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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The Wagnerian at Linkedin

 

As regular readers will be aware, I have a weakness  for social media and with that in mind have created a linkedin profile. Should you be a user you can find me by clicking the link below.

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Wagner Society of Israel to break 74 year boycott against Wagner's works.

For those that don't follow The Wagnerian on Twitter or Facebook: the Wagner Society of Israel (yes, there is such a thing although only founded two years or so ago ) will break the boycott of Wagner's music that has been in place in Israel since 1938, when the Eretz Yisrael Symphony Orchestra stopped performing his music. They will circumnavigate the boycott (which is not an official ban)  by the use of a private orchestra put together especially for the event

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Opera Australia's Don Giovanni, La Traviata, Turandot in cinemas UK & Ireland. 2012-2013

“Is it possible to find anything more perfect than every piece in ‘Don Giovanni’? Richard Wagner: Oper und Drama

"Oh, how doubly dear and above all honour is Mozart to me that it was not possible for him to invent music for ‘Tito’ like that of ‘Don Giovanni,’ for ‘Cosi fan tutte’ like that of ‘Figaro’! How shamefully would it have desecrated music!" Richard Wagner: Oper und Drama

This year, Opera Australia will broadcast, for the first time, their CinemaLive opera relay in cinemas in  the UK and Ireland. Included will be their rather fine production of Don Giovanni. Below, is a full list of all operas in the season, the release from Opera Australia plus participating cinemas. I will attempt to provide international dates shortly. Alas, as yet, no news as to whether the Melbourne Ring will be broadcast next year.

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Jonas Kaufmann: First ROH now Wigmore Hall and Royal Albert Hall concerts canceled

Which might explain his need to clarify that he was lip syncing last week. 

While the Wigmore Hall appearance is simply canceled, the Royal Albert Hall concert will still go ahead but now only with Anna Netrebko and Erwin Schrott.

Alas, no updates from Kaufmann himself but as this has now gone on for a little while we wish him a speedy recovery.

This of course is further to his announcement that he has withdrawn from  Les Troyens for the ROH where Bryan Hymel steps in.

It should be noted, that when this was canceled two days ago Kaufmann said:

“I am deeply sorry for the inconvenience and disappointment caused to my audience, and to The Royal Opera House. I hope my decision will be respected as an act of responsibility towards myself and the audience. I am particularly sad to not be able to participate in the new production of Les Troyens, a project I have been looking forward to for many years”.

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Jonas Kaufmann : Lip Syncgate - the truth

Jonas Kaufmann has had, for some reason or other, to clarify that he was lip syncing at the Allianz Arena on Saturday. He said afterwards:

Tape shown not used by Jonas K

"To avoid any further misunderstandings: I did not sing, but rather lip-synched to a prerecorded tape.Had the promoters insisted on my singing live there, of course I would have cancelled that appearance as well. At the CLF I just had to stand there and mime for five minutes."

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Jonas Kaufmann's first performance since pulling from the MET - listen here

As we received a lot of emails concerned about his health we thought we might put your worries to rest. Recorded 19th may 2012, it premieres his performance of the new UEFA Champions League Anthem. Alas, it is neither Wagner, Verdi or for that matter Baddiel, Skinner & The Lightning Seeds's "Three Lions". But in its defense it is at least not Fat Les' "Vindaloo" .

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NZSO Concert peformance of Walkure: July 2012.

Press release as received although unsure why anyone would want to translate the name:

Never before has the momentous Wagner opera The Valkyrie (Die Walküre) been performed in concert with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.

An international stellar cast of singers and full symphony orchestra, featuring more than 100 musicians, will join forces this July to bring you the ground-breaking music of Richard Wagner’s epic music drama – The Valkyrie (Die Walküre). 

Full of love, abandonment, infidelity, and incest, The Valkyrie is the second of four operas that form the cycle The Ring of the Nibelung (Der Ring des Nibelungen).

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Melba Recordings release 2 disc highlight set of the Adelaide 2004 Ring Cycle

Available as an MP3 or Flac download (other formats available)  but to be followed by a full 2 SACD set in June. It might provide a good, and inexpensive,  taster to what is still a very expensive full Ring Cycle (£50 per drama) - especially with the entire Bohm Ring now available at less than half that or the  Solti now selling at around £79. It is however, a full SACD release and it is  also pleasing to see a company release downloads in better formats than MP3.  Cast below, more details and samples available by visiting their site.

More information:  Melba Recordings

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Scottish Opera announce new production of The Flying Dutchman.

Scottish Opera is to mark its 50th anniversary season with four full operas in a programme consisting of 11 productions, playing 133 performances in 63 venues. More details below. 

But of special interest to us, is the announcement that they will be marking Wagner's bicentennial year with their first Wagner opera since 2003. 2013 will see them premiere a new production of Der fliegende Holländer directed by Harry Fehr, conducted by Francesco Corti and featuring Peteris Eglitis as the Dutchman and Rachel Nicholls as Senta (full cast list below) Peteris Eglitis is no doubt familiar to regular readers while Rachel may be less so. For those unaware, Rachel has a long established career in the baroque repertoire but this year marks her first major Wagner role when she makes her debut in Longborough Opera's new production of Gotterdammerung - as Brunnhilde. The Wagnerian interviewed Rachel earlier this year and this can be found here.

Official announcement from Scottish opera:

We’re marking our 50th anniversary season with eleven major shows, including eight new productions, four world premieres, five collaborations and 133 performances in 63 venues.

General Director Alex Reedijk said, ‘This is a momentous year for Scottish Opera; for 50 years the Company has been dedicated to bringing imaginative opera productions to the very doorsteps of the people of Scotland. This anniversary season celebrates our unique position in the world of opera, with a powerful combination of high quality opera, new productions, nationwide touring, world premieres of newly commissioned operas and successful education initiatives.’

In a season of new productions, highlights include director Sir Thomas Allen and designer Simon Higlett returning to the Company to stage Mozart’s The Magic Flute, following their successes with The Marriage of Figaro and The Barber of Seville. Massenet’s Werther comes to the Scottish stage for the first time since 1986 with world-renowned Hungarian mezzo Viktoria Vizin and acclaimed American tenor Jonathan Boyd in the lead roles. Marking 200 years since Wagner’s birth, Harry Fehr directs The Flying Dutchman, with baritone Peteris Eglitis as The Dutchman. And Scottish Opera joins with the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company – returning to the stage for the first time in over a decade – in a new co-production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance, conducted by D’Oyly Carte Music Director John Owen Edwards, with Martin Lloyd-Evans directing.

We’re also delighted to be presenting four new operas, three of which are world premieres, at the Edinburgh International Festival. This is the culmination of a five year programme to develop the skills in Scotland to create new opera, Five:15 – Opera’s Made In Scotland. The Lady from the Sea with music by Craig Armstrong and Zoe Strachan is a co-production with Edinburgh International Festival. Clemency reunites composer James MacMillan and poet Michael Symmons Roberts in a co-production with ROH2 that was first presented in London in 2011. A double bill, co-commissioned and co-produced with Music Theatre Wales, features In the Locked Room which teams composer Huw Watkins and librettist David Harsent, and Ghost Patrol, which sees composer Stuart MacRae and crime-writer Louise Welsh coming together.

Celebrations begin on 5 June 2012 as we mark the anniversary of our first performance with a concert of Mascagni’s Cavalleria rusticana and Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci at Glasgow’s City Halls. Conducted by Music Director Francesco Corti, and featuring The Orchestra of Scottish Opera and chorus, it stars Italian soprano Antonia Cifrone and tenor Francesco Anile.

It’s a season of anniverseries, as well as commemorating our own 50th and marking the 200 years since Wagner’s birth, we join the celebrations of two other great composers. A new production of La Traviata directed by Annilese Miskimmon marks the 200th anniversary of Verdi’s birth. Our eighth annual collaboration with The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland marks Britten’s Centenary with a production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream performed by student singers and accompanied by The Orchestra of Scottish Opera. The Orchestra of Scottish Opera take centre stage in their regular St Andrew’s in the Square series of concerts, as well as a special concert at Paisley Abbey celebrating the building’s 850th anniversary in 2013.

Scottish Opera's commitment to building new audiences continues with an extensive programme of free events for 2012/13, including Opera Unwrapped, hour-long tasters of mainstage productions, and A Little Bit of..., lively 20-minute versions of The Magic Flute and The Pirates of Penzance. And three new young singers join the Company’s Emerging Artists programme, mezzo-soprano Katie Grosset, tenor Rónan Busfield and baritone Andrew McTaggart.

The company's education and outreach activities continue. Alongside long-running core activities such as touring to Scotland’s primary schools, there are new initiatives. Last season's successful BabyO is joined by its bigger sibling SensoryO, a new interactive show for toddlers of 18 to 36 months. The autumn sees a further world premiere, in the form of children’s opera The Elephant Angel, by composer-in-residence Gareth Williams, who is working with writer Bernard MacLaverty.

The Flying Dutchman - Cast

Conductor
Francesco Corti

Director
Harry Fehr

Designer
Tom Scutt

Lighting
James Farncombe

Daland
Scott Wilde

Senta
Rachel Nicholls

The Dutchman
Peteris Eglitis

Erik
Julian Gavin

Mary
Sarah Pring

Steersman
Nicky Spence

Dates:

Theatre Royal, 282 Hope Street, Glasgow G2 3QA

Thu 4 Apr 7.15pm•Sat 6 Apr 7.15pm•Tue 9 Apr 7.15pm


Festival Theatre, 13–29 Nicolson Street, Edinburgh EH8 9FT

Sat 13 Apr 7.15pm•Tue 16 Apr 7.15pm•Fri 19 Apr 7.15pm

Free events

Flying Dutchman Unwrapped Fri 5 Apr 6.00pm

Pre-show talkSat 6 Apr 6.00pm.

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