"I don't want to set the world on fire":Voigt as Brünnhilde - Götterdämmerung, MET 2012

Voigt as Brünnhilde Met 2012 (Publicity photos) ...

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Wagner's 'Parsifal' Draws 5,000 in 4 Nights in Estonia

Parsifal: "So, do you come here often?"" An audience of around 5,000 applauded the National Opera production of Richard Wagner's opera "Parsifal", performed for the first time ever in Estonia, at the reclaimed Noblessner Foundry on Tallinn's waterfront. Parsifal,...

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Verklärte Nacht, Schoenberg, Sinopoli

Off topic but it is a Bank Holiday after a...

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Watch Now: Beecham: A Play - 1990, Timothy West as Sir Thomas Beecham

I am presently listening to the rather incredible Beecham/Reiner 1937 Tristan und Isolde (Melchior/Flagstad) and doing so came across the following which I thought might be of interest. 1990 TV version of an earlier stage play about the life of conductor...

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Something you don't hear very often Part 1: Wagner's Polonia Overture

PART 1 Part 2 Orchestra of Polish Radio: Kawa...

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DIE WALKÜRE ACT III - ROH 1937 Furtwangler, Brünnhilde-Kirsten Flagstad, Sieglinde-Maria Müller, Wotan-Rudolf Bockelmann.

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Immolation Scene (Varnay, Windgassen, Bayreuth Festival-Keilberth - Stereo 1955

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A New London Ring Cycle? An interview with Ben Woodward

Ben Woodward  Sometimes it would seem that there is a certain level of insanity in those who obsess, as many of us here can seem to do on occasion, over Wagner’s works - or at the very least that there is a certainly level of eccentricity. Go...

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Watch Now: Valery Gergiev - Lizt, Tchaikovsky & Shostakovich

Gergiev, Matsuev, Capuçon in Annecy on medici.t...

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Nike Wagner criticises Bayreuth's new production of Tannhäuser & prophecies the end of a Wagner clan dominated Bayreuth

In an interview in Bunte, Nike Wagner (never shy of criticising Bayreuth it must be said) criticises Bayreuth's new Tannhäuser production (but she would hardly be alone there).While she insists that  not only must...

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Free Tickets: Berliner Philharmoniker, Mahler’s Seventh Symphony, Simon Rattle, Friday 26 August (online)

Don't say the Wagnerian never offers you anything free - well, actually I'm  not offering this just letting you know. These online concerts are normally 9 Euros. But, there are a limited number available now, free in association with Deutsche...

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Katharina's Meistersinger goes off for a rest, next up Tristan

K Wagner: What could she have planned for poor old Tristan and Isolde? Not necessarily news but: Wednesday will not only be the last performance of Katharina's Meistersinger this season but for a while. At the earliest it will be revived in 2016 -...

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Das Rheingold, in a Church, in Fulham? August - Sept 2011

As you may have noticed, I love opera productions - and especially Wagner productions - "off the beaten track". Don't get me wrong, the MET, La Scala, ROH, ENO, Bayreuth, etc, etc, are all fun (and I wouldn't be without them) but some of the...

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Watch Free: Glyndebourne The Turn of the Screw - 6:00pm 21/08/11 and then "On Demand"

Off topic but: For those who are living in a bunker  - The Turn of the Screw live stream from  Glyndebourne starts at 6:00 pm Click here to watch and for more information: The Turn of the Screw And if you miss it today? Not...

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The Wagnerian Weekly: 21/08/11 - Does Klaus Florian Vogt sing in the shower?

Vogt: Does he sing in the shower? As normal, there is much in this that is not covered here on the site. This week includes: The MET asks that the 15 year old "Met Futures" Blog is closed down The Wagnerian provides a Wagner related guide to the...

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Ruhr Triennale: Tristan und Isolde (New Production) August - Sept 2011

Willy Decker Willy Decker's last year as Director sees his new production of Tristan und Isolde. Given, as you no doubt are already aware, his three years have seen the festival concentrate on the theme of  Urmomente (Primal moments)...

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Das Rheingold: An analysis in notes, pictures and sound (full recording plus vocal score plus

This is wonderful. Found on youtube. A full analysis of the leitmotifs plus a vocal score. Pop to youtube and rate it if you like it. Perhaps the author might do the same for the rest of the Rng? ...

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Watch Live: Claudio Abbado and the Lucerne Festival Orchestra - Bruckner 5 and Mozart "Haffner"

Watch Live tonight and on-demand for 30 days there after - free (Starts 18: 30. Press player/image below and countdown timer/play button will display...

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Watch: Der Ring des Nibelungen for children (complete) Mariinsky Opera

This is wonderful - really! If you have children, or grandchildren, sit and watch this with them. Made freely available by Mariinsky Opera on their website. Recorded March this year  I think. Alas, no subtitles - but who needs them....

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Siegfried, The Met, Oct 2011, Overview and documentary of Siegfried's "3d" effects

Nothing really new but the première will soon be upon us and I thought it was time to up the details Lepage, discusses Siegfried plus 3d effects "teaser": Cast Conductor: James Levine Brünnhilde: Deborah Voigt Erda: Patricia...

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The Wagnerian's guide to the Gramophone Classical Music Awards 2011 - Wagner "related" entries only

Yes, it's that time again - Gramphone have announced this years shortlist. Ok, so there isn't any Wagner in the opera category and in one or two places I am having to stretch the definition of "Wagner related" but to save you having to go through the...

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Wagner on opera directors, conductors and artists

With Bayeuth's new "season" near completion there has been much discussion about opera productions -especially productions of Wagner's operas. When discussing the productions of agents provocateurs especially, a recurrent theme or phrase heard...

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Watch Now: Cosi fan tutte Opera de Lyon 2011

Don't fancy paying 15 Euros for a Lohengrin with Mice? But still have an opera itch that needs scratching? How about another Cosi at the seaside - free? Lionel Lhote : Don Alfonso Daniel Behle : FerrandoVito Priante : Guglielmo Maria Bengtsson : Fiordiligi...

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Bayreuth Stage Productions: "Yet in some respects this audience gets what it deserves"

"Yet in some respects this audience gets what it deserves. They (we) are a strikingly complicit bunch of fatcats. They watch themselves and their prosperity being viciously satirised; they witness every value they hold dear being perverted; they hear...

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New Release: Janowski, Der Fliegende Holländer

I happen to be one of those people that thinks Janowski's 80's studio recording of the Ring Cycle is one of the better on record and so Pentatone's release of the first of his 10 part Wagner cycle is somewhat pleasing. Although the CD/SACD will not...

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An Introduction To Tristan und Isolde

Regular readers may have noticed that we like Tristan und Isolde - just a little. Frequent visitors may have also read and listened to the feature "Sex and the Married Wagnerian" which featured two parts of WNYC's 2007 documentry series The...

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MORE THAN JUST OPERA: WNO EXTRA

Press release: Welsh National Opera is offering more this autumn with its WNO Extra* series. Members of the public will have the chance to meet the cast, singers, hear about the stories behind the music, take part in workshops and learn more about...

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Daniel Barenboim: First a Knighthood now the Nobel Peace Prize?

Source AFP Argentine-Israeli conductor Daniel Barenboim will be nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for using music to bring peace to the Middle East, supporters announced Wednesday. An official announcement about the 69-year-old musician's nomination...

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Exclusive: Longborough Opera, A Siegfried in Pictures - 2011

A few months ago, I  brought you a picture feature of the SF Ring Cycle. At the time this rather "old fashioned" picture feature proved very popular. With that in mind, I felt it would be a good idea to the same but with just one opera; Longborough...

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Wagner Transcriptions Volume 4: Die Meistersinger

This is from the press release. I have not listened to  it yet so can't comment, although will try to shortly. Release Date: 30/08/11 Faust Overture, WWV59Christoph Columbus: OvertureDie Meistersinger - an Orchestral TributeEntreactes tragiques...

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Valery Gergiev says the Mariinsky Theatre's 2nd stage WILL be ready by 2013

For those that have no idea what this is about a little background stolen from  Wiki: The Mariinsky Theater Second Stage is a planned second part of a theatre complex which will be made up of the original 1860 Mariinsky Theatre and the 2007 Mariinsky...

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