Video Of Castorf/Bayreuth Ring - 2013

It has just been noted that although many people outside of Germany have seen photos of the 2013 Castorf Ring few have seen video of the four dramas. And so with that in mind, the following video may give you a little better idea of what you missed....

8:13:00 pm | 0 comments | Read More

Der Ring des Nibelungen (Complete) Performances - 2014

Berlin  Der Ring des Nibelungen  Deutsche Oper Berlin 21 September 2013 to 12 January 2014 (two cycles...

7:16:00 pm | 0 comments | Read More

Lohengrin Performances - 2014

Weimar   Lohengrin  Nationaltheater Weimar New production 7 September 2013 to 18 April 2014 Graz  Lohengrin  Opernhaus Graz New production 28 September 2013 to 30 May 2014 Würzburg   Lohengrin  Mainfranken...

6:04:00 pm | 0 comments | Read More

Tristan Und Isolde Performances - 2014

Lübeck  Tristan und Isolde  Theater Lübeck New production 6 October 2013 to 11 May 2014 Meiningen  Tristan und Isolde  Das Meininger Theater 1 November 2013 to 9 January 2014 Madrid  Tristan und Isolde  Teatro...

5:43:00 pm | 0 comments | Read More

Tannhauser Performances - 2014

We are beginning our performance calender for 2014. Alas, with a number of other projects on the go at the moment - including the Readers Choice Awards - these will not be as detailed at this stage as normal. However, full details - including photos...

3:53:00 pm | 0 comments | Read More

A Very Wagnerian Christmas Present: Siegfried Idyll

Never let it be said  that we would forget about the many, many thousands of you that find things of interest here each month. For putting up with our verbose ramblings alone, we must wish you a good and peaceful holiday and even better, Wagnerian,...

5:21:00 pm | 0 comments | Read More

"None" Wagner Concert Disrupted But Not Stopped

Peaceful protesters outside of the event As previously noted, the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, found that the only way it could note Wagner 200 in Israel was by not playing his work. Instead they chose to stage a concert program named, "The Case:...

2:49:00 pm | 0 comments | Read More

Lyric Opera Of Chicago Announce New Ring Cycle

Alas, very little information at the moment apart from that below. Lyric Opera of Chicago will present its second new production of Richard Wagner’s massive “Ring” cycle in one or more future seasons, the company said on Friday. It will announce...

1:58:00 pm | 0 comments | Read More

Wagner at the cinema - warts and all - win viewers

Perhaps the most famous kiss in opera, when the temptress witch Kundry seduces the know-nothing hero of Richard Wagner's "Parsifal", went off without a hitch in a close-up shot for a global live transmission from the Royal Opera House in London.Then...

1:46:00 pm | 0 comments | Read More

The Wagnerian Readers Choice Awards - 2013. Stage 1 Semi Finals: The Singers

Most awards in the arts are provided by experts and critics in that field. Alas, few, if any, rely on the opinions of those that listen to and attend performances - the odd "listeners/readers" choice winner aside. However, we are more than aware of our...

3:39:00 pm | 0 comments | Read More

Listen To: ROH Parsifal (2013) Ondemand For 5 Days

Care of BBC Radio 3. Click the link below to listen. Parsifal.....Simon O'Neill (tenor) Kundry.....Angela Denoke (soprano) Gurnemanz.....Rene Pape (bass) Amfortas.....Gerald Finley (baritone) Klingsor.....Willard W. White (bass) Titurel.....Robert...

9:01:00 am | 0 comments | Read More

The Real Cause Of Mime's “Compulsive plague! Pain without end!”

In a paper published in the Christmas edition of The BMJ, researchers have looked at how German composer Richard Wagner’s disabling migraines and headaches influenced his operas.As composer of frequently performed operas worldwide, Wagner’s medical...

5:00:00 am | 0 comments | Read More

BBC Radio 3 To Rebroadcast Barenboim/Proms Ring - Dec 2013

If you were unfortunate enough to miss the Prom's Ring cycle in the summer, fear not. During December BBC Radio 3 will rebroadcast it in its entirety. Very, highly recommended. Monday 23 Dec 2013 7.02pm–9.45pm  Das Rheingold (160 mins) (concert...

12:43:00 pm | 0 comments | Read More

Wagner's Magic Lamp: an ongoing mystery - David Conway

The following  article is reproduced with the very kind permission of the author Dr David Conway - whose book Jewry in Music we shall feature shortly. This is taken from his website of the same name which contains much we would recommend. To...

11:36:00 am | 0 comments | Read More

"Brunhilde's Act" Or Wagner Dear? Was it as difficult for you as it was for me?

Deputy Editor, Frederick Oswald, introduces a talk - and accompanying paper - by the " Elvis of cultural theory", Slavoj Žižek. Socialists, Communists and Marxists, especially, come in two, admittedly broad, flavours: those that do and those...

7:53:00 pm | 0 comments | Read More

Read Or Download: Richard Wagner's letters to his Dresden friends

Apart from the PDF download - and the online version - the formating is not perfect. However, as an epub or kindle file it remains readable. But whatever format you chose it is recommended that you read these.  Richard Wagner's letters to his...

5:47:00 pm | 0 comments | Read More

Grammy Awards 2014: Thielemann, Kaufmann & Runnicles Nominated

Admittedly one has to go far down the nominations list to find the "Classical" section, but there, hidden away from the horrified eyes of  MTV's latest reality show presenter,  we are happy to report that the recently released Thielemann/Wiener...

10:10:00 pm | 0 comments | Read More

Leipzig, Dresden & Bayreuth: The Places That Helped Shape Wagner

A short mini documentary from DW that tours the places (if only those in Germany) that would have helped shape Wagner and his music...

9:39:00 pm | 0 comments | Read More

DVD Boxset: Lohengrin, Tannhäuser, Rienzi

A  boxset from Arthaus Musik earlier this year - details below. We might not normally mention it apart from the fact that Amazon (Other retailers may also apply - even those that may pay their taxes) is presently offering the entire set for only...

12:03:00 am | 0 comments | Read More

BBC Radio 3 - Wagner Weekend 7 - 8 Dec

This weekend, BBC Radio 3 is having a "Wagner Weekend" consisting of a series of programs, unsurprisingly, with a Wagner theme. Details below....

5:42:00 pm | 0 comments | Read More

Free Online Audio Lecture Series:Wagner, Freud and the End of Myth (Inc: Bryan Magee)

In September, the Freud Museum in London, held a one day conference named, "Wagner, Freud and the End of Myth " With a set of speakers that included Bryan Magee, and author of the Wagner Complex Tom Artin. As is normal for the Freud Museum they recorded...

2:54:00 pm | 0 comments | Read More

First Winners Of Wagner Society Singers Competition

Winners: Catrin Aur & Paul Carey-Jones with Sir John Tomlinson Readers may remember the "furore" at the London Wagner Society (London) this year when the board decided to become the first Wagner Society to withdraw from the Stipendienstiftung...

6:28:00 pm | 0 comments | Read More

Apology & Correction: Wagner Is Not To Be Replaced By Aging Hippies After All

Correction Pink Floyd? We recently reported the blight of Dalhalla Opera, whose productions, including a continuation of their Ring cycle, would not be able to continue in 2014 after owners of the Dalhalla venue  informed them that they had...

6:59:00 am | 0 comments | Read More

Rare Screening "The Life and Works of Richard Wagner" Jan 2014. Barbican.

This newly restored silent landmark was the first feature-length film to be made about the composer Richard Wagner, featuring Italian composer Giuseppe Becce in the title role, together with Olga Engl and Miriam Horwitz, and produced by Oskar Messter...

5:55:00 pm | 0 comments | Read More

Asher Fisch Says Barenboim Was Wrong In Breaking Israel's Wagner Boycott

In a revealing article in Limelight Magazine, Asher Fisch discusses both Wagner and the time that he (Fisch), spent with Barenboim in some detail. "Daniel taught me everything I know" he says. However, he suggests, that although he has never told...

5:21:00 pm | 0 comments | Read More

Photos: Parsifal ROH December 2013

Parsifal, Royal Opera House December 2013.  A HD presentation will be broadcast to cinemas worldwide on December 18. To find a cinema near you visit: PARSIFAL - HD (Just type in your location in the search box)...

8:33:00 pm | 0 comments | Read More

The Leonard Bernstein Letters: On Wagner, Mahler, Bruckner & Strauss

The recently published, The Leonard Bernstein Letters are fascinating. If you have not bought this extraordinary historical record we can only recommend you go out  and do so - whether a Bernstein "fan" or not. This fascination is greatly...

2:28:00 am | 0 comments | Read More

Ring Cycle Ousted By Aging Hippies And Eurovision Runners-up

Edit: See Correction And so "classical" music takes another hit as Dalhalla Opera is told that booking time that was to go to their opera productions - including a continuation of their Ring cycle begun last year -  has, at the last minute, now...

12:24:00 am | 0 comments | Read More

Comment: Australia's Only Classical Music Magazine Bows Out?

Its a sad fact that we are at a time when large publishing interests - there are not that many of them - continue to eat away at their arts coverage. Whether that be arts columns in newspapers, in their online presence or in some places ceasing publication...

3:23:00 am | 0 comments | Read More

Trailer: Wagner's Lost "Opera": Männerlist größer als Frauenlist - Soon On DVD

"The likelihood of previously unknown music of Wagner's coming to light over a century after his death might be thought remote. Yet that is exactly what happened in the summer of 1994, when sketches for Wagner's youthful comic opera Männerlist grösser...

7:11:00 pm | 0 comments | Read More

Wagner's Meistersinger: Performance, History, Representation - Nicholas Vazsony

Another in our series of good Wagner books you may have missed - suitable for both the "educated reader" (whatever that might mean) and for academic researchers. As always, we try to provide a decent sized preview to allow you to make-up your own mind...

10:32:00 pm | 0 comments | Read More

Honour Thy German Masters: Wagner’s Depiction of “Meistergesang”

Welsh National Opera's Meistersinger (To be revived 2015) Originally published in: The Journal Of Musicological Explorations (Vol 11 (2010) Honour Thy German Masters: Wagner’s Depiction of “Meistergesang” in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg Annalise...

9:17:00 pm | 0 comments | Read More