Video: Anthony Tommasini on 'Der Rosenkavalier' A few readers also agreed about another overwhelming moment in music, the passage toward the end of Strauss's opera "Der Rosenkavalier" when the Marschallin sings a resigned "Ja, Ja" as she walks out of the life of her much younger lover, Octavian, and out of the opera. Here is my take on it.