Strauss: Der Rosenkavalier

While this first revival of Richard Jones' 2014 Der Rosenkavalier may not have ironed out its glitches, that doesn't preclude it from earning five stars. Few theatrical evenings can lay claim to perfection, but what raises this one is the elation it engenders through radiant performances and stagecraft. When the exploration of a young man's progress from cougar's beau to age-appropriate lover is sung as well as it is here, the final trio, at once ecstatic and autumnal, becomes a drip-feed of euphoria.