Act I takes place in the Marschallin’s bedroom. The Marschallin is an aristocratic lady aged 32. She has a lover, a young boy aged 17 called Octavian. When the opera starts, we first hear an orchestral prologue. The music suggests that the Marschallin and Octavian are making love. Then the curtain opens and we see the two together. They hear a noise and the Marschallin thinks her husband is coming, so Octavian hides. It is not her husband, but her cousin Baron Ochs. Ochs is a very rude man with bad manners. He marches in to the Marschallin’s room although the servants had asked him to wait. Octavian manages to change his clothes and appears dressed as a maid called Mariandel. Ochs thinks “she” is pretty and wants “her” to meet him. Then he tells the Marschallin what he has come for: he wants a young knight to deliver the silver rose to his bride Sophie. He also needs a notary to sign the legal documents of the wedding. Ochs sings about the fun of making love. He wishes he were like Jupiter who was able to disguise himself in many ways.