Written By The Wagnerian on Sunday 13 May 2012 | 4:18:00 pm
Bless, Youtube and public domain recordings!
Kirsten Flagstad, Set Svanholm Concert, Wagner.
1.Der fliegende Holländer: Trafft ihr das schiff 2.Lohengrin: In fernem land 3.Tristan und Isolde: O sink' hernieder 4.Die meistersinger von Nürnberg: Preislied 5.Tristan und Isolde: Liebestod.
Orchestra of the San Francisco Opera House Gaetano Merola, conductor 9 October 1949 San Francisco Opera House.
Written By The Wagnerian on Saturday 12 May 2012 | 3:11:00 am
Apologies, thought that this had already been posted but seems not. Concert performance, made available by the ever wonderful ARTE TV. It is of course, a little like the Bayreuth Parsifal but without Stefan Herheim
Written By The Wagnerian on Friday 11 May 2012 | 11:54:00 pm
Perhaps. In an interview over at Musical Criticism, Grange Park's founder: Wasfi Kani has announced, while making no firm commitment to a full Grange Park Ring Cycle, that 2015 will see Grange Park stage their first Rheingold with a Walkure to possibly follow.
She told Mike Reynolds: ""One of the revelations to me, of all the productions we have done here, was just how good Wagner sounds in this theatre".
Having attended Grange Park's Tristan in 2011 I would have to agree. Indeed, the intimacy that the audience has with both the orchestra and stage is quiet unique and different to anything else that I have experienced. If only they had revived it this year - see videos below.
But more intriguingly she went on to say:
"Well, I’m not actually planning a Ring Cycle, but we will stage a Rheingold in 2015 and I think we’ll move on to Die Walküre thereafter"
Time will tell what follows but assuming the first two are successful it seems more than likely,, that they might indeed produce a full Cycle. Perhaps something for wagnerians to keep note of.
Just a week after premiering at Zurich Opera, their Dutchman - in a one off concert performance - will arrive at the Southbank Centre on December 15th 2012. Details below.
Zurich Opera Orchestra Alain Altinogluconductor Bryn TerfelThe Dutchman Anja KampeSenta Matti SalminenDaland Zurich Opera Chorus
Those little devils over at the Bavarian State Opera's marketing department are at it again it would seem. Should you wish, you also can take part as we believe registration is still open, although might we suggest taking a flask of your favorite tipple - just to stay warm mind.
The Bavarian State Opera will open the 2012 Munich Opera Festival on the weekend of 23-24 June with, among other things, an installation by the renowned artist Spencer Tunick. Tunick's new work will be entitled The Ring and in it thousands of art lovers will pose nude at several venues in downtown Munich. Tunick's artistic installation is inspired by Richard Wagner's great opus The Ring of the Nibelung and its new production by the producer Andreas Kriegenburg which reaches its culmination on 30 June with the premiere of Götterdämmerung. Those interested and willing to pose naked for Tunick in public are invited to register with the Bavarian State Opera's website!
The artist is known for his temporary installations of hundreds and sometimes even thousands of naked human bodies against impressive backdrops in public. For the 2012 Munich Opera Festival, Tunick is designing his first large scale action in Germany. Several places in downtown Munich will provide the background for his latest art installation: "Andreas Kriegenburg primarily tells his version of The Ring of the Nibelung by means of the performers' stage and gesticulation movements in addition to their singing. This produces an interesting equivalence to Spencer Tunick's human body installations. That is why it was an obvious choice to show these two projects for the Opera Festival", says Nikolaus Bachler, Manager of the Bavarian State Opera.
Tunick's works were done for SITE Santa Fe in New Mexico (2001), the XVI Bienal de Sāo Paulo in Brazil (2002), the Biennale de Lyon (2005) and the Viennese Kunsthalle (2008). Volunteer participants meet at an appointed time and take their clothes off. With the support of his team, Tunick organises and directs the participants according to his ideas and wishes and forms them into a group and captures the moment in photos and video. "I am very happy to have been invited by the Bavarian State Opera to Munich. Wagner's claim to being a total art creator has long fascinated me. With the images of Andreas Kriegenburg's stage production in mind, for this very special installation I intend to adapt motifs from The Ring like dragons, flames and even the ring itself", as Spencer Tunick explained.
All participants can register by 22 June 2012, 11:30 p.m. at the latest on the Bavarian State Opera's website, www.staatsoper.de/Tunick. The participants will be informed a week in advance of the installation by email about details such as the meeting point and the time. All of those contributing will receive a limited edition photo. Participation is open to anyone 18 years or older. On the day of the installation, only participants will be admitted to the venues.
Spencer Tunick was born in Middletown (New York) and lives in the Hudson Valley in New York. Since 1992 he has been engaged in outdoor installations whose main motif has been the human body in the nude. For this purpose, he normally gets thousands of people together. Tunick has done his work throughout the world, including in Belgium, Canada, the United States and Brazil. His temporary installations, which are always captured in photos and video, deal primarily with society's preconceived and often negative connotations of nudity: "I am fascinated by the beauty that is inherent in every human being", says Tunick.
Sorry, that I am unable to provide details for the rest of the world but full details for USA and Canada can be found at the MET's site by clicking here. However, in the UK, the following cinemas or cinema chains have confirmed they will playing the MET's new Parsifal on March 2 2013 - starting at 5:00 pm and that tickets are on sale now (although please check with your local cinema about start times). More cinemas may be added later. Should you know of a cinema not listed please get in touch. I have not included those that have already sold out. And once again, a preview of the production as premiered at Opera de Lyon this year. For full details of the 2013 MET cast Click here
We just like to keep up-to-date with future Wagner conductors - out there somewhere may be "another Furtwängler" Manchester students make international mark as conductor
A third year University of Manchester music student has signed up with one of the world’s leading music agencies Intermusica.
Jamie Phillips, who graduates in 2012, has also been invited to conduct a concert at the 2013 Salzburg Festival - one of classical music’s most prestigious events. He was given the opportunity after achieving second place in the 2012 Nestlé and Salzburg Festival Young Conductors’ competition.
Jamie will also be one of the finalists in auditions to find Sir Mark Elder’s new assistant conductor of the Hallé Orchestra.
Adding to the music department’s success, 2010 Manchester graduate Duncan Ward is celebrating the news he is to assist the world’s best known conductor Sir Simon Rattle in a concert performance of Wagner’s Die Walküre with the Berlin Philharmoniker.
Duncan is already on the books of Askonas Holt, the agency that represents Sir Simon Rattle and Daniel Barenboim. He has worked with both conductors.
Earlier this year he made his debut with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and in June he will appear with the Bamberg Symphony in Germany.
Both conductors are both products of the University’s elite conducting programme taught by Mark Heron, and are set to follow in the footsteps of other star alumni conductors, including Mark Wigglesworth and Paul McCreesh.
Jamie Phillips said: "I was so happy to perform in the Nestle and Salzburg Young Conductors Award in April - the opportunity to conduct in such a world-famous venue with an incredible orchestra was an amazing experience.
“I feel really honoured to have been invited back to conduct the Camerata Salzburg at the 2013 Salzburg Festival and I feel very privileged to be invited to perform at such a prestigious event."
He added: "The conducting opportunities at The University of Manchester are unrivalled anywhere else in the UK - the chance to have so much contact time with ensembles with the guidance of expert teaching is fundamental to developing skills required to stand in front of musicians with confidence."
Dr Rebecca Herissone, Head of Music at The University of Manchester, said: “We are absolutely delighted the department’s current and former conducting students are having such an impact internationally, and that we have been able to create an environment that has helped them break into this highly competitive career.
“Both of these young conductors have enjoyed the unique opportunities available to student conductors in Manchester.
“The combination of tuition and guidance, together with significant opportunities to conduct a wide range of orchestras and ensembles in very diverse repertoires is unrivalled in an undergraduate context.”
Mark Heron said “Given their age, Duncan and Jamie’s achievements are unparalleled, and credit must go to the music department at Manchester for having the vision to create an environment in which their undoubted natural ability has been able to develop so rapidly.
“Of course, having such talented conducting students has a very positive impact on the quality of music-making on offer to all of the students who play in the University orchestras and ensembles.”
Written By The Wagnerian on Tuesday 8 May 2012 | 6:40:00 pm
Would you like all of the latest Wagner related news viewable in Facebook (or have your time-line spammed as our continuous posts keep appearing - depending on how you look at it)?
The Dutchman may be one of Wagner’s most “accessible” works,
especially for those coming to him for the first time. While it represents the beginning
of his more mature work, it is still recognisably “operatic” in form. Add to
this it is, for Wagner, short in duration, it contains a small number of
characters to keep track of, its story is linear with few of the expositional “stops”
that seem to bother many people about Wagner - indeed dramatically it moves
forward with some momentum. Of equal
importance, with the rise of neo-gothic and urban fantasy, its themes are familiar
to nearly everyone, especially younger opera goers – unlike those of Parsifal,
or Lohengrin for example. If ever there
was a Wagner opera whose story needs no (or at the most, little altering) then
it is the Dutchman. Update it? Sure why not – if you feel the need. Minimalist
staging, Jungian staging, feminist/neo feminist staging? Go on then - if it sounds
interesting. But a re-write? Have the
text say one thing while the action on stage is in direct conflict? Change the
ending completely? Create an “interpretation”
that simply cannot be supported by the text or any reading of said text? Surely,
like all of Wagner’s work, there is enough going on under the surface that
makes such a move redundant? Of course,
this has never stopped an opera director, who - rather than go off and learn to
write their own - decide to completely “rewrite” someone else’s work. And
so we come to Kent’s Flying Dutchman, for whatever it might be it is certainly not Wagner’s
– in any of its versions. As Ann Pickard (AP) in the Independent puts it:
Written By The Wagnerian on Saturday 5 May 2012 | 6:13:00 pm
Given the shortage of good heldentenors in the international arena at the moment, it should come as little surprise that the internet is (to use another cliche) "awash" with questions as to his wellbeing. With that in mind perhaps any statement from Kaufmann is worth mentioning. His official website now contains the following:
"Dear friends,
I am very sorry that due to illness I had to cancel both Met
performances of Die Walkuere. Thank you for all your good wishes, and I
look forward to singing for you again soon. Jonas Kaufmann"
Not much, but there you have it. So, in the meantime, why not watch this:
Adam Klein will step in as Loge tonight (5/52012) replacing Stefan Margita who is ill
Kleine debuted at the Met as a boy soprano singing Yniold in Pelléas et Mélisande in 1972. His debut as a tenor for the MET came in 2001 as Count Elemer in Arabella. He is however, no new comer to Loge as he has previously sung the role at the Indianapolis Opera.
As we get ready for the first night of the WNO revival of Yannis Kokkos' Tristan und Isolde, I thought a photo preview might be called for - well, you know me and Tristan und Isolde. All images from the 2006 run and credited to WNO/Bill Cooper.(Clicking on an image will bring up a larger version)
Sung in German with English surtitles (Welsh in Wales Millennium Centre) First night 19 May 2012.
Written By The Wagnerian on Friday 4 May 2012 | 4:40:00 am
Fulham Opera's Wotan, Ian Wilson-Pope, is providing an unique opportunity for Wagnerians over at the "Ring Cycle micro site" as he takes us through - week by week - how he works on developing and preparing for the role of Wotan in their complete Ring Cycle. From" finding the character", to recordings and performers to whom he turns for inspiration, to the rehearsal method, to how one remembers that much German text!. This provides an unique insight into a process that none Wagner, or indeed opera performers, rarely get to see.
Reprinted below is part two: an insight to Ian's thoughts about who Wotan is, and how he develops throughout the course of the Ring. You can continue to read his insights each week by bookmarking the link below. And shortly, we will have an interview with Wotan himself.
Last week I mapped out the role and gave some background on the musical pitfalls of a role of this size. This week I am thinking about the character of Wotan.
Of course, Wotan is really a much bigger role than he appears in “Die Walküre”, if you think about the other two operas he appears in, “Das Rheingold” and “Siegfried”. In learning each role separately, we gain more of an idea of where he has come from, as his character changes in each of the operas. In “Das Rheingold” for instance, he seems full of his own self-importance, slightly immature, vain, arrogant and also knowing that he ought to be doing the “right thing” but not doing so… In “Die Walküre”, we meet a man whose earlier actions are about to catch up with him, with quite catastrophic results. He’s still quite sure of himself (the Gods are now firmly established in Valhalla, and Wotan has subjugated all the races on earth: giants; dwarves and men), but he’s now concerned with how he can put right what he did (or didn’t) do in “Das Rheingold”.
A bit of filler for those of you not so familiar with the story. Having promised his wife’s sister Freya (Goddess of Love) as payment to the giants Fasolt and Fafner in exchange for them building him Valhalla, Wotan is tricked by Loge into finding an alternative: Alberich the Nibelung dwarf’s gold, which he cursed love to obtain from the river Rhine and the Rhinemaidens. From this gold Alberich made a magic ring with the power to rule the world, and this too, Wotan tricked Alberich into giving him, but the giants then demanded this as part of their payment. Warned by the ancient earth goddess Erda to flee the curse Alberich placed on the ring when Wotan tricked him, he reluctantly gives it to the giants, and Freya is restored to the Gods. Alberich is building up an army to gain back the ring and destroy the Gods, and having sought out Erda and learned of the end of the Gods, Wotan now seeks to ensure that Alberich should never get the ring back, for if so he would destroy everything Wotan has created. But he’s now stuck in a dilemma: Wotan cannot take the ring from Fafner, (who slew his own brother and now lives as a dragon in the forest), as the ring and all the gold was payment to the giant for building Valhalla. So, he needs a free hero to kill Fafner and take the ring. But, he cannot create a free hero, because everything he creates is part of himself, therefore a slave to Wotan. He deceives himself that Siegmund, his son by a mortal woman will be this free hero, but when his wife Fricka demands justice for the marriage vows of Hunding, (who is married to Sieglinde, Siegmunds twin – and the twins have eloped as lovers!), he has to concede that Siegmund can never be that free hero.
So, in “Die Walküre”, Wotan is torn between wanting to make amends for his past deeds, but being unable to put right what he did, and then paying a very high price for both: the death of his son, Siegmund, and the anguished separation from his favourite Valkyrie daughter Brünnhilde, whom he instructs initially to fight for Siegmund, but after his fight with Fricka, has to recind this command in favour of Hunding. Brünnhilde, on seeing Siegmund and the love he has for Sieglinde, decides to pursue Wotan’s original wishes, and tries to protect him. Wotan has to intervene, and Siegmund is killed by Hunding. He then has to punish Brünnhilde for disobeying his commands. He decides to cast her out of the Gods, as a mortal woman she will belong to the first man who finds her. Begging him not to bring such dread shame on her, (and him), she persuades him to finally agree to protect her with magic fire, that only the free hero (who she knows will be Siegmund and Sieglinde’s child, Siegfried) can penetrate.
In this opera, Wotan’s tragedy is revealed. He could have easily averted all this strife, dilemma, and agony by returning the Ring to the Rhinemaidens, who would have cleansed it of Alberich’s curse. In trying to find the character of Wotan, it isn’t about thinking of him as a “God”, but rather as a man! Fallible, and totally human. The emotions go from complete tenderness and elation to terrible despair, rage, bitterness, sorrow, anguish, and almost violence. He’s in a terrible position, having made deceitful bargains and his guilt now brings him to a state of impotence. Only some other “agent” can avert the foretold downfall of the Gods, for Wotan cannot do this himself. He’s also a father; not only of Brünnhilde, but her eight Valkyrie sisters as well as Siegmund and Sieglinde. Psychologically, it’s a massive journey, and one that happens in the main throughout the first two scenes of Act II, as he is confronted with his own lies by his wife, and then reflects on how he came to be in this position. This is the reason why the monologue is so vitally important in the opera, it fills in some of the gaps between the events of “Das Rhinegold” and “Die Walküre”, but it also looks towards the end of the whole cycle. In it, we understand the agonising pain the events of “Das Rheingold” cause him, and how he is unable to attone for his actions. As Wagner himself put it: Wotan has to learn to die.
There’s no single tool one can use to find the essence of this character, other than reading the text through and through, understanding the words Wagner himself wrote, and by reading as much background as can be obtained in books and other reference materials, and this is not a quick process to go through. It takes a long time to assimilate this complex character, and understand where Wagner was going with him. Along with learning the music, one has to be constantly thinking about the character, and his interactions with other characters. Next week I’ll discuss how I use CD and DVD recordings in the early stages to familiarise myself with both the drama and the music.
To continue reading go here: Fulham Opera: Ring Blog
Written By The Wagnerian on Thursday 3 May 2012 | 9:04:00 pm
It’s safe to say that no opera production in modern times has created as much buzz and controversy as Robert Lepage’s $16 million, high-tech extravaganza Ring Cycle.
Metropolitan Opera general director Peter Gelb put not only his own career, but pretty much the fate of his whole, storied company on the line to make this happen. And famed Canadian director Lepage admits he had no idea what he was doing when he accepted the job.
It’s a high-stakes gamble that filmmaker Susan Froemke has captured in all of its breast-plate-and-spear glory in a two-hour documentary that has as many hair-raising, stomach-churning moments as a ride on Wonderland’s new Leviathan.
Wagner’s Dream, which screens on Monday as a prelude to four live, HD broadcasts from the Met to cinemas around the world of composer Richard Wagner’s full Ring of the Nibelung cycle, remarkably captures every salient detail of this crazy ride.
From wooden models in Lepage’s Quebec City workshop to the final curtain on the first performance of Götterdämmerung, the final opera in the cycle, no twist is left unexplored.
You don’t have to be an opera fan to appreciate the complexity of the massive set of turning wooden slats that are also home to video projections, acrobats and singers.
It is like seeing Peter Jackson’s over-the-top Lord of the Rings brought to the opera stage, but with better music
We see Lepage and his crew trying to actually make the 90,000-pound, computer-controlled monster, nicknamed The Machine, work properly. We get a clear sense of Gelb’s frayed nerves as glitch upon glitch piles up before the first dress rehearsal.
We witness the sheer terror on the faces of the Rhine Maidens when they realize that they will swim suspended above the stage, as a massive platform rotates under their feet.
We can collectively gasp as soprano Deborah Voigt, this production’s heroic Brünhilde, misses a singing leap on the treacherous set, falls flat on her face — and doesn’t miss a note.
And we can marvel at the sheer collective force of will that has an army of stagehands in blackout costumes make all the stuff of theatrical magic happen with split-second timing, while the handsomely suited and coiffed audience sits serenely in the gilded opera house.
"A lot of the guys I grew up with on the south side of Niles, they
didn't understand what I was doing. I didn't really understand what I
was doing, either."
From Niles to the Met Opera star to speak in Warren
He was a kid from Niles unsure of his direction, a guy who worked his way through school in Macali's grocery store in the Great East Plaza.
Flash forward to 2008 at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. That same kid stands on stage taking bows as the curtain falls on Richard Wagner's opera "Tristan und Isolde." He sang the role of Tristan.
Gary Lehman recalls that it was both "my house debut and role debut the same evening, with James Levine in the pit, a legend, and up on the stage some of the greatest singers. You just sort of go, 'Holy crap, what just happened here?'
"It was just one of those out-of-body experiences. You're up till 5 in the morning with a performance high."
Lehman repeated the role with the Mariinsky Opera, St. Petersburg, Russia, in June 2008, with Leipzig Opera in Leipzig, Germany, in January 2009, and gave concert performances with London's Philharmonia Orchestra throughout Europe in August and September 2010.
Further Wagner roles have been Siegmund in "Die Walkure," also at the Met, and a recording of the title role in "Parsifal."
Now considered one of the world's premiere heldentenor repertoire singers, he said his rise to prominence can be directly traced to growing up in Niles.
"I'm sort of like this area. I consider myself more of a blue-collar singer," Lehman said. "You learn the value of an honest, hard day's work. This is how I always approached my singing."
Lehman will take the stage May 15 at Packard Music Hall, not in an opera but as the third guest in the Tribune Chronicle's "It All Started Here" speaker series. He will discuss his career, growing up in Trumbull County and will perform a selection of arias with a pianist.
"I had a great support system here,'' Lehman, a 1982 McKinley graduate, said recently. ''My high school choir director at Niles McKinley (Michael Weiher) was instrumental in pushing me to go into college and go into music. He put me in touch with professor David Starkey, and he took me under his wing. He told me, 'You have the talent to make a career out of this' and put me on the path and opened doors that I didn't know existed."
Still, opera singer isn't the norm for a kid from Niles.
"I got some ribbing from a lot of the guys I worked with at Macali's," he said. "One time, a bunch of these guys came to see me at a show at YSU. They had the Penguin Pub back then and they hit the pub before the show. So those eight or 10 guys sat up front in the center row, and every time I came on stage, they were whooping and hollering the whole show."
It's not exactly the usual demeanor at an opera, he said. "But you always knew they were pulling for you, too."
"A lot of the guys I grew up with on the south side of Niles, they didn't understand what I was doing. I didn't really understand what I was doing, either."
Written By The Wagnerian on Wednesday 2 May 2012 | 11:00:00 pm
Still not better it seems, Kaufmann is unavailable for Mondays performance. After Frank van Aken rushed in at the last minute on Saturday it is now the turn of Stuart Skelton. Which doesn't leave him much time to recover from performing Erik in ENO's new Dutchman in London on the Saturday! Hardest working Heldentenor of the moment? Possibly.
But it must be said, with the spate of bad luck the MET is having at the moment it makes you wonder if they should just give the ring back to the Rhinemaidens now?
It has been brought to my attention that following the "make over" the search facility here had not been working very well. Well, after getting out my rarely used tool kit I have hit it with a rusty hammer (borrowed from Mime) and now all seems well. Sorry for that.
"...I don't see how you can deny the Will, as you are, by definition, the Will itself" Frederick Copleston
Philosopher Bryan Magee, is among many many other things, the author of two books on Wagner: Aspects Of Wagner (one of the best and most concise introductions to Wagner) and the probably even better known: "Wagner and Philosophy" (known in the USA as "The Tristan Chord".
The following is from is 80's BBC TV series "The Great Philosophers" wherein he discusses Schopenhauer with Frederick Copleston
Last year brought us the premiere of one of the most unusual Rheingolds in Wagner history: Fulham Opera's fully staged performance in a church - to piano accompaniment and with a cast of professionals. At the time I interviewed Fulham's Musical Director Ben Woodward (see here). During this we discussed the possibility of a full cycle in 2013. This was then later confirmed earlier this year and will take place during summer 2013. We also noted that Walkure would premiere this year (dates below). However, we can now also reveal that the Wagner Society are promoting a special one day "rerun" this year of Rheingold on Sunday 24th June (details below and tickets available from the Wagner Society). Also, as they gear-up for two full cycles in 2013 there will be a "half cycle" in September this year (again details below).
In the run-up to this, the Wagnerian will bring a number of "special features" on this project over the next few months including: A review summery of last years Rheingold, a further interview with Ben Woodward, a god and goddess speak and other items. In the meantime, check the links below and then book a ticket for a very extraordinary Ring Cycle.
DIE WALKURE:
22, 23, 25
and 27 May 2012.
Cast Siegmund: TBC | Sieglinde: Laura Hudson | Hunding: Oliver Hunt | Wotan: Ian Wilson-Pope | Brunnhilde: Zoe South | Fricka: TBC | Helmwige: Janet Fischer | Gerhilde: Lisajane Ellis | Ortlinde: Alexa Mason | Waltraute: Jemma Brown | Siegrune: Sara Wallander-Ross | Grimgerde: Nuria Luterbacher | Rossweisse: Rhonda Browne | Schwertleite: Cathy Bell
June 24 2012 CAST: Woglinde: Zoë South / Wellgunde: Alexa Mason Flosshilde & Erda: Sara Gonzalez Alberich: Robert Presley / Fricka: Elizabeth Russo Wotan: Ian Wilson - Pope / Freia: Jennie Witton Fasolt: Oliver Hunt / Fafner: John Woods Froh: Stuart Laing / Donner: Dario Dugandzic Loge: Brian Smith- Walters / Mime: Ian Massa - Harris
As part of Wagner's bicentenary in 2013, Boston Lyric Opera will premiere, for the first time in the USA, the 1841 critical edition of Wagner's Der Fliegende Holländer. The 1841 edition was written prior to the revision that premiered in Dresden in 1842 and which moved the location from Scotland to Norway, changed a number of the characters names and changed the opera from a single to three act drama. More as we receive it but below is the release from BLO.
US premiere of the 1841 critical edition
An evocative exploration of love as redemption and escape concludes
BLO’s 2012/2013 Season. In honor of Wagner’s bicentennial year, the
Company has selected the original 1841 edition of The FlyingDutchman, set in a 19th century Scottish fishing village, as the musical foundation for its new production.
Michael Cavanagh directs andBritish soprano Allison Oakes makes
her BLO debut as Senta, the romantic heroine, who in her desperation to
escape her constrictive and claustrophobic life, conjures up the
mythical figure of The Dutchman. Also making their BLO debuts in Dutchman are tenor Chad Shelton as Erik and bass-baritone Alfred Walker as The Dutchman. New sets and costumes by John Conklin mirror Wagner’s dramatic vision of the uncontrollable force of the sea.
Written By The Wagnerian on Tuesday 1 May 2012 | 8:25:00 pm
Alberich may not be the only one being bullied by the "Gods"
The English speaking opera houses have often had a strained relationship with opera bloggers - both independent and now it would seem professional bloggers. Last year the MET demanded that Brad Wilber take down his "MET Futures" blog, which had, for around fifteen years, published what were often very reliable rumours on future MET productions not yet officially announced (For more details on this, see this article over at: Observer.Com). Prior to that, the owner of the long established London based blog "Intermezzo" had received a legal notice from the ROH telling her to remove photographs of their productions - an intervention so bungled by the ROH that it lead to coverage in the UK's "broadsheets" (See this Guardian article for more details). One would assume from the negative publicity generated by these two events alone, both opera houses would have have learnt their lesson, be a bit more sensitive and even attempted to work with bloggers (as most, other houses, - with one or two exceptions - do and who in turn receive what is ultimately free publicity) but alas this seems not to be the case.
Over at Parterre.com the somewhat legendary New York opera blogger, "La Cieca" is reporting (and as originally reported at the New York Times) that the MET have had a blog pulled at NY Metro radio station WQXR. This blog (by a professional critic in this instance - Olivia Giovetti) was, according to La Cieca:
"... in large part a rebuttal to Gelb’s interview with Anthony Tommasini, which in turn was transparently a response to the Alex Ross‘s harsh critique of Lepage’s production in The New Yorker" (The full post can be read here.).
It seems that the MET's own general manager, Peter Gelb had personally intervened with the management at WQXR.
Although the blog in question has now been removed, Parterre Box has made it available as as a PDF which can be viewed here.
First the conductor, now Tannhäuser has pulled out of Sebastian Baumgarten's "controversial" production, as Lars Cleveland is replaced by Torsten Kerl
Little information is available but a statement from Festival spokesman Peter Emmerich reads: "Lars Cleveland has been released from his contract at his own request,"
As already reported, conductor Thomas Hengelbrock withdrew from the production earlier this this year to be replaced by Christian Thielemann.
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The truth shall set us free.
Okay, fine, except what happens when the truth is obscured in lies? That
now seems to be the situation in the United States....
Book Review: Blood and Iron by Katja Hoyer
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A Review of Blood and Iron: The Rise and Fall of the German Empire
1871–1918 by Katja Hoyer
Amazon Kindle eBook edition (the edition used for the revi...
Sleeping Forever Beneath the Dry Earth (Part 5)
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Shostakovich talking with Rudolf Barshai in the early 1970s
And here is the final part of my book. I am really pleased with a lot of
what's in this part ...
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Ligeti, Atmosphères
Wagner, Prelude to Lohengrin Act 1
Berg, Violin Concerto
Brahms, Symphony No. 3 in F major
Vienna Philharmonic
Christoph von Dohnányi, ...
El desafío de Werther en Lima
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*La magnífica ópera de Massenet, obra cumbre del romanticismo francés,
llega en una extraordinaria producción de la Ópera de Colombia, para abrir
la Tempo...
Twerp it.
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Review – Salome (English National Opera, Friday 28 September 2018) Salome –
Allison Cook Jokanaan – David Soar Herod – Michael Colvin Herodias – Susan
Bick...
Royal Opera House announces Ring Cycles for 2018!
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Very excited by this announcement. Must start saving now…. ADVANCE
ANNOUNCEMENT Four full cycles performed September–November 2018 The 2018/19
Season open...
continuing as the flying surgeon
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As some of you may have noticed this blog has been inactive the last couple
of years. When I started this blog I worked in Denmark, but in 2011, after
I be...
The Most Terrifying Aria In All Of Opera
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The most terrifying aria in all of opera, or why Mozart stands alone as a
composer of dramma per musica. (Our thanks to The Music...
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*JULES BASTIN, BASSE CHANTANTE*
BASTIN was born in Waterloo in 1933. He was a Belgian operatic bass* who*
made his debut in 1960 at *La Monnaie*, singing ...
Carmen Aldrich
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Carmen at Chorégie d’Orange was TV live broadcast less than two weeks ago.
Contrary to the Puccini operas or the dreaded Verismo repertoire, Carmen is
alwa...
All-Wagner Concert on Friday, May 21
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Please join us for "Exquisite Love Duets and Solos by Richard Wagner," on
Friday, May 21, 2010, at Pickman Hall, Longy School of Music, Cambridge,
Massachu...
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