Despite being married to an American I clearly don’t get to the United States often enough – this was my first encounter with The Metropolitan Orchestra of New York for more than forty years, the last time being for an all-Stravinsky gala conducted by James Levine in February 1984. This time, for their long overdue Proms debut, and for the first of their two concerts, they brought Richard Strauss to London – and it was magnificent. The Met Orchestra might not have the big sound of, say, New York or Cleveland, but for sheer radiance and beauty of sound (not to say the individuality of its soloists) this orchestra stands comparison with the best.
Richard Strauss is, of course, deeply ingrained within this orchestra’s performance history and it was the first half of this concert which played to their operatic side with excerpts from Der Rosenkavalier and Salome. Attributed to Artur Rodziński, the martinet conductor, the suite to Der Rosenkavalier dates from 1944. Beginning with the Act 1 Prelude, it takes us into the arrival of Octavian in Act 2, the waltz, ‘Ohne mich’, to the famous Trio from Act 3, the love duet between Octavian and Sophie and a final recapitulation of Och’s waltz to end the suite in rousing style. Arguably, Rodziński’s climax is clumsy – the segueing of the waltzes done with some lack of finesse – but the quality of the music is incomparable. Yannick Nézet-Séguin got rubato spot on for much of the waltzes, there was little lingering or out of tempo phrasing. The playing of the orchestra was exceptional too – so in the Silver Rose Scene the oboe and clarinet were ravishing. A majestic trumpet solo (representing the consignment of the rose) was superb and if the Trio (with a sweeping climax) made one yearn for voices Nézet-Séguin allowed the Met strings to soar just enough to cover their absence. It was undeniably beautifully done – although the ending was perhaps a tad too garish for my taste.
The Final Scene from Salome, sang by the South African soprano Elza van den Heever, found the Met Orchestra on an even firmer footing. This was a torrential, visceral performance with van den Heever in impassioned voice – indeed, she was often bloodcurdling as she sang of kissing Jokanaan’s severed head. Her voice – singing in impeccable German – was rich, mahogany coloured, sweeping over the orchestra with majestic power. “Ah! Du wolltest mich…” had tremendous force – though perhaps not with the dimensions or sonorities I remember from Cheryl Studer and Sinopoli live in Berlin. Nézet-Séguin drew powerful, expressionist playing from the orchestra, though it never overwhelmed his soloist – and so compelling was van den Heever often the focus was entirely on her: a searing performance, that glorified the horror of this music.
Ein Heldenleben can be a problematic work – undoubted masterpiece that it is – and much of its problems stem from tempo choices. Yannick Nézet-Séguin took a comparatively fleet view of it – except when he allowed his orchestra off the reins in the most compelling way, often by allowing them to sound ravishing in a way few orchestras have this season at the Proms. This was most notable in the longest section of the work – ‘The Hero’s Companion’ – which was just glorious. I’m not sure I have heard a more affecting or more incandescent violin solo than I did here from Benjamin Bowman – seductive and amorous it preceded a simply fabulous love scene of rapturous intensity; the Met strings were just magnificent.
Such fleetness didn’t work, however, in the equally beautiful ‘The Hero’s Works of Peace’ where the tempo seemed too driven – that wonderful passage where Strauss draws together themes from Don Juan, Death and Transfiguration and Macbeth over muted cellos and harps failed to grip in the way it might have. Conversely, ‘The Hero’s Battlefield’ had been too pedestrian, and not menacing enough – though the playing of the orchestra was exceptionally fine in itself. Greatness returned, however, in the final section of the work with a marvellous duet between the solo violin and solo horn (Erik Ralske) which showed the orchestra again at their very best.
There was a single encore (Strauss’s ‘Zueignung’), which despite a memory lapse halfway through by Elza van den Heever (it was re-started), was as opulent as one could have wished for.
Marc Bridle
PROMS 2026: The Met Orchestra Plays Strauss
Richard Strauss: Der Rosenkavalier (attrib. Rodziński)– suite; Salome – final scene; Ein Heldenleben
Elza van den Heever (soprano); The Met Orchestra; Yannick Nézet-Séguin (conductor)
The Proms, Royal Albert Hall, 26 August 2026
All photos © BBC/Chris Christodoulou