Lars von Trier's "Melencolia"

Someday, I may get round to  writing something about this movie. If you haven't seen it you should. And, as a useless a comment as it maybe, I think this film is as much about depression, in the modern sense,  as Druer's Melencolia I is - which of course, is not a great deal. And no I don't necessarily mean the whole Sturm und Drang thing - an obvious influence given Lars von Trier's study of German Romanticism,  but I think one needs to back even further to Agrippia and De Occulta Philosophia libri III. Of course, I might be wrong - but wouldn't life be boring if we were always right?


Should you be interested in pursuing this line of reasoning, after watching the whole movie, you might find the following essay by the late Dame Frances Yates of some interest - which starts out as an examination of George Chapman's The Shadow of Night.

Edit: If you are still wondering what this has to do with Wagner - apart from the obvious - Wagner, if you are unaware, had a "working knowledge" of Cabala and I would suspect that von Trier is more than aware of this.

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Mark Berry to discuss Keith Warner's Ring Cycle at ROH - 18 June 2012

Dr Berry in the orchestra pit at Bayreuth.
We believe different trousers will be worn
at the ROH talk.

As the bicentenary of the birth of Richard Wagner approaches, productions of his most celebrated opera, Ring, will be held around the world. Heralded as opera’s greatest composer, Wagner’s works attract a core audience of afictionados and continue to inspire new interpretations. Dr Mark Berry, a leading Wagner expert, will be discussing the different stagings of the Ring during a special event at the Royal Opera House on Monday (18 June).

The talk will be held for the Wagner Circle – a group of like-minded people interested in gaining a deeper knowledge and understanding of Wagner - and will see Dr Berry discuss the different interpretations of the Ring, looking at the dramas and staging, with Kasper Holten, recently appointed Director of Opera at the Royal Opera House.

Dr Berry, from the Department of Music at Royal Holloway, University of London, said: “We shall discuss the recent stagings we have reviewed, including recent Paris and Weimar, Germany, productions and Kasper Holten's own award-winning Copenhagen Ring, which was celebrated for its feminist angle. We shall also discuss more general aspects of the stage director's role: why does he not simply adhere to the text? How does he interrogate the text? How do words and music come together, and inform what we see on stage?”

Dr Berry will also draw on his research into the political and religious ideas expounded in Wagner's Ring.

Keith Warner's production of the third opera in Wagner's epic Ring cycle will be held this autumn. Dr Berry commented: “The Ring is receiving a multitude of stagings across the world next year, from Bayreuth, the Festival founded in 1876 by Wagner himself and still very much a Holy Grail for Wagnerians, to the Seattle Opera. The Royal Opera House is, perhaps wisely, given the finite number of Wagner singers, getting in early, with this revival of Keith Warner's production.”

The Royal Opera House will also stage a new production of Wagner's final drama, Parsifal, in 2013 - the anniversary year.

Dr Berry will be involved in a number of events during the bicentenary year. He will be speaking at a Wagner conference at the University of South Carolina in January 2013  and at the Ring Symposia at Seattle Opera in August 2013. Dr Berry is author ofTreacherous Bonds and Laughing Fire: Politics and Religion in Wagner's 'Ring'  For more information visit the publisher's website. Dr Berry also contributed to the Cambridge Wagner Encyclopaedia and will be guest editing The Wagner Journal.

More at: Royal Holloway. And also at: ROH

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Union Avenue Opera of Saint Louis to stage Ring Cycle?

Concluding the 2012 Festival Season is the start of a four-year odyssey for Union Avenue Opera: Das Rheingold, the first of Richard Wagner’s epic Ring Cycle. Condensed and reduced by English composer Jonathan Dove, this adaptation retains the essence of Wagner while making it accessible to UAO’s intimate setting. A saga of epic proportion replete with giants, gods, goddesses and a dragon, Das Rheingold opens in the waters of the river Rhine, where three Rhine-maidens guard the river’s magical gold. Enraged by their scorn, conniving dwarf Alberich steals enough of this precious metal to forge a ring that gives its bearer unimaginable power. Meanwhile Wotan and Loge, two powerful gods, conspire to steal the gold as ransom for the goddess Freia who has been kidnapped by the giants. The ensuing struggle for possession of the ring drives this dramatic opera.

Gods
Wotan:	Kevin Misslich
Loge:	Kevin Hanek
Fricka:	Elise Quagliata
Freia:	Joy Boland
Donner:	John Maynard
Froh:	Clark Sturdevant
Erda:	Cecelia Stearman
Nibelungs
Alberich:	Jordan Shanahan
Giants
Fasolt:	Todd von Felker
Fafner:	Nikolas Wenzel
Rhinemaidens
Woglinde:	Elizabeth Beers Kataria
Wellgunde:	Megan Hart
Floßhilde:	Katja Heuzeroth

Directed by Karen Coe Miller
Conducted by Scott Schoonover

Presented in German with projected English supertitles

Friday, August 17 at 8pm
Saturday, August 18 at 8pm
Friday, August 24 at 8pm
Saturday, August 25 at 8pm

Click here for more

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Ben Heppner: A Wagnerian Interview

I was recently lucky to have had the opportunity to catch-up with Ben Heppner during his ongoing  run as Tristan in WNO's revival of Yannis Kokkos' Tristan und Isolde. During our time together, we discussed conductor Lothar Koenig, the Isolde of Ann Petersen, who Tristan really is, the meaning of Wagner's opera, advise he would give to young opera performers and much else - including why certain opera productions may leave you smelling of anything but roses.

TW: I believe this is your first time playing at the Millennium Centre in Cardiff, What are your impressions of the theatre?

BH: This is indeed my first time at the Millennium Centre. In fact, I have never been to Wales before and I am enjoying getting to know Cardiff and environs. So far, I have walked portions of the Taff Trail and most recently I have been exploring SW Wales by car and foot. Rhosilli provided a most wonderful diversion.

The theatre is better than I first thought. When I arrived I was able to see the Gala concert with Dennis O’Neill and Dame Kiri Te Kanewa as well as my friend Jason Howard. For some reason of accoustics with the singers on the orchestral apron, the voices were not as present in the hall as I might have expected. However, I do not get that feeling as I sing Tristan or listen to the Boheme that is currently rehearsing. It is a nice pleasing accoustic.

TW: And also your first time working with conductor Lothar Koenig?

BH: Actually no, it isn't. We did a happy collaboration with the Rotterdam Philharmonic presenting a recently recorded CD that I had made called ‘Siegfried’s Life’ In it I take excepts from The Ring and follow the life of the tenor characters throughout the Operas.

Lothar is made to conduct Tristan und Isolde. He has been preparing this for a long time and it is evident is his thorough knowledge and excitement in conducting Tristan. I would think that most conductors would hope that they could conduct Tristan und Isolde at some point in their careers and Lothar is no exception. However, his understanding of the music and texts have made this Tristan a great pleasure.

TW: I think he has said that the first opera he ever attended was Tristan when he was very young and that it left a lifelong impression. And certainly, the response from those attending has been very good - to say the least.

I own a copy, of your ‘Siegfried’s Life’ Cd [highly recommended.If you don't already own a copy, and if you have access to Spotify, you can listen below] but wasn't aware of the Koenig connection.

You haven’t worked with your Isolde - Ann Petersen – before though have you?

BH: No, this is my first time working with Ann. She brings an intensity and passion to Isolde that is riveting to listen to and watch. She has all the vocal assets needed to express the passionate side of Isolde and a marvellous lyricism during the love duet. We will hear a lot more of Ann Petersen in the coming years.

TW: You have now performed Tristan around 60 times. I’m curious to know, going back to when you first performed the role, how have your thoughts changed about Tristan as a person – if at all?

BH:This is a bit of the frog in the boiling water syndrome for me. Each performance or production moves in one direction or another and I forget where I started with Tristan’s character.

I suppose the biggest change is that I now believe that Tristan had a lot more choice in his circumstances than I previously did. He has a line in Act 3 where, after all the Freudian self evisceration about his father’s and mother’s fate, he concludes ‘ich selbst, ich hab’ ihn gebraut’ – I myself, I have brewed this (drink).

TW: What about his relationship with Isolde?

BH: I don’t think that my basic idea of what Isolde is all about has changed in any major degree. Every Isolde brings her own set of qualities to the performance and my job as a singing partner is to respond. I’ve been married for 33 years now and I’m fully aware that the my beloved is complex and fascinating bringing with her unique points of view that need to be recognised. So when Isolde brings up the ‘und’ speech in Act 2 I’ve got to say she’s right!

TW: Indeed! And King Marke?

BH: At first I had the feeling that Tristan felt completely exposed and embarrassed by Marke’s arrival on the scene. However, I now have the feeling that his remorse is really sympathy of the awkward position in which he has put Konig Marke rather than Tristan’s feelings of guilt.

TW: Like most of Wagner’s dramas, Tristan has been analyzed relentlessly regarding “its meaning”. Yet unlike, Parsifal, or the Ring for example – where there is still much debate – most analysts seem to have now become fully convinced that either it is Wagner’s “hymn” to Schopenhauer or both that and his “obsession” with Mathilde Wesendonck. I’m curious, that as someone who has played the role of Tristan so many times now – and who I know has studied the opera greatly and indeed the philosophy that many argue influenced it – what, at its core, is “Tristan und Isolde “ about”?

BH: Yikes! There is no way I could come up with some definitive answer about this. That is why we have Wagner Verbände that meet and discuss these things.

An obvious place to start is the conflicting forces of the world of Night and the world of Day. It is essentially a realm of lies. In daylight, Tristan must deny any feelings for Isolde or perhaps even her existence. By contrast, the realm of Night represents an opposite, unseen reality, in which Tristan and Isolde are free to express their love and be as one in an eternal setting –achievable only in death. Schopenaur or Wesendonck – chicken or egg – Only Wagner knew.

TW: Yannis Kokkos’ production, while “modern”, seems to remain faithful to the text of the drama. Could you tell us a little about its overall “concept” and your reactions to it.

BH:What the set looks like is not the biggest issue for me. What does matter is that we keep a connection with what was originally intended by the composer. Yannis Kokkos’ production does just that. It is a very good directing of the characters involved and allows for the relationships to develop in an organic way.

TW: This brings me onto something you said some time ago when you commented on the “insanity” of many European opera productions – the “worst” of “regitheater” if you will. And I think there is an ever growing chorus of voices in Europe that would sympathize with this view but would you explain a little what for you, you feel is the greatest problem with such productions?

BH: As I mentioned earlier, I have no problem with an updated set or time period. However, when the director decides that he/she is going to use their own social or moral or environmental etc. agenda and insinuate it on top of what the librettist/composer intended, that is where I part company with the director. I have no problem with an artistic desire to put forward new ideas. However, why not write a new piece that deals with that particular topic.

TW: I think I said something similar myself regarding a recent Wagner production and can assure you from responses that I received you are not alone with your thoughts.

Remaining on this subject for a moment, I have always felt that it most somehow make a performance more difficult for an artist within such a production. For example a Tristan set in a sewage works designed to be some sort of “statement” on environmental “issues” - and which, visually, as you have just said, tries to rewrite the text. Would this be a fare statement in your experience or does it make little difference to your performance?

BH: To continue the sewage example, this way of directing is its’ own form of effluent [He laughs] We all end up smelling bad.

TW: There is no doubt that you are a great Wagner performer – and we are lucky to have you - there is also no doubt that Wagner is not the only composer in your repertoire, however, do you feel to highly “tunnelled” towards performing Wagner operas and what other composers would you like to include in your schedule to a greater degree?

BH: It is a natural by-product of singing Wagner to be ‘tunnelled’ to sing more. When one finds a singer who can sing Wagner roles, whose musicianship and musicality blooms within these roles, you will be offered more. If the singer also feels the same you’ve got a match. Such is the case with me. I naturally gravitate to the music of the late romantic period and feel home singing Wagner. At our house, Mendelssohn is considered to be early music [Laughs].

TW: Talking of this, you are of course also known as a great interpretor of Berlioz. While there is a clear link between both composers – and it is difficult to deny Berlioz's influence on Wagner – could you tell us the differences between performing their works?

BH: Beats me how I might be considered a great interpreter of Berlioz given that I have only sung Les Troyens. That said, I do love Berlioz. The orchestrations are the most fascinating to me. Berlioz finds wonderful colours in the orchestra.

The vocal demands of Berlioz and Wagner vary from each other. Wagner seems have written for a way of singing that he envisioned an expression not yet heard on the opera stage up to that point. Berlioz seems to have written for a way of singing that already existed.

The role of Enée seems to be written for 3 different voices. The aria at the end is echoing what Wagner was doing with his vocal writing but the duet seems to be based on the voix-mixte style of the french tenor. Then there are parts of the Enée that feel baritonal. The problem is that if you feel comfortable with the duet you will probably struggle with Inutile's Regrets and vice versa.

TW: You will be performing Tristan later this year with Jennifer Wilson as Isolde, in a WNO concert performance at the Edinburgh International Festival. What, apart from the obvious, are the main differences to you as an artist in performing in a concert version of an opera and in what ways, if any, does it influence your performance.

BH: I love opera in concert. It allows for the music to be front and centre. That said, I do miss the stagings which enhance the nuance and meaning of the piece. If there is any influence on the performance, it is that the singers feel more connected with the musical side of things, perhaps bringing a greater sense of clarity to what the composer had in mind.

TW: I speak to a lot of young and developing opera singers and with that in mind: looking back on your career so far, what advice would you offer them? And is there anything you would have done differently?

BH: One can observe and incorporate what you have learned from another singer, but advice and criticism should be taken from those who have earned the right to speak into your life. Be careful to whom you listen. What I mean is, you cannot listen to the casual observer or even a critic. Your teacher, your coach and manager need to be listened to because you have given them that responsibility.

I would have done many things differently in the light of history. However, I’m content and more than a bit amazed at the path my life has taken. I started out just wanting to find a way to stay connected to music and ended up on a most wonderful ride.

TW: Finally what are your plans for the future?

BH: I don’t have any new operas on the horizon but my next season lines up as follos:

Sept-Oct San Francisco – Moby Dick
Nov – Dec Tour of northern Canada recitals
Jan – Feb Tristan in Toronto
Mar – Apr Tristan in Houston
May - Tour on Western Canada recitals

TW: Ben, I just want to thank you once again for taking the time out, during the middle of a very busy run to talk to me and I look forward immensely to seeing you perform once again twice this year – I shall be heading to Edinburgh as well as Birmingham to so.


Apart from the dates above, you can still catch Ben in WNO's Tristan in the UK: There  are still a few tickets remaining for Birmingham on the 16th and of course we have the already mentioned the concert performance at the Edinburgh International Festival where the superb Jennifer Wilson will take over in the role of Isolde.

For more on the WNO Tristan: WNO
For more on Ben Heppner: Ben Heppner.com

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Nina Stemme in conversation with Cori Ellison

“When I was first asked if I’d ever consider singing Isolde,” she recalled, “I said, ‘You must be joking.’

NEW YORK likes to think of itself as being the classical music capital of the world. Yet every so often it falls off the flight path of certain eminent musicians. Cecilia Bartoli, Carlos Kleiber, Birgit Nilsson and Brigitte Fassbaender are just a few of the great artists who have skipped New York for long stretches.

The same goes for the superb Nina Stemme, widely considered the world’s reigning dramatic soprano. When the Swedish Ms. Stemme (pronounced (STEH-muh) made her Metropolitan Opera debut, as Senta in Wagner’s “Fliegende Holländer” in 2000, Anthony Tommasini praised her “cool, radiant and often penetrating sound” in The New York Times and called her portrayal “lustrous and winning.” But she has logged a mere 11 New York appearances in all, having returned to the Met in 2010 for five performances of Strauss’s “Ariadne auf Naxos”. And she won’t resurface there until the 2016-17 season, when she will star in both Strauss’s “Elektra” and a new Willy Decker production of Wagner’s “Tristan und Isolde.”

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Bayreuth Parsifal in HD: One UK cinema confirms booking open

Considering the hype provided by Bayreuth for this event, trying to find a cinema outside of Germany or Switzerland showing it is similar to trying to get a ticket to actually see it at Bayreuth! However, we can finally confirm at least one UK cinema will be showing it: The Warwick Arts Centre- part Of Warwick University and actually just outside of Coventry. Should warn you though, having been there it isn't, as we recall,  very big and there are not that many seats

Details and booking below, should we find any others we will let you know. As you might expect from Bayreuth (anyone listening here or taking hints?) the official website has not been updated.

Bayreuth Festival Live Screening: Parsifal

Sat 11 Aug 2.45pm
Cinema £25.50 (£20.50)

The Bayreuth Festival is one of the most renowned and acclaimed opera festivals in the world, dedicated solely to the works of Richard Wagner. Every year, around 60,000 visitors from across the world are drawn to Bayreuth to experience one of its outstanding performances.

Demand for tickets always outstrips supply, and the waiting list for tickets reputedly takes ten years to surmount. But this year, Warwick Arts Centre is providing you with a unique opportunity to jump the queue and witness a Bayreuth production without leaving the Coventry area. For the first time ever, there will be a live screening of Parsifal, beamed direct from the Bayreuth Festival to the cinema screen here at Warwick.

An opera in three acts, it tells the story of the Arthurian Knight Parsifal (Percival) and his search for the Holy Grail. The role of Parsifal will be performed by Burkhard Fritz, with Kundry performed by Susan Maclean.

Do not miss this unique opportunity to see a performance from one of the most in demand festivals in the world, and the spiritual home of Wagner.

Running time: Approx 6 hours (includes two intervals and two interval programmes).

For Booking Information: Click Here

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Read Jay Hunter Morris' Autobiography - free.

Edit 20/4/2013: While this was free from Jay Hunters Website it is no longer. It can now be found for sale at amazon. 

Visit his website and you can download his autobiography (actually more a somewhat idiosyncratic if rather amusing - and not unintelligent, series of diary entries): "Diary Of A Redneck Opera Zinger" for free

Want to know why he got into a fight in "Safeways"? Curious to know why he hates hippies  and demanded a refund for farting? |Want to  know what happened when he met John Lithgow? Or his first night performing Siegfried?

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Ljubljana SNG Opera announce 2012-2013 season to include new Dutchman production

The Ljubljana SNG Opera and Ballet house presented on Monday its plans for the 2012-2013 season, which will feature six new productions, of which four are operas and two ballets. A number of events will also be held this year to mark the 120th anniversary of Ljubljana’s recently renovated opera house.

Director Mitja Bervar noted at the presentation that the opera and ballet house had been facing major financial and organizational trouble in the recent years, but that the completed renovation of the opera house end of last year had given the entire ensemble new impetus after it had spent six years in make-do conditions.

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"Producing the Ring is a rite of passage which every opera company aspires to undertake" Opera North's Richard Mantle

Wagner's Ring is the ultimate test for an opera company: an epic, 16-hour cycle of four mythological operas that is both expensive to stage and to watch. A stalls seat for the Royal Opera's cycle later this year costs £1,000; while the most recent attempt of a British regional company to mount the work – by Scottish Opera in 2003 – almost resulted in the company going out of business.

So how is a medium-sized touring company expected to produce the Ring and remain solvent? Last year Opera North undertook the biggest project in the company's 34-year history, to mount one instalment of the cycle a year between 2011-14. Given the financially straitened times, it might seem to be grand folly. Yet the project has been determined by the controversial, yet cost-effective decision to present the operas as semi-staged versions in concert halls rather than theatres.

"Producing the Ring is a rite of passage which every opera company aspires to undertake," said Opera North's general director, Richard Mantle. "But I was adamant that we would not bankrupt ourselves doing it."

Continue Reading: Opera North tackles Wagner's Ring Cycle

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Wagner Society Of Israel's Wagner Concert canceled once more

Tel Aviv Hilton cancels Wagner performance despite signing contract

Following cancellation by Tel Aviv University, Israel Wagner Society is having trouble finding a venue for the show.

The Israel Wagner Society is continuing in its efforts to find a venue for a concert of pieces by Richard Wagner, without much success.

Last week, the society found a venue in which to hold a concert this coming Saturday, the Tel Aviv Hilton Hotel. A few days later however, hotel ownership changed its mind and cancelled the show.

"Everything was agreed upon with the Hildon's management," said Yonathan Livni, founder of the Israel Wagner Society. "Even the type of chairs – we signed a detailed contract, including which pieces would be played," continued Livni. On Friday afternoon however, despite the signed contract, and after advertisements were posted in newspapwers, the Hilton handed down the decision to cancel the show.

"We don’t know the reason for cancellation," said Livni. "Meanwhile, this whole ordeal is dragging out huge expenses."

Continue Reading

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Watch: Plácido Domingo's Operalia Contest 2012 -Final Round

June 10 2012

Founded in 1993 by Plácido Domingo, Operalia previous winners have included:  Joyce DiDonato, Rolando Villazon, Stéphane Degout, Inva Mula, Nina Stemme, José Cura, John Osborn, Susanna Phillips, Ludovic Tezier.

The contests goal is, according to Domingo: "My purpose in Operalia is to help identify not only the best voices, but also to discover those singers whose personalities, characters and powers of interpretation show that they have the potential to become complete artists. Individuals such as these become tomorrow’s stars. This is why the jury is not exclusively made up of great singers but also includes general managers, stage directors and casting directors"

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Ring Cycle Playing Cards

Came across these earlier today. Frivolous but they do look "fun". More information at the manufacturers website linked below. Alas, we haven't bought a pack yet so can't say much about the quality but they certainly look nice. Clicking on the image will bring up a larger, more detailed image.

More at: Prospero Art

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Siegfried Wagner's Der Kobold: A review from its premiere in 1904

Siegfried Wagner

Alas, Siegfried Wagner's operas are listened to and performed far less than they should be. They are also far better than this review would suggest - and this is still an early work only being his third opera. Below, you can also listen to the entire opera as recorded on the Marco Polo label.

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The Wagnerian and Spotify. Plus, one of the greatest Lohengrin recordings

I may start adding the Spotify player app to certain articles . For example, when I want to provide examples of music or during interviews, reviews, etc. In part, because I think most people have access to this service now - although not everyone. And in part, I happen to think it is not that bad a service.

However, I do so with one reservation, buying music from Spotify - using its strange "download credit" system is generally very expensive - much more so than Amazon for example. So, while I whole heartedly recommend listening to tracks/albums on the service I cannot in all consciousness recommend you buy from them. Hear something you like? Then, as always, "shop around".

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Video Concert: Wesendonck Lieder - Christianne Stotijn, & Eivind Buene's "Langsam und Schmachtend"

EDIT: I have had to remove the video as google seems to be reporting it as an "attack site"! (Google does like to use highly emotive words does it not?). I believe that is not the case as the stream is authorized by the festival itself. However, as this seems to be preventing some people from accessing "The Wagnerian" I have removed it. The links remain in place if you wish to visit the site but please keep this in mind. And my apologies to any inconvenience caused.

Recorded yesterday at the OJAI Music Festival (which is being streamed live at the link below). The concert begins with Eivind Buene's "Langsam und Schmachtend". "Langsam und Schmachtend" is of course Wagner's "tempo marking" for the Tristan prelude and it's this that Buene uses as the "skeletal system" of this work. Indeed, it is surprising when the prelude makes its appearance on those occasions above and within Buene's sound-scape. If its not for you (but I would recommend a listen) it lasts for approximately 12.5 minutes.

After this, the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra remain on stage and are joined by Christianne Stotijn in a performance of Wagner's Wesendonck Lieder plus Berg
Four Songs (Stotijn /Hamelin ) and Berg Four Pieces (Fröst /Andsnes) (note: They are oddly inter-spaced)

Alas, while the live stream is problem free I needed this to "buffer" a little while. You may do too.

There is much more to enjoy on the festival's live steaming channel and its archive so far.

To visit the Festival's website for program details CLICK HERE

For direct access to the streaming media CLICK HERE

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Siegfried "The Movie" to finally enter production and Alex Alice's Siegfried gets English language release

Some time ago I brought you the preproduction trailer for Alex Alice's "Siegfried", an animated movie project based on the Ring Cycle which, due to funding problems, was never made. Instead animator and graphic novelist Alex Alice began his three part graphic novel "Siegfried" which went on to achieve a number of awards -  and no little fame in France.

The series was finally concluded in 2011.

In June this year American distributer Archia will release the first graphic novel in the series in its first English language translation.

At the same time Alex Alice, has announced he will recommence production of the Siegfried movie.

Below is the North American trailer. Also included, is a preview of the new release.

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DVD release: Claudio Abbado - Bruckner’s 5th Symphony, live at the 2011 Lucerne Festival.

Press release as received so not my words but I can say, having seen it, it is a fine performance.

ACCENTUS Music announces forthcoming release of Claudio Abbado conducting the LUCERNE FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA performing Bruckner’s 5th Symphony, live at the 2011 Lucerne Festival.
Bruckner’s 5th symphony, composed during a time of difficulty and disillusionment, has been interpreted as conveying a message of hope and faith; and is sometimes referred to as the composer’s “Catholic” symphony. It is also his longest and, some might argue, most demanding composition for a conductor.
Yet, for Claudio Abbado and his stellar orchestra it presents an opportunity to excel further. Tom Service in the Guardian writes of Abbado conducting this repertoire that he“controlled the flow of time. It wasn't just him, of course, as his musicians gave a performance that – in terms of ensemble, expression and flexibility – was among the most astonishing any of us are likely to experience. The Lucerne Festival Orchestra raises orchestral playing to a new realm of possibility. Through the alchemy of the musicians' relationship with Abbado, they also revealed Bruckner as a visionary – a quantum, time-collapsing composer.”

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Hans Neuenfels Lohengrin released on DVD and Blue-Ray

What can we say? Well the critics liked it and one supposes if you have always wanted to mix Mice (although people keep telling us they are rats) and Wagner now is your opportunity to own your wish on DVD or Blue-ray.

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Bryn Terfel on Wotan, Sachs and The Hay Festival

It isn’t every day that the world’s greatest Wagnerian bass-baritone treats you to tea and toast at his home in the Caernarvon countryside. Bryn Terfel and family – wife Lesley and sons Tomos, Morgan and Deio Sion – live in a comfortably spacious house surrounded by fields and sheep. On the horizon, Snowdon looms through wisps of morning mist. In the middle distance is the farm where Terfel’s parents live.

Wherever he travels, the spirit of his native north Wales goes with him. “Welsh is my mother tongue, and my children speak it,” says Terfel, plonking a jar of home-made marmalade on the table. “If you come and live in this community you’ll work out pretty quickly that it’s beneficial to learn the language, because if you’re going to the pub or a café you need to be a part of the local life.”

Wales prides itself on its heritage of excellent singers, including Geraint Evans, Margaret Price and Robert Tear, yet posterity may decide that Terfel is the finest of them all. Early in his career he was hailed for his Mozartian roles, and he proved himself equally adept in Verdi and Richard Strauss. But fans were waiting for his step up into the daunting vastnesses of Wagner’s Ring Cycle, and when he undertook his first performances as Wotan in Das Rheingold in 2004, it was as if the emperor had finally claimed his throne. The thunderous force of his voice coupled with his command of the stage gripped audiences as if nature had suddenly unleashed a new element.

He has just returned from singing Wotan in three cycles of the four-opera Ring des Nibelungen at New York’s Metropolitan Opera, and returns to the role in September when the Royal Opera House launches its Ring season. “It was my first complete Ring cycle so it was very exciting,” he says. “I was prepared mentally because I had rehearsed Rheingold, Valkyrie and Siegfried by themselves. Still, you get incredibly involved and engrossed in this mountain-climb, especially when the operas are close together. Sometimes it’s three performances in five days.”

The sheer scale of the work would be challenging enough, even without the added complications of mastering the German texts. “Wagner is something you really have to study. It’s kind of a mental block for me – the German words seem to vanish and the libretto plays games with you, even when you think you know it perfectly. I’ll be going ‘do you pronounce that dair, dee, das, dane…’ You should see my scores, they’re covered with wine and coffee stains, and they’ve been thrown across the room, but it’s all part and parcel of involvement with such a tremendous work. It’s theatre and it’s storytelling. You have to be alive on the stage to be able to convey it.”

ut often, it’s sheer stamina that a singer needs to negotiate Wagner’s gargantuan structures. “It was George Bernard Shaw who said Wagner has sublime moments but terrible half hours,” Terfel nods.

“You might get 40-minute sections like the second act of Valkyrie, when Wotan recalls what happens in Das Rheingold to his daughter. It can go pear-shaped unless you’re totally concentrated and are taking in everything that’s happening around you. In New York, the stage set [by Robert Lepage] was these planks that kept moving, so you had the extra difficulty of moving around the stage.”

Despite his feats in the world’s great opera houses, it’s typical that Terfel should single out his first-ever performance as Hans Sachs in Welsh National Opera’s 2010 production of Wagner’s Die Meistersinger as one of his most meaningful accomplishments.

“It was in Cardiff, and the cast was 60 per cent Welsh-speaking. It’s the first time I’ve walked into a rehearsal room speaking my mother tongue, which in itself was a breath of fresh clean air from the Welsh mountains. Singing Hans Sachs is always a milestone, but I was happy to be part of such an achievement, not personally but as a company.”

Continue reading at The Telegraph

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Jane Eaglen & Jay Hunter Morris in new Ring Cycle 2013

Well, David Seaman’s abridged version to be precise. Being put together by the Minnesota Concert Opera and supported by The Richard Wagner Society of the Upper Midwest , with an already impressive looking cast this maybe one to keep an eye on. Release from RWSUM below. Follow the link for more details

Encouraging performances of Wagner’s works is a significant portion of the mission of The Richard Wagner Society of the Upper Midwest (RWSUM). RWSUM has agreed to support The Minnesota Concert Opera, in presenting two performances of David Seaman’s abridged version of Wagner’s Ring Cycle performed in concert format. On April 4, 2012, the RWSUM Board of Directors met with renowned singer Dennis Petersen and Founder of The Minnesota Concert Opera, Stanford Felix to discuss the possibility of a 4-hour “mini-Ring” performance at The Goodale Theater in the Cowles Center in Minneapolis. The proposed and so far assembled cast is:

Jane Eaglen: Brunnhilde/Wellgunde

Greer Grimsley: Wotan/Gunter

Lauretta Bybee (married to Greer): Fricka/Flosshilde

Richard Paul Fink: Alberich/Fasolt

Sally Wolfe: Wogline/Freia/Sieglinde/Woodbird/Guntrune

Kevin Langen: Fafner/Hagen/Hunding

Jay Hunter Morris: Siegried/Siegmund/Froh

Dennis Petersen: Mime/Loge

Jonathan Khuner: Conductor

More: Richard Wagner Society Upper Midwest

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Israel Wagner Society's Wagner Concert will go ahead after all.

Although the organizers have been forced to move to a different location: Hilton Hotel Tel Aviv.

In an interview today, the conductor Asher Fisch, explained why he felt the concert must take place and some of the misconceptions he felt existed around Wagner:

"Highly intelligent people – when I ask them; ‘When did Wagner live?’ most, if not all, reply, 'in Nazi Germany,'" Asher Fisch told dpa. In fact, Wagner died in 1883 - 50 years before the Nazis came to power.

On June 16, Fisch will conduct an ad-hoc orchestra of 100 musicians at the Hilton Hotel Tel Aviv.

Organisers had to secure an alternative venue after Tel Aviv University canceled a performance set for June 18, saying it would offend Holocaust survivors.

Wagner's music has long been taboo in Israel, because of the composer's own anti-Semitism, and his status as a favourite of Adolf Hitler.

"The problem with Wagner," said Fisch, "is that the boycott is not only among Holocaust survivors. It's political, it has become a boycott of the second generation as well."

"If we don't abolish the boycott, it will remain for ever," he worries.

Fisch, born in Jerusalem in 1958 to German-born parents who survived the Holocaust, emphasized that he was in no way trying to justify Wagner.

"Wagner hated Jews, he hated the French, he hated Jesuits, he thought the press was controlled by Jews, he thought banks which did not extend credit were controlled by Jews..." he said.

"He wrote Der Judentum in der Musik (Jewishness, or Judaism, in Music), which is definitely an anti-Semitic article."

And yet, he maintains, "Wagner influenced classical music more than any other composer in history.

"It is not possible," he said, "that musicians in an orchestra, or singers, will grow up and live their lives as musicians without playing Wagner's music."

"Wagner is one of the most important composers in history – whether you like it or not."

Source: GNA


 

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Listen to: Opera North - Die Walkure

Following last years much praised Rheingold, Opera North will continue their Ring Cycle this month with Die Walküre. Full details below.

20 June will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 starting at 4:00 pm.

Click Here

For those in Seattle, this will be a good opportunity to hear their 2013 Brunnhilde Alwyn Mellor, when she performs Sieglinde opposite Erik Nelson Werner's Siegmund (and teams up once again. following last years Tristan at Grange Park, with Cive Bayley who performs Hunding). Full details below.

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New Novel featuring Richard Wagner: The Mastersinger from Minsk: An Inspector Hermann Preiss Mystery

Although the official release date is 18 June 2012 I have just managed to buy a copy from Amazon on Kindle in the UK. Whether international readers can, I am unsure at the moment. Alas, it has only arrived on my Kindle as I  type so I cannot comment on it yet. Once I have read it I may produce a review.

I have included a link to an interview with the author below. Also below, a link to a sample from Amazon.

Details:

The Mastersinger from Minsk: An Inspector Hermann Preiss Mystery

It is late March 1868. In Munich, composer Richard Wagner is completing his new opera Die Meistersinger von Nuremberg. It has been a difficult few years for him, and much depends upon the success of this new work. Following the tense auditions, an anonymous note warns Wagner that the premiere will be the date of his ruination.

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Wagner Society Of Israel accuse Tel Aviv University of lying: "The excuse that they didn't know...is an outright lie"

As readers will beware by now, one of the reasons that Tel Aviv University gave for canceling this month's Wagner concert was that the founder of the Wagner Society of Israel had mislead them about the event. In a letter to Jonathan Livny they said: " "You deliberately concealed this important detail [the Wagner concert] from us, as well as the topic of the event and the exact name of the organization behind it."

However, in an interview in the todays Guardian Mr Levny has said that not only had he made full details of the event available to them but that: "The excuse that they didn't know is totally ludicrous and an outright lie"

He went on: "But that's a technicality. The issue is that here is an academic institution that is threatened daily with boycotts because of Israel's policy in the occupied territories doing exactly the same thing: imposing a boycott."

The full interview can be found here : Tel Aviv Wagner concert cancelled after wave of protest

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Boycott of Wagner's work in Israel continues as Tel Aviv University bans concert

We reported last week that the Wagner Society Of Israel intended to break the 74 year long boycott of Wagner's work with a concert at Tel Aviv University. This was to be part of a program that was to include a discussion of how Wagner's opera "Tannhauser"inspired Herzl during his first draft of his tract "The Jewish State," and the way the anti-Fascist Toscanini used Wagner's work to give expression to his humanistic outlook. However, Tel Aviv University has announced that it will not now permit the event to take place on its campus, following what it describes as "angry protests".

In a letter to Yonathan Livni (founder of Israel's Wagner Society) the university explained:

"You deliberately concealed this basic fact from us [that there would be a concert of Wagner's work] We received angry protests calling to call off the controversial event...[that] would deeply offend the Israeli public in general and Holocaust survivors in particular,"

According to Haaretz this may have followed a letter written by Uri Chanoch, deputy chairman of the Holocaust Survivors Center and sent to the president of Tel Aviv University, Yosef Klafter (a copy of which was also sent to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Education Minister Gideon Sa'ar.) In this he said:

"This is emotional torture for Holocaust survivors and the wider public in the state of Israel," and stated that Wagner had "... provided inspiration for the Nazis" He went on to say that "...and there is a direct link between him [Wagner] and the Holocaust,"

The Wagner Society Of Israel - which according to its founder includes Holocaust survivors among its members - has yet to reply.

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Listen Now: Die Walküre, Paris Opera. Dean Smith, Merbeth, Dalayman, Mayer, etc

Die Walkure from the Paris Opera 2010, courtesy, once again, of Latvian Radio. I have no idea how long it will remain in their archives so listen while you can. An enjoyable Walkure overall. Streaming in two formats, click whichever you like best. For full instructions see the Paris Opera Götterdämmerung posted previously.

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MET Ring Cycle 2013: Full cast and dates

For those that missed it. No mention if "that" horse will be returning mind you.

If you should be remotely interested: I don't think that Lepage's production is anywhere near as bad as many critics have said. It has some marvelous moments. Alas, I don't feel it was fully utilized on its first run and neither did Lepage seem to know what to do with his performers. Its as if he was more interested at times with what the machine could do than how it should support the cast. This could be rectified with more imaginative stage direction, but time will tell. Oh, and the horse really has to go.

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Seattle Ring 2013: Full cast and dates

They don't come much more "traditional" than this

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Listen Now: Gotterdammerung. Paris Opera 2011. Kerl, Dalayman. Paterson, etc

If todays broadcast for Tristan und Isolde (see item below this) has left you in the mood for some more live Wagner (although as I type we have only now entered act 3 of Tristan) you might be interested in the broadcast below from Latvia Radio 3 which is presently "on demand" in its archive following todays broadcast and is likely to do so for a little while. As we will assume your Latvian is not very good, you may click either of the links below to launch the stream. The first will launch your Realplayer the second Windows Media player (or whatever defaults you have set to manage either of these streaming audio types). Tested here within Linux and either works well.

Details:

Torsten Kerl.... Siegfried
Iain Paterson.... Gunther
Peter Sidhom.... Alberich
Hans-Peter König.... Hagen
Katarina Dalayman.... Brünnhilde
Christiane Libor.... Gutrune/Third Norn
Sophie Koch.... Waltraute
Nicole Piccolomini.... First Norn/Flosshilde
Caroline Stein.... Woglinde
Daniela Sindram.... Wellgunde
Paris National Opera Orchestra and Chorus
Philippe Jordan (conductor).

To Listen Click Here (Realplayer)

To Listen Click Here (Windows Media Player)

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Listen today: Tristan und Isolde. Nelsons, Braun, Gould. 17: 10 CEST 2/6/12

Sorry about the late notification. Click the link below to listen.

Untitled. Yoshitaka Amano

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Iván Fischer discusses Wagner, Levi & Parsifal

 

Conductor Iván Fischer talks about Richard Wagners Parsifal.

This video was recorded in Bimhuis Amsterdam for VPRO Vrije Geluiden.

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Jaap van Zweden Wins Edison Award For Parsifal Recording

If you haven't already, you can watch the performance still by clicking here as it is still available from Radio 4

Jaap van Zweden Earns Prestigious Edison Award for Best Opera Recording

Dallas Symphony Orchestra Music Director Honored for Wagner’s ParsifalConducting Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra

Dallas, TX (May 30, 2012) – The Dallas Symphony Orchestra (DSO) is proud to announce that its Music Director Jaap van Zweden has been honored for one of the best recordings of the year. On May 23, 2012 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, it was announced that Van Zweden received the prestigious 2012 Edison Award for Opera Recording for Wagner’sParsifal, which he recorded with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra and Radio Choir, with the State Male Choir “Latvija,” on the Challenge Classics label.

The Edison Award is given annually in The Netherlands and is one of the highest achievements in classical music, akin to the Grammy® Awards and other top honors. It is one of the oldest music awards in the world, having been presented since 1960. The Edison Awards are given for outstanding achievements in the music industry in various musical genres. The Edisons are awarded honoring both international and Dutch artists.

The 2012 Edison Award jury praised Van Zweden’s Parsifal for its skillful and natural pacing and the “simplicityand purity”of his interpretation. Reviewing the recording in Gramophone, David Patrick Stearns called the recording “exceptionally distinguished, owing partly to the rock-solid casting and [van] Zweden’s high-concentration approach to the score.

“I never even imagined a Parsifal like this – much less heard one,” Stearns wrote.

“I am deeply honored to receive the Edison Award, an important recognition in The Netherlands and throughout the music industry,” Jaap van Zweden said from his home in Amsterdam. “This Edison Award I share not only with the wonderful singers and brilliant musicians who performed Parsifal, but with everyone with whom I work. A conductor is nothing without his orchestras; I cannot make music without them. I am grateful to the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, to my colleagues around the world, and to the jurors of the Edison Award for this amazing prize.”

Parsifal was recorded live in concert at Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw in December, 2010, and features the stellar cast of Klaus Florian Vogt (Parsifal), Katarina Dalayman (Kundry), Robert Holl (Gurnemanz), Falk Struckmann (Amfortas), and Julia Westendorp (First Squire). Choirs were conducted by Eberhard Friedrich.

“Everyone at the Dallas Symphony Orchestra is thrilled and excited over Jaap’s newest accolade, and send him warmest congratulations,” said Blaine L. Nelson, Chairman of the DSO’s Board of Governors. “We are so gratified the Edison Award jury recognized and experienced what Dallas Symphony patrons have known since he first ascended the podium here – that Jaap van Zweden is a singular talent and an extraordinary musician who inspires orchestras, singers and audiences to exalted heights of excitement and expression.”

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Met/Lepage Ring Cycle, on a TV set near you in September 2012

Alas, at the moment only in the USA (on PBS) but one suspects it will be sold abroad quickly afterwards. To include the documentry "Wagner's Dream". Press release as follows:

Robert Lepage's acclaimed new production of Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen, will air on Great Performances at the Met, September 11-14 in primetime each night on PBS stations (check local listings), as a major television event.

The operas - Das Rheingold, Die Walkure, Siegfried, and Gotterdammerung -- will be preceded on Monday, September 10 at 9 p.m. (check local listings) by the airing of award-winning filmmaker Susan Froemke's documentary Wagner's Dream, which chronicles the backstage story of the creation of this ambitious new staging.

This is only the third time a complete Ring cycle has been aired on PBS. In 1983, Great Performances aired Patrice Chereau's production of the Ring conducted by Pierre Boulez from the Bayreuth Festival, and in 1990, Live from the Met (the precursor of Great Performances at the Met) presented Otto Schenk's Metropolitan Opera production, conducted by James Levine.

Both the operas and the documentary will be screened in movie theaters throughout the U.S. and Canada this spring and summer, and in more than 20 countries including Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Chile, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Japan, Malta, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

Wagner's Dream A documentary by Susan Froemke(pbs:Monday)(pbs:September 10)(pbs:9 p.m.)

The stakes could not be higher as visionary director Robert Lepage, some of the world's greatest operatic artists, and the Metropolitan Opera tackle Wagner's Ring cycle. An intimate look at the enormous theatrical and musical challenges of staging opera's most monumental work, the film chronicles the quest to fulfill Wagner's dream of a perfect Ring.

"A highly entertaining outing for operaphiles and operaphobes alike" (Variety)

Das Rheingold (The Rhine Gold)(pbs:Tuesday)(pbs:September 11)

Conducted by James LevineStarring Wendy Bryn Harmer (Freia), Stephanie Blythe (Fricka), Patricia Bardon (Erda), Richard Croft (Loge), Gerhard Siegel (Mime), Bryn Terfel (Wotan), Eric Owens (Alberich), Franz-Josef Selig (Fasolt), Hans-Peter Konig (Fafner)

In the first opera in the Ring cycle, the gods of Valhalla clash with underworld dwarves and brawny giants, with disastrous consequences. The evil Alberich steals gold from the Rhine and uses it to forge a ring of unimaginable power. Wotan, the king of the gods, uses magic to steal the ring, but Alberich places a curse that guarantees misery for whoever wears it. Wotan's unwillingness to part with the ring leads him to break a contract with the giants who have built the gods' new castle in the sky, setting in motion a chain of events that will end in his own destruction.

"A triumph, at once subtle and spectacular, intimate and epic." (The Telegraph)

Die Walkure (The Valkyrie)(pbs:Wednesday)(pbs:September 12)

Conducted by James LevineStarring Deborah Voigt (Brunnhilde), Eva-Maria Westbroek (Sieglinde), Stephanie Blythe (Fricka), Jonas Kaufmann (Siegmund), Bryn Terfel (Wotan), Hans-Peter Konig (Hunding)

The mysterious hero Siegmund finds shelter in the strangely familiar arms of a lonely woman named Sieglinde. Their forbidden love leads Wotan's daughter, the warrior maiden Brunnhilde, to defy morality and intervene on behalf of the hero. Brunnhilde's transgression forces her father to choose between his love for his favorite daughter and his duty to his wife, the formidable goddess Fricka. Overcome with grief, Wotan takes away Brunnhilde's godlike powers and puts her to sleep on a mountaintop, surrounded by a ring of magic fire that can only be crossed by the bravest of heroes.

"Die Walkure enthralls." (The Huffington Post)

Siegfried(pbs:Thursday)(pbs:September 13)

Conducted by Fabio LuisiStarring Deborah Voigt (Brunnhilde), Patricia Bardon (Erda), Jay Hunter Morris (Siegfried), Gerhard Siegel (Mime), Bryn Terfel (The Wanderer), Eric Owens (Alberich)

The young hero Siegfried grows up in the wilderness, raised by Alberich's conniving brother Mime. He puts together the broken pieces of the sword Nothung, uses it to slay the fearsome dragon Fafner, and takes the ring for himself. To fulfill his destiny, he must overcome one more opponent--Wotan, now disguised as the Wanderer, who knows the world of the gods is coming to an end--and cross through the magic fire to awaken his true love, Brunnhilde.

"Visually stunning and dramatically engrossing." (Associated Press)

Gotterdammerung (Twilight of the Gods)(pbs:Friday)(pbs:September 14)

Conducted by Fabio LuisiStarring Deborah Voigt (Brunnhilde), Wendy Bryn Harmer (Gutrune), Waltraud Meier (Waltraute), Jay Hunter Morris (Siegfried), Iain Paterson (Gunther), Eric Owens (Alberich), Hans-Peter Konig (Hagen)

Siegfried and Brunnhilde's love is torn apart by the curse of the ring. A trio of scheming humans separates the two heroes in a desperate attempt to steal the ring for themselves. Their villainous plan fails, but they succeed in murdering Siegfried. Heartbroken, Brunnhilde takes the ring and leaps into the hero's funeral pyre, causing a global cataclysm and the twilight of the gods.

"The most theatrically effective staging of the four works in this epic series." (The New York Times)

Great Performances at the Met is a presentation of THIRTEEN for WNET, one of America's most prolific and respected public media providers. For nearly 50 years, WNET has been producing and broadcasting national and local arts programming to the New York community.

Gary Halvorson directs the telecasts.

Major funding for the telecast is provided by Gilbert S. Kahn & John J. Noffo Kahn Foundation and Charles and Lisa Simonyi Fund for Arts and Sciences. Corporate support for Great Performances at the Met is provided by Toll Brothers, America's luxury home builder®. This Great Performances presentation is funded by The National Endowment for the Arts, the Irene Diamond Fund, Vivian Milstein, Annaliese Soros and the Philip and Janice Levin Foundation.

For the Met, Mia Bongiovanni and Elena Park are Supervising Producers, and Louisa Briccetti and Victoria Warivonchik are Producers. Peter Gelb is Executive Producer. For Great Performances, Bill O'Donnell is Series Producer; David Horn is Executive Producer.

Visit Great Performances online at www.pbs.org/gperf for additional information on this and other Great Performances programs.

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