We laughed, we cried. No, seriously.

Last night, Seattlest was a cliché. We sat and sobbed through the entire Seattle Opera production of Richard Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier.

Strauss's music is lush, lush, lush, and the SO orchestra played it masterfully under the sure hand of conductor Asher Fisch. The music seems to be Richard's homage to the other Strauss, Johann Jr., as it is full of rich Viennese waltzes. The music alone is swoon-worthy, but when combined with the text, it pushes us over the edge.

In the world of opera, it is rare to find rational expressions of love. The real world doesn't exist on the opera stage. More than one character has been known to say, "I know I just met you, but you are the love of my life!" And, "I've never even seen him, but his voice made me fall in love with him!" People sing as they die. There are all kinds of cases of mistaken identity. It's unreal, it's escapist, and that's a major reason people love it.

Der Rosenkavalier, however, is an exception. The opera's emotional center is the Marschallin, an older woman having an affair with Octavian, a 17-year-old boy. She comes to terms with the passage of time, and with the inevitable fact that, though Octavian loves her, he will leave her for a younger, prettier woman. Octavian doesn't understand this.

Then he meets Sophie. His world is turned upside down; they fall in love. The Marschallin was right. At the end of the opera, Octavian is torn between the two women he loves, not wanting to betray or hurt either one. The Marschallin consciously lets Octavian go, and tells him to go to Sophie. It is rational, it is sane, and it is utterly heartbreaking.

As the Marschallin, Carol Vaness was good. She had a bit of trouble finding the emotional depth of the Marschallin, but was effective and interacted well with the woman playing Octavian, Alice Coote. This was Vaness's first portrayal of the Marschallin, and we think it's a good starting point. She talked with Ed Hawkins about preparing the role, and you can read that interview here.

Coote was fabulous. Her portrayal of Octavian was so honest that we had no trouble believing she was a man. Her voice was rich and lustrous from top to bottom, and her acting was fantastic, especially when she pretended to be the Marschallin's chambermaid (a plot point we won't go into here).

Also fabulous were Julianne Gearhart as Sophie and Peter Rose as Baron Ochs (the Marschallin’s cousin and Sophie's betrothed – another plot point we won't go into here). Gearhart was convincing as an innocent young woman, and Rose was hilarious as a lecherous older man.

All the singers carried their parts with conviction and grace. We could easily cry again thinking of how the Marschallin lets Octavian go to Sophie: "I promised to love him in the best way, even loving his love for another."

If Der Rosenkavalier is any indication, this SO season will be magnificent. Buy tickets for Der Rosenkavalier here, and season tickets here.