San Diego Opera’s bustling production of Richard Strauss’s comic opera Der Rosenkavalier, which opened Sunday (April 3) at Civic Theatre, captured its humor and burlesque in spades. But in spite of all those opening and slamming of doors in the final act, this Strauss opera is no farce, and it has remained an audience favorite for the last 100 years because the composer adroitly wove his philosophical musings about love and temporality into the comedic fabric.

At those poignant moments of reflection and insight, when the activity on stage calms and the composer’s lush orchestration shimmers in the pit, the San Diego cast did not deliver the rich emotional rewards we rightly expect from a great Rosenkavalier. But even a good Rosenkavalier is worth the four-hour marathon, especially with the San Diego Symphony playing at top form under the acute direction of the German conductor Christof Perick.

When first announced, this production boasted the German soprano Anja Harteros and Italian bass Ferruccio Furlanetto in the leading roles of the Marschallin and Baron Ochs, a dream team in any opera-lover’s book. Along the way, both of these singers dropped out, causing other members of the cast to dub this production Der Rosen-cancelier.

The other two previously announced lead singers, mezzo-soprano Anke Vondung as Octavian and Italian soprano Patrizia Ciofi as Sophie, turned out to be highly rewarding discoveries in their local debuts. From the outset, Vondung’s full, radiant mezzo commanded attention, with a security in her highest range that could make any soprano jealous. At first, Ciofi’s lighter voice seemed slight, but as the opera progressed, her silvery, immaculately focused vocal line proved it could soar gracefully and forcefully above Strauss’ mighty orchestral fortes.

In the ardent closing duet between Vondung and Ciofi, their beautifully matched timbres and palpable emotional chemistry revealed what was missing in the rest of the opera. Granted this was American soprano Twyla Robinson’s first Marschallin—I could hear the potential of a compelling Marschallin in her voice—she was too contained and vocally cautious to make the resignation of the grand lady compelling.

It was hard not to like English bass-baritone Andrew Greenan’s Baron Ochs, the gauche country cousin of the Marschallin on whose bumptious behavior the entire plot turns. Strauss’s adept librettist Hugo von Hofmannstahl gave his character the perfect name: Baron Ochs auf Lerchenau, which means “Baron Ox-in-the-meadow.” Greenan’s potent voice filled the cavernous Civic Theatre without straining or barking, and he even managed to evoke mild sympathy for his outlandish character, especially in the final act when all of the clueless Baron’s schemes come to naught. German baritone Hans-Joachim Ketelsen, however, gave a blustery, one-note interpretation to Herr von Faninal, the pretentious rich merchant who believes that marrying his only daughter Sophie to the Baron will give him access to the elite Viennese ruling classes.

Stephen Costello’s cameo appearance as the unnamed singer who performs an Italian aria at the Marschallin’s levee was nothing less than heavenly. Costello made a smashing local debut last season in Gounod’s Romeo and Juliet and will return to the Civic Theatre later this month in the title role of that composer’s Faust. Even if you don’t give a fig about opera, you should attend a performance of that production just to be able to say “I heard Costello sing on his way to the top.”

Bass stalwart Kevin Langan, who has been gracing the San Diego Opera stage for nearly three decades, sang both the Police Commissioner and the Notary with customary brio and authority. In the two character roles (although in this opera, nearly everyone is a “character role”) of the Italian informants Valzacchi and Annina, tenor Joel Sorensen and contralto Helene Schneiderman bordered on arch in their characterizations, but their spirited vocal lines carried well. I particularly enjoyed Schneiderman’s coy choreography around the frugal Baron as she attempted to extract payment for her services.

Stage director Lotfi Mansouri certainly knew his way around this production, a Thierry Bosquet scenic and costume design he had commissioned for San Francisco Opera when he was still its General Director. Mansouri clarified the antics of the opening act, especially the crowded levee scene, keeping our attention directed to the dramatic action without the host of accessory players getting in the way, a virtue he also brought to antics of the last act in the country inn. If only he could have done something to counteract the tedium of the protracted negotiations of the second act, although the real culprit is von Hofmannstahl, who wrote elaborately, expecting the composer to make cuts right and left. Strauss surprised him and carefully set every word of his libretto!

Bosquet based his 18^th-century vaguely rococo set and costume designs on those of the original 1911 Dresden premiere, although they appear rather sparse by today’s standards of period authenticity, filled with copious detail. Perhaps Franco Zeffirelli has corrupted any contemporary appreciation of simplicity.

As in every curtain call, the conductor is the last person called out for applause. Perick drew a consistently opulent texture from the orchestra, especially the wind sections, on which Strauss lavished profuse solos. Although the score exhibits unabashed symphonic aspirations, Perick never allowed its richness to overpower the singers. It was the invisible star of the show, stealing the scene only when the singers should have worked harder to equal the instrumental prowess below them.

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