Andrea Moses' production for the Staatstheater Stuttgart - enjoy
Sunday, 29 July 2012
Watch Now: Don Giovanni - Staatstheater Stuttgart
Andrea Moses' production for the Staatstheater Stuttgart - enjoy
Listen now & on demand: Parsifal, Bayreuth 2012
Stefan Herheim's production of Parsifal (known affectionately around these parts as "The Rocky Horror Parsifal Show: or How I learned to stop worrying and wear stockings and suspenders with pride") while being performed live as I type, is available from the start by clicking the link below. It will remain available to listen to for a short period (a week or so perhaps) courtesy of Bartók Radio.
To listen click here and, scroll down to the program at 15:57, hit the play button and listen away. Enjoy.
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Saturday, 28 July 2012
Listen Now & on demand: Tannhauser Bayreuth 2012. Christian Thielemann
With a change of conductor, and other cast changes, Bayreuth has "pulled out the big guns" in an effort - some have argued - to save Sebastian Baumgarten's Tannhauser, Whatever you might think of the production, with the changes noted, this is certainly a performance that you want to listen to. While the performance is presently live as I type you can - if you have already missed the beginning - click the link below and, courtesy of Bartok Radio, listen from the beginning. You will then be able to hear "on demand" for sometime after.
| Musikalische Leitung | Christian Thielemann | |
| Regie | Sebastian Baumgarten | |
| Bühnenbild | Joep van Lieshout | |
| Kostüme | Nina von Mechow | |
| Licht | Franck Evin | |
| Video | Christopher Kondek | |
| Dramaturgie | Carl Hegemann | |
| Chorleitung | Eberhard Friedrich | |
| Landgraf Hermann | Günther Groissböck | |
| Tannhäuser | Torsten Kerl | |
| Wolfram von Eschenbach | Michael Nagy | |
| Walther von der Vogelweide | Lothar Odinius | |
| Biterolf | Thomas Jesatko | |
| Heinrich der Schreiber | Arnold Bezuyen | |
| Reinmar von Zweter | Martin Snell | |
| Elisabeth, Nichte des Landgrafen | Camilla Nylund | |
| Venus | Michelle Breedt | |
| Ein junger Hirt | Katja Stuber | |
Friday, 27 July 2012
Evgeny Nikitin will perform in the METS Parsifal next year
Withdrawing from Bayreuth Nikitin said: "I had them done in my youth (the tattoos). It was a big mistake, and I wish I'd never done it. I was not aware of the extent of the irritation and offense these signs and symbols would cause, particularly in Bayreuth given the context of the festival's history."
Jan Philipp Gloger:"It's (The Dutchman) a love with utopian elements..."
DW's Hans Christoph von Bock talks to Bayreuth's latest director
Jan Philipp Gloger made his Bayreuth Festival debut with
the premiere of his production of "The Flying Dutchman." He translates
Wagner's tale of a cursed seafarer and a redemption-seeking woman in a
modern way.
"The Flying Dutchman" is the first Wagner work you've staged - and you're doing so at the Green Hill. How did you receive the contract?
Out of the blue I was called and asked. My jaw dropped, of course, and I requested some time to think - my third opera production and straight to Bayreuth! So I spent two weeks examining the piece, had conversations with the festival's leadership about what they liked about me and my work, and then I accepted.
The plot of "The Flying Dutchman" is quite banal. The Dutchman has never seen Senta and wants to marry her; she has only seen a picture of him and immediately promises her loyalty. What did you find interesting in it?
I don't find the story banal at all. It's a very peculiar love story. Other than that, the two worlds from which Senta and the Dutchman come were interesting to me. He is always travelling and in motion - damned to restlessness and not having a home. I see a connection there to our lives today, in which more and more flexibility and mobility are demanded. In this restlessness, there is an immense desire for rest "from the storms of life," as Wagner formulated the general essence of the Dutchman.
Senta, on the other hand, suffers in the world she inhabits: a spinning room owned by her father Daland. There's a motto there that her nanny repeats: "My dear child, if you don't keep spinning, there'll be no present for you." Senta is bound by the rules of profitability and economics that extend all the way into her personal relationships.
They are two people who come from worlds in which their dealings with feelings and love have been thoroughly "economized." And both end up trying to escape those worlds together. It's a love with utopian elements that is bound up with the attempt to lead a better life. It's an attempt that becomes a big project. It may fail or may succeed, and it may only partially come to pass or play out in imaginary spheres. And that's what you find out at the end of the production.
You are the newcomer in Bayreuth, but you have an experienced partner in the orchestra pit. Have you been able to profit from conductor Christian Thielemann's expertise?
Yes, he is an unbelievably good partner. He was often there for stage rehearsals, and that was my request. He gives the singers a feeling of security, but his presence also creates a remarkable tension. He is someone who has very precise musical ideas, but there were always conversations about how they could be realized. Even if neither of us are the kind of people who are especially amenable to compromise, we know that we have to talk about things sometimes.
Continue Reading at DW
Jan Philipp Gloger made his Bayreuth Festival debut with
the premiere of his production of "The Flying Dutchman." He translates
Wagner's tale of a cursed seafarer and a redemption-seeking woman in a
modern way."The Flying Dutchman" is the first Wagner work you've staged - and you're doing so at the Green Hill. How did you receive the contract?
Out of the blue I was called and asked. My jaw dropped, of course, and I requested some time to think - my third opera production and straight to Bayreuth! So I spent two weeks examining the piece, had conversations with the festival's leadership about what they liked about me and my work, and then I accepted.
The plot of "The Flying Dutchman" is quite banal. The Dutchman has never seen Senta and wants to marry her; she has only seen a picture of him and immediately promises her loyalty. What did you find interesting in it?
I don't find the story banal at all. It's a very peculiar love story. Other than that, the two worlds from which Senta and the Dutchman come were interesting to me. He is always travelling and in motion - damned to restlessness and not having a home. I see a connection there to our lives today, in which more and more flexibility and mobility are demanded. In this restlessness, there is an immense desire for rest "from the storms of life," as Wagner formulated the general essence of the Dutchman.
Senta, on the other hand, suffers in the world she inhabits: a spinning room owned by her father Daland. There's a motto there that her nanny repeats: "My dear child, if you don't keep spinning, there'll be no present for you." Senta is bound by the rules of profitability and economics that extend all the way into her personal relationships.
Gloger's production sees Senta's spinning room turned into a factory
They are two people who come from worlds in which their dealings with feelings and love have been thoroughly "economized." And both end up trying to escape those worlds together. It's a love with utopian elements that is bound up with the attempt to lead a better life. It's an attempt that becomes a big project. It may fail or may succeed, and it may only partially come to pass or play out in imaginary spheres. And that's what you find out at the end of the production.
You are the newcomer in Bayreuth, but you have an experienced partner in the orchestra pit. Have you been able to profit from conductor Christian Thielemann's expertise?
Yes, he is an unbelievably good partner. He was often there for stage rehearsals, and that was my request. He gives the singers a feeling of security, but his presence also creates a remarkable tension. He is someone who has very precise musical ideas, but there were always conversations about how they could be realized. Even if neither of us are the kind of people who are especially amenable to compromise, we know that we have to talk about things sometimes.
Continue Reading at DW
Listen now and on-demand: Bayreuth Lohengrin 2012
Should you have missed it today - or are waiting for some radio stations to broadcast it on another day, don't fret - or indeed wait. Instead, click the link below and listen to today's Bayreuth Lohengrin broadcast recorded live and courtesy of Bartók Radio.
It should remain in their archives for a little time at least.
| Conductor | Andris Nelsons | |
| Director | Hans Neuenfels | |
| Stage design | Reinhard von der Thannen | |
| Costumes | Reinhard von der Thannen | |
| Lighting | Franck Evin | |
| Video | Björn Verloh | |
| Dramaturgy | Henry Arnold | |
| Choral Conducting | Eberhard Friedrich | |
| Lohengrin | Klaus Florian Vogt | |
| Heinrich der Vogler | Wilhelm Schwinghammer | |
| Elsa von Brabant | Annette Dasch | |
| Friedrich von Telramund | Thomas J. Mayer | |
| Ortrud | Susan Maclean | |
| Der Heerrufer des Königs | Samuel Youn | |
| 1. Edler | Stefan Heibach | |
| 2. Edler | Willem Van der Heyden | |
| 3. Edler | Rainer Zaun | |
| 4. Edler | Christian Tschelebiew | |
Productions are not the only things to be revived at Bayreuth: Angela Merkel Joins in.
Lest you missed it, belt tightening, (and the most loved figure in European politics after Cameron?) Angela Merkel has joined in the Bayreuth craze of reviving old worn out productions (well perhaps at least one) - wearing a dress she wore in 2008 for the festival's opening.Poor dear. Seems she can't even offered T K Max. Now, while the German media may have applauded the move, it seems to coincide with Moody's warning that Germany may lose its triple A rating. A bit like Lohengrin Rats deserting a sinking ship? Related? Unlikely, but how else could we get yet another Lohengrin Rat pun in this year.
Thursday, 26 July 2012
Listen now and on-demand: Bayreuth Tristan und Isolde 2012
Should you have missed it today - or are waiting for some radio stations to broadcast it on Saturday, don't fret - or indeed wait. Instead, click the link below and listen to today's Bayreuth Tristan und Isolde broadcast recorded live and courtesy of Bartók Radio.
It should remain in their archives for a little time at least.
To listen click here and, scroll down to the program at 15:57, hit the play button and listen away. Enjoy.
| Conductor | Peter Schneider | |
| Director | Christoph Marthaler | |
| Director of the revival | Anna-Sophie Mahler | |
| Stage design | Anna Viebrock | |
| Costumes | Anna Viebrock | |
| Dramaturgy | Malte Ubenauf | |
| Choral Conducting | Eberhard Friedrich | |
| Tristan | Robert Dean Smith | |
| Marke | Kwangchul Youn | |
| Isolde | Iréne Theorin | |
| Kurwenal | Jukka Rasilainen | |
| Melot | Ralf Lukas | |
| Brangäne | Michelle Breedt | |
| Junger Seemann | Clemens Bieber | |
| Ein Hirt | Arnold Bezuyen | |
| Ein Steuermann | Martin Snell | |
New Bayreuth Flying Dutchman: Listen here and on demand
Should you have missed todays new production of The Dutchman at Bayreuth you can listen to it now - and for a week or so - on demand courtesy of Bartók Radio. Well, ok there are a number of different places you could catch it but Bartok offers probably the best bitrate and overall sound quality.
Director: Jan Philipp Gloger
Stage designer Christof Hetzer
Costume Designer: Karin Jud
Light Designer: Urs Schönebaum
Dramaturgy Sophie Becker
Conductor: Christian Thielemann
Holländer Samuel Youn
Senta Adrianne Pieczonka
Daland Franz-Josef Selig
Erik Michael König
Der Steuermann Benjamin Bruns
Would it surprise you to learn: 'Dutchman' booed at premiere
(AFP)BAYREUTH, Germany — The production team of the new staging of "The Flying Dutchman" that opened this year's Bayreuth Festival was loudly booed at the opening night, while the cast received rapturous applause.
The upcoming young German director, 31-year-old Jan Philipp Gloger, and his team were met with the boos and whistles when they took their curtain call at the end of the two-and-a-quarter-hour evening, attended by Germany's political and social elite, including Chancellor Angela Merkel.By contrast, the South Korean bass-baritone, Samuel Youn, who stepped in at four days' notice after the original singer, Russian opera star Yevgeny Nikitin, quit in a row over a Nazi tattoo, met with enthusiastic cheers and stamping as he took his bows.
But it was perhaps German conductor, Christian Thielemann, a long-time favourite in Bayreuth, who proved to be the biggest star of the evening, with an miraculously balanced and refined reading of what is regarded as Richard Wagner's first mature opera.Bayreuth's legendary Festspielhaus theatre, built to the composer's own designs, reputedly has the best acoustics of any opera house, thanks to its unique covered orchestra pit.
But it is precisely that which makes it so tricky for conductors and only an experienced maestro such as Thielemann, who was conducting his 111th performance in Bayreuth, knows exactly how to achieve the sound he wants.
The other singers, Canadian soprano Adrianne Pieczonka as Senta, German baritone Franz-Josef Selig, German tenors Michael Koenig and Benjamin Bruns as Erik and the Steersman, were similarly warmly received.Gloger, who has so far made his name in spoken theatre and only directed two operas previously, updated the story of the ship's captain condemned to roam the seas for eternity until he finds redemption in the love of a woman to the 21st century.
Gloger casts the Dutchman appears as a cyborg-like figure, a mega-rich businessman who can afford anything he desires in life.
He agrees to hand over his fortune to entrepreneur Daland, who owns a mail-order and logistics concern, in return for the hand of his daughter Senta.
While Gloger's set designer Christof Hetzer created striking pictures for the Dutchman's computerized world, the modern-day reading quickly runs out of steam after the first scene.
The "Dutchman" is the only new production of this year's festival, the 101st edition of the annual month-long celebration of Richard Wagner.
Also on the programme is a revival of last year's new production of "Tannhaeuser" by Sebastian Baumgarten, which was vilified by critics and audiences alike for setting Wagner's tale of a minstrel-knight in a biogas plant.
There will also be revivals of a 2010 production of "Lohengrin", a production of "Parsifal" dating back to 2008; and a "Tristan and Isolde" from 2005.
Wednesday, 25 July 2012
Rachel Nicholls: "No-one ever tells you you're ready to sing Wagner - you have to dare to try for yourself.”
“No-one ever tells you you're ready to sing Wagner - you have to dare to try for yourself.” Rachel Nicholls.
A new Brunnhilde only comes along infrequently. This is in part because of the relatively small number of Ring Cycle performances. Equally, the shear cost of staging any part of the Ring means that opera companies are most likely to chose “big names”- dramatic sopranos that can draw in large crowds simply by their presence on the stage. But perhaps most importantly it is the difficulty that houses have in finding a performer who can meet the long list of requirements to “pull off” a successful performance of Brunnhilde: technical skill, experience, vocal quality, acting skills, intelligence, presence (this is after all the women who will redeem the world in Wagner’s vision) and, let us be honest, the stamina and vocal power, to perform one of the most demanding roles in opera.With this in mind, I was very grateful to have the opportunity talk with a performer described less than two years ago by the Times as a “future Brunnhilde” and recently announced as Longborough Festival Opera’s Brunnhilde of 2012 During our discussion, she discussed her move from Bach to Wagner, her time working with some of the world’s leading conductors, training with one of Britain’s most famous Wagnerians and much more. But before that, a little detail on the career so far of the rather amazing Rachel Nicholls
Rachel Nicholls: Liebestod
Born in Bedford, Rachel was awarded Second Prize at the Kathleen Ferrier Memorial Competition. Her repertoire ranges from J. S. Bach and Handel to Schoenberg and Errollyn Wallen. She made her début at the ROH as Third Flowermaiden in Parsifal, returning as Pepik The Cunning Little Vixen, EchoAriadne auf Naxos and Prilepa The Queen of Spades and other operatic engagements have included Marzelline Fidelio for London Lyric Opera, Joan For You for Music Theatre Wales, Wendy Peter Pan (Bernstein) at the Festival Rota dos Monumentos, and on it goes. However, she is probably best known for her well regarded baroque performances where she has worked with some of the greatest names in that very specialised field. For example, she made her international début singing Messiah under the direction of Sir David Willcocks in Halle and recent concert highlights have included Jauchzet Gott and Haydn Il ritorno di Tobia with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment in London and Minneapolis, Bach B Minor Mass with Bach Collegium Japan at Carnegie Hall, Judas Maccabaeus at the Gdansk Music Festival, Szymanowski Stabat Mater for Huddersfield Choral Society, an Opera Gala with the Mikkeli City Orchestra and La Folle Journée in Tokyo. Other concert appearances include performances with the Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Bochum Symphony Orchestra, the Britten Sinfonia, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the Darmstadt Hofkapelle, Florilegium, the Hanover Band, the London Handel Players, the London Mozart Players, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestra of St John’s, Le Parlement de Musique, the Philharmonia Orchestra and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, as well as at the Brighton, Chelsea, Fishguard, London Handel and Three Choirs Festivals.
Where have you been and coming up next on The Wagnerian
As regular readers may be aware - confirmed by a number of very kind emails - The Wagnerian has been keeping a very low profile for the past few weeks. But do not fret, I was simply gearing-up for that festival - plus other things.
But not to worry, normal service returns today. And over the next few days, along with the usual miscellanea, get ready for the following:
Belated review of WNO Tristan und Isolde - and why Ben Heppner is once again the only hope for Tristan this centuary.
A review round-up of LFO's Gotterdammerung - and don't miss, should you have done, The Wagnerian's interview with that productions Brünnhilde here
The best places on the net to hear this years Bayreuth Festival
And more.
Sunday, 15 July 2012
Metamorphosis: Titian 2012 National Gallery/ROH.
The project was inspired by three paintings by the great Renaissance painter Titian – Diana and Actaeon, Diana and Callisto and The Death of Actaeon – and consists of contemporary responses to the iconic artworks.
The original Titian paintings were based on classical poems from Ovid’s Metamorphoses. As part of the exhibition, the National Gallery re-imagined the Diana myth in a contemporary setting:
Thursday, 12 July 2012
David Cronenberg in discussion: A Dangerous Method
Director David Cronenberg talks with moderator James Hosney about his film A Dangerous Method at an AFI event. Plus the trailer, plus a review from Mark Kermode. Oh. And the Wagner inspired soundtrack on Spotify - if you have access to it.
Monday, 9 July 2012
Watch BSO's Götterdämmerung free, online 15 July
To watch and for more information CLICK HERE
CAST
Siegfried: Stephen Gould
Brünnhilde: Nina Stemme
Gunther: Iain Paterson
Hagen : Eric Halfvarson
Alberich: Wolfgang Koch
Gutrune : Anna Gabler
Waltraute : Michaela Schuster
Woglinde : Eri Nakamura
Wellgunde : Angela Brower
Flosshilde : Okka von der Damerau
1. Norn :Jill Grove
2. Norn : Jamie Barton
3. Norn : Irmgard Vilsmaier
Conductor: Kent Nagano
Director: Andreas Kriegenburg
Set Designs: Harald Thor
Costumes: Andrea Schraad
Lighting: Stefan Bolliger
Friday, 6 July 2012
Watch Now: Requiem (Berlioz) - Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Festival de Saint-Denis 2012
Requiem (Berlioz) - Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Festival de Saint-Denis 2012 (June 28)
With the Monteverdi Choir, the Choir of Radio France and the Orchestre National de France
Artists: Sir John Eliot Gardiner (direction / Leitung), Orchestre National de France, Michael Spyres (Tenor / Tenor), Luc Hery (violin), Choir of Radio France, Matthias Brauer (choir / Chorleitung), The Monteverdi Choir • Director:Francois-Rene Martin • Writing / Composer: Hector Berlioz • Camera operators: Isabelle Audigé, Helen Brugnes, Colin Olivia Martine Fleury, Sebastien Hestin, William Klein, Stephen Monier, Marine Tadié, Lalbin Gilles Adrien Perrault, Leonel Rodrigues • Sound: France Music: Alain Duchemin (MMO), Lawrence Fracchia (sound director), assisted by Michel Gacic, Benedict Garspard, Xavier Leveque • Production: CLC - Festival of St. Denis - Radio France • Musical advisor: Yves Rousseau - Director of Photography: Martial Barrault.
Wednesday, 4 July 2012
David Longstreth: "I was obsessed with "Tristan and Isolde" and the Ring Cycle, that sort of shit"
Monday, 2 July 2012
Original version of Jerusalem for solo voice and England song rediscovered
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| Charles Hubert Parry, |
While researching music for a new CD of the works of composer, Charles Hubert Parry, Professor Jeremy Dibble, a musicologist in Durham University’s Department of Music, found that the first verse of Jerusalem was written for a solo voice, as opposed to the grand choral start typical of performances at The Last Night of the Proms. The second verse was then intended to be sung by “all available voices” according to Parry’s original published vocal score.
Composed by (Charles) Hubert (Hastings) Parry and based on a poem by William Blake, the song, originally written for the ‘Fight for Right’ movement in 1916, became a rallying call for the women's suffrage (right to vote) movement. It has become a standard of big sporting events, is the anthem of the Women’s Institute, and has been used in many famous films.
The song has been recorded for the first time in its original form by the BBC National Orchestra and Chorus of Wales using Parry’s original orchestration rather than the more familiar Edward Elgar version. This and other Parry classics, including music to celebrate the Queen’s Jubilee, will feature on a new CD to be released in October 2012, by Chandos Records.
Jerusalem, was composed by Parry in March 1916 as a unison song, an increasingly popular vocal form whose melody everybody could sing. He provided orchestral accompaniment for it in 1918. After its first performance at Queen’s Hall on 28 March 1916, the song became popular and was widely sung.
Professor Dibble said: “Parry wrote the first verse of Jerusalem for a lone voice, probably a soprano, to be followed by everyone singing together on the second verse to reflect his desire to create a song of strength, hope and unity.
“People clearly enjoyed singing it together in church, at meetings and at The Last Night of the Proms, so much so that we’ve forgotten Parry’s original intention of a solo beginning.”
The CD will also include the first modern recording of a forgotten national song by Parry, entitled England, using the words from John of Gaunt’s monologue from Shakespeare’s Richard II.
During research into Parry’s work for the new CD, Professor Dibble found that the performing materials for England, the Coronation Te Deum and the Magnificat were no longer in existence; these may have been lost or destroyed. It was therefore necessary for him to track down original manuscripts from The Royal College of Music and The British Library and other printed sources. Using these, he was able to reconstruct Parry’s
music as it was originally intended to be performed.
The song England was composed in 1918 in the last year of Parry’s life. Professor Dibble said: “England is a big, patriotic, unison song right up there with Jerusalem. It is all abouta collective national pride, chivalry and idealism, like Jerusalem.”
“Few people seem to know the song now. It may have been the disappearance of the piano from assemblies in schools, a decline in collective singing, coupled with changing times in the post-colonial world that led to its decline.”
“England, the song, is more than just ‘flying the flag’. Parry was interested in and motivated by British values and democracy. Like Jerusalem, its rousing tune expresses a sense of vision, self-sacrifice and hope, typical of Parry's own outlook.”
Other Parry classics on the disc include new recordings to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. These include the bridal march from The Birds, composed in 1883, and later played at the wedding of Queen Elizabeth in 1947, the Coronation Te Deum for George V in 1911, and Parry’s Magnificat originally dedicated to Queen Victoria on her Diamond Jubilee in 1897.
The new recordings will be released by Chandos Records in October 2012.
Ten facts about the song Jerusalem:
Hubert Parry put Blake’s poetry to music for a ‘Fight for Right’ campaign meeting at
London’s Queen’s Hall on 28 March 1916.
The text was first suggested by the Poet Laureate, Robert Bridges.
The song was taken up by the suffrage movement in the UK in 1917 and they
asked Parry if they might continue to use it. Parry was delighted and endorsed the
song as the Women Voters' Hymn.
The song was first called "And Did Those Feet in Ancient Time".
It was used as a campaign slogan by the Labour Party in the 1945 general election.
It was sung at the Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton, the Duke and
Duchess of Cambridge.
England has no official anthem and uses the British National Anthem "God Save the Queen".
Jerusalem is used as an unofficial anthem for some national occasions, such as before
England international football matches. Other sports, including rugby league and cricket
use Jerusalem as an anthem as well.
It has been adopted by many churches and is frequently sung as an office or recessional
hymn in English cathedrals, churches and chapels on St George's Day.
“Bring me my chariot of fire" inspired the title of the film Chariots of Fire.
The hymn has featured in many other films and TV programmes including Four Weddings
and a Funeral, and Calendar Girls and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
Schopenhauer & Freud: One and the same?
Over at The Wagner Blog, Peterp has published a review of a new book which examines the Ring Cycle from a Freudian perspective: The Wagner Complex: Genesis and Meaning of The Ring by Tom Artin. While reading this, I was reminded of Freud's denial that he had read Schopenhauer until much later in life - and after he had formulated many of his main theories.And yet, there seems to be clear links between both men's thoughts - that seem difficult to explain by simply invoking notions of the "Zeitgeist of the times". Indeed, this is something that has been noted a number of times, including by Thomas Mann at a speech in honor of Freud's eightieth birthday!
Given, Wagner's intimate knowledge of Schopenhauer, his influence on him, and the publication of this new analysis I thought the following, admittedly old, yet highly readable paper/overview presented by Christopher Young & Andrew Brook (published in: International Journal of Psychoanalysis. 1994 (75), 101-18) might be of interest. Reprinted below with images added by the Wagnerian, the original text can be found at The Institute of Interdisciplinary Studies, Carleton University.
Glimmerglass Festival 2013: To include new production of The Flying Dutchman - Francesca Zambello, Jay Hunter Morris
Sunday, 1 July 2012
Bryn Terfel: "I cannot wait to go on stage to do this 'Ring' in Covent Garden"
(Reuters - Michael Roddy) - Welsh bass-baritone Bryn Terfel got a big kick out of hobnobbing on stage last year at New York's Beacon Theater with glitterati of the pop world for Sting's 60th birthday.
"I was between (Lady) Gaga and Billy Joel, rubbing shoulders with Stevie Wonder," Terfel said, his eyes still radiating the thrill more than half a year later.
Little did those rock and pop stars know that at the wave of a spear, Terfel could have put them into eternal sleep on a craggy mountaintop, surrounded by a ring of fire, as he does to his headstrong daughter Brunnhilde in Richard Wagner's epic "Ring" cycle.
Despite a $1 million deficit and layoffs Seattle Opera's 2013 Ring Cycle is well on track
Despite 1 million deficit and layoffs Seattle Opera's 2013 Ring Cycle is well on trackHowever, the 2014 International Wagner Competition may not be able to go ahead. Seattle Opera expects a significant shortfall for its just-ended season, which included 36 performances of five mainstage productions: "Porgy and Bess," "Carmen," "Attila,' "Orphée et Eurydice" and "Madama Butterfly'. In light of the deficit, the company, which has operated in the black for 18 of the past 19 seasons, will make several cuts over the next few seasons.
• The 2012/13 season will continue as announced.
You got a minute guv? Fancy a ticket to Bayreuth? No questions asked?
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| "By the way, did you check our Ebay account today?" |
That was more than during the whole of last year, the newspaper said.
And the tickets are selling for more than double their face value, with the the average surcharge amounting to 139 percent, compared with 136 percent in 2011, the newspaper found.
Tickets for Bayreuth are among the hardest to come by in the classical music world, with fans waiting 10 years or more for a chance to enter the hallowed Festspielhaus, the opera built to Wagner's own designs.
Officially, the ticket prices this year range from 35 euros ($44) for the cheapest seats to 280 euros for the top category.
But on the black market, the 35-euro tickets are selling for more than six times their face value, while the top-price tickets are fetching up to 50 percent more, Handelsblatt said.
The hottest selling ticket this year is for the festival's sole new production, "The Flying Dutchman", in a new staging by German director Jan Philipp Gloger and conducted by Bayreuth's star conductor Christian Thielemann.
Prices here are at more than three times the face value of the ticket.
By contrast, those for Christoph Marthaler's eight-year-old staging of "Tristan and Isolde" are much less popular, with an average surcharge of 80 percent.
The Bayreuth Festival is held every year between July 25 and August 28.
This year there will be a total of 30 performances of five different operas -- "The Flying Dutchman", "Tristan and Isolde", "Lohengrin", "Tannhaeuser" and "Parsifal".
The festival organisers this year changed the process for ticket allocation after the federal court of auditors complained that only 40 percent of tickets were freely available, with the rest going to sponsors and celebrities.
More: The Local