Richard Strauss - 100 years Rosenkavalier.
Installation for the exhibition
in the State Hall of the Austrian National Library
from 6 November 2010 - 6 March 2011
"Like everything in the play - real and invented at the same time..."
Concept for the room installation: Christof Cremer
In the opera "Der Rosenkavalier" by Richard Strauss, based on the libretto by Hugo von Hoffmannsthal, the self-knowledge of the main character, the field marshal, about her own transience, forms the central motif. The librettist indicates Vienna as the place of action and the first years of Empress Maria Theresa's reign as the time of action. This corresponds approximately to the construction period of the ceremonial hall; thus, the ceremonial hall could be one of the venues of the opera. In the middle of the ceremonial hall a mirrored pedestal is built around the sculpture of Emperor Charles. The platform beach is equipped with all figurines by Alfred Roller for the world premiere of the Rosenkavalier. Four person constellations are simulated on the mirrored pedestal. These are the four central scenes of the opera. The figures revolve around themselves, the viewer sees Roller's figure on the one hand and then sees himself, because the back of each figure is also mirrored. The viewer can slip into the characters of the opera and at the same time understand the self-knowledge of the field marshal. The viewer thus becomes a player. The baroque room is also mirrored in the podium and forms a stage setting, so to speak. Like a music box, the movement of the figures is accompanied by a waltz from the Rosenkavalier as background music.
