell ultimately under
the spell of this irresistible confection, giving the Presentation of
the Rose and all of Act III the requisite grace and pizzazz.

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http://www.operajaponica.org/archives/milan/milanletterpast03.htm

By Silvia Luraghi

La Scala presented its second opera this season at the Arcimboldi
theater - Der Rosenkavalier, conducted by Jeffrey Tate, in a 1996
production from the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa. Soprano Adrianne
Pieczonka, who sang the Marschallin on the first night, fell ill
immediately thereafter; since apparently no cover had been contracted
in advance, the company had to find various replacements at the last
moment, including Cheryl Studer, Brigitte Hahn and Elizabeth
Whitehouse. Cheryl Studer came in for one performance only, on January
21, 2003 and proved that the role suits her very well at this point in
her career. In spite of the short notice, she fitted perfectly in the
production and sang securely, giving an authoritative performance.

As Octavian, mezzo Kristine Jepson was also very effective, and sang
with youthful impetus. She proved especially remarkable in the last
act, where she found a perfect partner in Laura Aikin, a lovely
Sophie. Kurt Rydl has sang the role of Baron Ochs a big number of
times and his account of the role is complete. All supporting roles
were well cast, including the Italian singer, Tito Beltran, who looked
and sounded exactly how Strauss thought an Italian singer should look
and sound. The Pierluigi Pizzi production featured traditional sets
turning on a rotating platform, that allowed changes from the
Marschallin's bedroom to her living room and other settings without
interrupting the action. In the pit Jeffrey Tate gave a lively though
appropriately melancholy reading of the score.