Wagner Society Blogs

August 23, 2013

Musicologist and concert pianist, Dr. William Kinderman has recently published a book on Wagner's Parsifal, entitled Wagner's Parsifal, sudies in Musical Genesis, Structure and Interpretation. Published on Oxford University Press, this new book is the definitive work on Wagner's final music drama.

August 22, 2013

On August 13th it was announced that Bulgarian tenor Spas Wenkoff died at age 84. Many will remember Wenkoff's fabulous filmed performance as Tannhäuser opposite Dame Gwyneth Jones in the 1978 revival of Götz Friederich's then controversial Bayreuth production. This wonderful performance was re-released last year on DVD. To view it today, the production seems rather tame except for the highly erotic ballet sequence.

Posted August 21, 2013

Norman Lebrecht reported in his blog that a Bayreuth patron was found dead in his seat after Act II of Bayreuth's final 2013 performance of Götterdämmerung. The already long interval was extended in order that the staff were able to remove the body. The deceased patron was a retired police officer.

Here is a link to Lebrecht's column:

http://www.artsjournal.com/slippeddisc/2013/08/just-in-bayreuth-spectato...

Posted August 9,  2013

For those who will be in Seattle Sunday August 11th in advance of Cycle #2 there is a special ancillary event - Laser Ring.

Join Seattle Opera’s BRAVO! Club for the Laser Ring, featuring Robert McClung narrating his playlist of Ring music enhanced by dramatic laser visuals projected onto a dome ceiling. Movie theater snacks are available for purchase, attendees are encouraged to dress casual and bring a pillow.

Location

Posted August 3, 2013

Full review of the new Bayreuth Castorf Production of the Ring from the New York Times' Anthony Tommasini. All press reports remark that there was an unprescedented thunderstorm of booing after each production, but at the Götterdämmerung finale it is customary for the Conductor and the Orchestra to appear on stage. Castorf refused to leave the stage which resulted in over 10 minutes of non-stop boos.

Posted July 29, 2013

The Seattle Monorail will be open late hours in order to whisk Ring attendees back into the Downtown area. Here is the schedule.

http://www.seattlemonorail.com/events-and-news/monorail-to-seattle-operas-ring-2013/

WagAdmin apologizes!

The intent was to cut and paste the photos which were posted to the Intermezzo Web Blog. BUT much to this blogger's dismay, it is not possible to import photos in this manner.  The structure of the Blog would require that every image be imported and inserted into the web page, one at a time, or into a photo gallery.

This is the reason you got the cast list and no pictures.

Here is the Link to Intermezzo Web Blog:

From Suddeutsche Zeitung July 26

http://www.sueddeutsche.de/kultur/frank-castorfs-ring-des-nibelungen-mr-...

A very "human" Ring with gangster Mr. Wotan, rather than a god, presiding over the proceedings.

Cut and paste the URL to translate.google.com for a very rough translation

Photo courtesy of Bayreuther Festspiele 2013

July 28, 2013

There is one excellent seat for sale in the Second Tier front section $440 ($110 each x 4)

Seller lists additional costs,  but that is between the seller and the purchaser.

The BBC Proms are presenting a full set of concert performances of The Ring. The BBC Proms will also be performing "Parsifal"  "Tristan und Isolde" and "Tannhauser."  Here are the dates of all of the Proms broadcasts on BBC Radio3:

Monday 22 July - Das Rheingold

Tuesday 23 July - Die Walkure

Friday 26 July - Siegfried

Saturday 27 July - Tristan und Isolde

Sunday 28 July - Gotterdammerung

Thursday 1 August - Tannhauser

Sunday 25 August - Parsifal