"The Rosenkavalier," the first collaborative work by Richard Strauss and Hugo von Hofmannsthal, is the most performed German-language opera of the 20th century. The title suggests something beautiful and festive, but The Rosenkavalier is much more than just a Viennese masquerade: farewell, renunciation, the pain of separation, and the happiness of young love are themes that make the work resonate anew for every generation of audiences and performers. Music journalists Marianne Zelger-Vogt and Heinz Kern introduce the opera and its background, and conductor Franz Welser-Möst, who has a special connection to the work, also shares his insights.