Lets be honest, things have not been going well up at the Green Hill of late:
State arts sponsor's critical reports on how tickets are distributed, possible legal investigations into alleged ticket fraud, truly terrible reviews for the new Tannhäuser (with seats remaining empty) and now to add insult to injury Bayreuth loses its major commercial sponsor. What would Richard say? Answers on a twitter to: @TheWagnerian
Siemens ends Bayreuth Festival sponsorship
German engineering giant Siemens said Wednesday it was ending its partnership with the Bayreuth Festival of which it was one of the main sponsors.
The prestigious festival dedicated to the works of Richard Wagner takes place in the southern town of Bayreuth, the composer's spiritual home, each year.
Siemens became involved four years ago hosting public screenings of performances which were also broadcast on the Internet on "Siemens Festival Night".
A company spokesman said the events had enjoyed success but "the baby has grown up and learned to walk on its own, and now we wish to pursue other projects".
The contribution of Siemens, the festival's main financial sponsor along with German car maker Audi, stands at just less than one million euros ($1.4 million) a year.
Festival directors, Wagner's great-granddaughters Katharina Wagner, 32, and her half-sister Eva Wagner-Pasquier, 65, "were informed of our decision several months ago", the spokesman said.
The organisers could not be contacted for comment.
Update 11/09/2012: If you live in the UK you can listen to this complete at WE7 for free (although you will have to "put-up" with the odd advert between tracks) Listen here. You may be able to listen in other regions also, I simply have not been able to test it.
I will get round to writing a short review of this later. In the mean-time:
"This is very lyrical Wagner singing, sensual, even sexual in tone, noble in utterance, and shaped as much through the line as off the words, with not so much as a hint of the declamatory choppiness that some interpreters have deployed of late. The Fliedermonolog, sounding unusually erotic, is, however, one of the disc's high points, along with Wotan's farewell from Die Walküre and a substantial chunk of the first scene of Parsifal's third act, in which he is joined by a curiously tremulous Plácido Domingo in the title role. There's wonderful playing, too, from the Berlin Staatskapelle under Daniel Barenboim". The Guardian: May 2011
"Simply put, it is difficult to imagine any bass singing highlights from the operas of Richard Wagner better than Rene Pape. In his physical, artistic and vocal prime, the wraps and drapes his bass Deutsch rich, expressive instrument around soaring operatic expressions. . . [A] full, sensitive and highly satisfying orchestral conductor Daniel Barenboim and partnership of the Staatskapelle Berlin. . . By the time Pape ends with Wolfram's song to the evening star from "Tannhauser," the world has become a better place". Record Review May 2011
"Wonderful playing, fine singing . . . René Papes voice is a very beautiful one . . ." Michael Tanner, BBC Music Magazine
Track List:
[1] “Leb’ wohl, du kühnes, herrliches Kind!” from Die Walküre
[2] “Der Augen leuchtendes Paar” from Die Walküre
[3] “Loge, hör! Lausche hieher!” from Die Walküre
[4] “Was duftet doch der Flieder” from Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
[5] “Hört, ihr Leut, und lasst euch sagen” from Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
[6] “Verachtet mir die Meister nicht” from Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
[7] “Gott grüss’ euch, liebe Männer von Brabant!” from Lohengrin
[8] “Oh Gnade! Höchstes Heil! – Oh Herr! War es ein Fluch” from Parsifal
[9] “Und ich, ich bin’s – Nicht doch! Die heilge Quelle selbst” from Parsifal
[10] “Gesegnet sei, du Reiner, durch das Reine!” from Parsifal
[11] “Wie dünkt mich doch die Aue” from Parsifal
[12] “Wie Todesahnung ... O du mein holder Abendstern” from Tannhäuser
EXCLUSIVE DIGITAL TRACK (download only):
[13] “Vollendet das ewige Werk” from Das Rheingold
RENÉ PAPE, bass Plácido Domingo, tenorChor der Staatsoper Berlin / Chorus master: Eberhard Friedrich Staatskapelle Berlin / DANIEL BARENBOIM
From Rene Pape:
German Bel Canto
Richard Wagner constantly worried that he was making excessive demands on his artists. This we know from sources including a long letter he wrote to Albert Niemann on 21 February 1861, before the Paris premiere of Tannhäuser. When the singer requested a cut, fearing he would not be able to do justice to the phrase “Pitié pour moi” (“Have pity on me”), Wagner replied: “Think only about the second finale and throw yourself into it with all your heart and soul, as though after this finale you didn’t have to sing another note.” The third act (with the “Rome Narration”) would then no longer be a problem. In similar fashion, Wagner expressed himself in letters to Mathilde Wesendonck on the difficulties of “realizing” the role of Tristan.
What about those roles occupying the no-man’s land between bass and baritone – the Dutchman, Wotan, Amfortas and, especially, Hans Sachs? They call for voices with a dark-bass foundation – voices with gravitas – that also have the energy to hold out long passages in the upper register – e’ and f’ – as well as delivering “barren stretches of sung-speech” (Ernst Bloch). Whereas most mid-19th-century composers wrote for singers with whose capabilities they were familiar, Wagner wrote not only “music of the future” but also for “singers of the future”.
The dramatic art of the great singer Wilhelmine Schröder-Devrient came as a revelation to the young composer, and under its influence Wagner sought “in his vocal writing to develop a vehicle for flexibility and conviction of utterance that simulated heightened speech”. (David Breckbill, in The Wagner Compendium). In his recollections of Ludwig Schnorr von Carolsfeld, his first Tristan, Wagner described such a mode of delivery in his typically emphatic manner, though without going into detail on the questions of vocal technique he had dealt with in various early writings. Those essays dating from between 1834 and 1837 – “On German Opera”, “Pasticcio” and “On Dramatic Singing” – bear witness to the young conductor’s suffering under the conditions then prevailing in theatres. In 1872, after a long period of preparation for the first Bayreuth Festival, he could still remark: “If today I seek out singers for a passably correct performance of my own dramatic works, it is not so much the ‘scarcity of voices’ that alarms me as my fear of their having been utterly ruined by a method which excludes sound pronunciation.”
“Sound pronunciation” really means conveying the sense of the words in singing and, ultimately, exemplary performances in the purest German style! Wagner identified the difficulties facing the development of a German style in the language itself. “A language having mostly short and mute vowels, extensible only at the cost of intelligibility, hemmed-in by consonants, highly expressive but with consonants heedlessly heaped together regardless of euphony: such a tongue must necessarily behave quite differently with respect to singing than those previously mentioned.” He concluded that the Italian style of singing was not applicable to German. “If we attempt to adapt our language to this vocalism, the result will be a distorted mass of unintelligibly articulated vowels and consonants, which, without being understood as language, will only serve to obstruct and garble the singing.” The proper development of singing on the basis of the German language “can succeed only through constant practice at vocal works in which the ‘singing’ conforms entirely to German speech. This ‘singing’, in contradistinction to Italian long-drawn vocalism, will be characterized by an energetic spoken accent and therefore admirably suited to dramatic delivery.” By “energetic spoken accent” Wagner did not mean the declamato of sung speech (Sprechgesang): “In my opera there exists no distinction between so-called ‘declaimed’ and ‘sung’ phrases, but my declamation is singing nonetheless, and my singing is declamation.” To realize this principle, he considered the most important task to be “placing singing in the correct relationship to the uniqueness of the German language...whereby it goes without saying that no actual degradation of vocal mellifluousness is allowed to occur”. The prerequisite for the “German bel canto” of which Wagner dreamt was the symbiosis of Italian vocal mellifluousness and a delivery that conveyed the true sense of the drama.
Following the composer’s death two opposing stylistic developments came about. Under the aegis of Cosima Wagner, a text-centred style of delivery evolved – theSprechgesang that Shaw described as the “Bayreuth bark”. In contrast, a “bel canto” style developed over the course of decades in London and New York – expounded by singers such as Lilli Lehmann, Lillian Nordica, Frida Leider, Lotte Lehmann, Kirsten Flagstad, Jean de Reszke, Heinrich Knote, Lauritz Melchior, Emil Fischer, Anton van Rooy, Friedrich Schorr and Alexander Kipnis. The characteristic features of this style were tonal beauty and purity, undistorted vowel colours and the use of the so-called sonorants: liquid (“l” and “r”) and nasal (“m” and “n”). René Pape belongs in the company of the “Wagner bel canto” singers: he embeds the words in the sound – and makes word-music as Wagner intended.
Approaching Wagner
René Pape in conversation with Jürgen Kesting
At the beginning of 2010/11 Met season, under Valery Gergiev and with a largely Russian cast, you sang the title role in Modest Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov – a part that once belonged to the likes of Adamo Didur, Fedor Chaliapin, Alexander Kipnis and Ezio Pinza, later to Boris Christoff, Nicolai Ghiaurov and Martti Talvela. As a native Dresdner, you probably learned Russian at school.
Yes. During the GDR years all schoolchildren had to learn Russian, as was also the case in the other eastern European countries. Out of spite against the “Communist Big Brother”, I totally rejected his language. Everything that came out of the Soviet Union was repugnant to me. The Red Army was impossible and inhuman in the way they acted – not only right after the war but all the way up to when they pulled out in the 1990s. That leaves an impression on a young person. But if I’d known that one day I’d be standing on the opera stage, and even singing as a soloist in Russian, I’d have probably taken my Russian lessons somewhat more seriously. At least it’s a help that I can read Cyrillic.
A famous Boris was George London, who inspired your recording Gods, Kings & Demons. London was acclaimed in Bayreuth as the Dutchman and Amfortas. Can you imagine following a similar career path to his?
George London was one of the greatest performers and at home in a wide range of repertoire. But he was more of a bass-baritone, and I’m a basso cantante, and so he could sing parts like the Dutchman, Amfortas and Scarpia, which because of my vocal type I probably will never perform on stage. As far as variety of repertoire is concerned, however, my path could well resemble London’s.
Among the few singers who worked with Wagner and also made recordings was Lilli Lehmann. A soprano celebrated as Brünnhilde and Isolde, she once said that only those who know how to sing Mozart can also sing Wagner. What’s your view?
I can only agree with Lilli Lehmann. In interviews I’ve often said that Wagner singing should be based on the vocal technique that goes with singing Mozart – and, of course, the reverse is also true. Wagner should not be sung in a constantfortissimo and con tutta forza, while Mozart should not be purred. The key, in my opinion, is finding the right balance. Of course I also wouldn’t want to listen to a Lohengrin who sings the whole performance in the most beautiful mezzo piano of his first phrases and doesn’t bring any dynamic shading into his delivery.
When Beckmesser has “mis-sung” on the Festival Meadow and then Stolzing delivers the Prize Song, the people “softly murmur”: “Who’d have thought it? What a difference the right words and the proper delivery make!” Ever since they were first performed, Wagner’s dramatic works have provoked controversy over how they should be sung. Is there a special approach to Wagner for you?
No, not really. For me the language and treatment of the words are every bit as important as the music. That’s not only true in my mother tongue. An opera isn’t made up merely of vocalises; there’s also a libretto consisting of words. I regard conveying this dramatic text to the listener as one of the singer’s most important responsibilities onstage, and even more so in the recording studio. Here the action has to be made manifest, even visible, solely through singing. That’s especially true in performing the song repertoire.
Wagner didn’t leave behind any systematic singing method. A central tenet – formulated in Opera and Drama – holds that the model, or the style, of Italian singing cannot be adapted to the German language. It’s obvious that Rigoletto or King Philip demand a different style of delivery and characterization than Hans Sachs or Amfortas. What does this mean for you in practice?
For me there isn’t a major difference – only between the languages. As already mentioned, Lilli Lehmann was right in her assertion about the connection between Wagner and Mozart. That also means that there’s a connection between Italian and German singing.
When Wagner called for a “German bel canto”, he was referring not to the style but to the method of vocal or tone production. What does the singer have to take into account in order to realize what Wagner meant?
I think it’s easier than many people think. You simply try to sing with bel canto melodiousness, but in another language. Ultimately Italian is also not without consonants; they’re just used differently. It’s necessary to sing a sustained line, inserting the consonants to articulate the text but without allowing harshness to intrude. That’s the best way to achieve beautiful German singing.
In your recording of “Wotan’s Farewell”, it’s already audible by bar 13 that with the long sustained notes on “wohl” you let the vowel “o” at the end of the phrase continue to resonate in the liquid “l”, in other words embedding the word in the sound. What significance do you attach to the treatment of consonants, particularly the so-called sonorants “m”, “n”, “l” and “r”?
To achieve clearer textual intelligibility, it’s important to really allow the sounding consonants at the beginning or end of words to resonate – in other words, without exaggerating, to prolong them somewhat by slightly shortening the following or preceding vowels.
One can hear that you take special care over the dynamic gradations betweenpiano and forte, in other words the messa di voce. Does this derive from the instincts of a “bel canto” singer?
In order for the delivery not to seem one-sided or even boring, it’s very important to find dynamic gradations. This is a part of “natural speech”. The composers wrote out everything precisely in the scores. An additional benefit is that this approach allows you to conserve your voice and energy in order to tackle big roles securely.
Just as a high baritone can become a Wagner tenor (as happened with Lauritz Melchior and Ramón Vinay), a bass can become a Heldenbariton, or heroic baritone. But how? What does the singer have to beware of? What are the dangers? Wagner stipulated that a singer should never perform a role that he isn’t up to physically (as regards volume, tone and breath control), technically (concerning flexibility) and mentally (in terms of expression).
From my own vocal experience, I can only agree wholeheartedly with the master. I don’t see myself as a Heldenbariton at the moment, and I probably will never be one. But whatever Fach a singer may undertake, it really is crucial that he never starts shouting.
...Sing with the voice you have, not with the one you wish you had...
That would be the beginning of the end. Sadly, there are too many examples of singers ruining their often magnificent voices through misplaced ambition and/or bad advice.
In terms of volume, the demands of roles like the Dutchman and Daland, Sachs and Pogner are similar, but not in terms of the tessitura. Where do the particular difficulties of individual parts lie? In the exposure of the high register (Dutchman)? Does the length of a role like Sachs, more than two hours of singing, represent an extreme challenge? And what about holding out up in the high register in parts like Wotan and Sachs?
The Dutchman and Sachs are, of course, very demanding parts, the first, as you suggest, on account of the exposed high tessitura, the second on account of sheer length. To be able to get through you have to approach them very economically. You have to pace yourself very carefully so that at the end you still have enough strength left for the closing monologue, which lies in an exposed register. That’s easier said than done, as any of my colleagues will agree. A critical point is the tuning of the orchestra, which is getting higher and higher. That makes it increasingly difficult for a basso cantante to master these roles. In Wagner’s day, I believe, it was simpler. But we live in the here and now and have to cope with it. I would only recommend to every orchestra, conductor and, not least, instrument maker not to ignore this issue, which is a really important one for us singers.
Can you imagine singing Hagen or Alberich?
No. I’ll leave that to my colleagues who can do it better.
An eternal dilemma: the dream roles are frequently offered to a singer when he’s still too young or no longer young enough. Are you expecting or hoping to recordMeistersinger and the Ring, or at least Walküre?
I’ve already recorded Meistersinger, the roles of the Night Watchman and Pogner. When someone offers me Sachs, I’ll decide whether I can record it or not. I’ve already recorded Das Rheingold, and Die Walküre will surely also soon be in the plans.
How does one stay young as a singer – so young that one doesn’t let things get into a routine?
Staying young is important to me. I also consider maturity on the stage very important, and routine for me isn’t necessarily a negative word. In my career I’ve learned that a certain routine can be helpful. One is very secure onstage, something that is also transmitted to one’s colleagues and sensed by the audience. Unfortunately, there’s also the other kind of routine, which consists of nothing more than the schematic, lacklustre rattling off of a part.
Do you learn from recordings? For example getting familiar with the length of a role or discovering how colleagues deal with specific technical problems?
Yes. This helps me not only to learn about the length of a part and to recognize technical problems, but also to grasp harmonic connections, phrasing and different tempi. And, not least, to hear how one should perhaps not do it. Sometimes I listen to recordings simply because I like them. Maybe one learns most by following Hans Sachs’s advice: “Do not scorn the masters.”
Daniel Barenboim, will lead an unprecedented series of concerts at next year's BBC Proms to mark the beginning of the London 2012 Olympic Games.
Barenboim will conduct all nine of Beethoven's symphonies at next year's Proms - the first time he has done so in London. The final performance will be of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony on 27 July, the night the Games begin.
The BBC Proms director, Roger Wright, said it would be the first time for more than 60 years that the entire symphony series – featuring some of the most critically-acclaimed work in the history of music – had been performed at the Proms.
Josef Krips, London Symphony Orchestra
"It's going to be a normal Proms year but it will have a special element to it," said Mr Wright. "We want to recognise that London will be a special place at that time."
Barenboim will be joined by the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, an orchestra of Arab and Israeli musicians based in Spain. The orchestra, co-founded by Barenboim in 1999, aims to promote understanding between Israelis and Palestinians.
It’s an odd trade I’m in,” muses Susan Bullock. “You spend the morning in rehearsal trying to get inside a raging and damaged character like Elektra, then in the afternoon you might have to pop round to Waitrose.” We’re meeting at her club, tucked away in a side-alley by the Coliseum, the cavern-like home of English National Opera, where she started as a young principal singer in 1985. She’s in a rare quiet period between roles, but as she tells me, her time off was unexpectedly interrupted the previous week.
“I was due to go to Grange Park Opera to see my husband in Tristan and Isolde. In the morning I had a call from the company. 'We know you’re planning to come down,’ they said. 'Would you mind singing Isolde from the wings? Our soprano’s gone down with something and can’t sing.’ Well I hadn’t sung it for a while, but I had to say yes.
Bullock: ''Orest!''-Elektra MET 2009
“Actually, it was a good experience because being tucked away in the wings I could really think again about the words and the character.” It’s typical of Bullock that she said yes without turning her hair, and then turned an emergency into a learning experience.
She’s an interesting mixture of down-to-earth northerner (born and raised in Cheshire) and restless perfectionist. You get the sense that despite the stellar career, she isn’t quite convinced she’s “arrived”.
Part of the reason for that may be that Bullock came to singing almost by accident. “I started on the piano, because my elder brother decided he wanted piano lessons. I turned out to be quite good, and years later auditioned for the junior section of the Royal Northern College of Music. I needed a second study. My brother said, 'Why don’t you sing something, you’ve not got a bad voice?’ I did, and the examiners told my mother, 'You know, your daughter really ought to be a singer.’ That changed everything.”
After years of hesitating, Bullock decided singing really was for her. She landed a place in the Glyndebourne chorus, and later ENO took her on as a principal.
But progress was slow. “I was told I had to mature, and that suited me.” But such a talent couldn’t be kept to understudying for long, and after a few memorable leading roles, she left ENO for a freelance career.
That was 22 years ago. Since then, she’s become one of that tiny group of sopranos who can take on the big, larger-than-life, passionate female roles — Janác˘ ek’s Jenufa, Strauss’s Salome and Elektra, Wagner’s Isolde.
She’s now mid-way through a complete Ring cycle in Frankfurt in which she’s singing Brunnhilde. What fascinates her about these characters? “I suppose it’s the sense that you never get to the bottom of them. Also you have a different relationship to the character as you get older. This is what those daft programmes about becoming an opera star never mention.
“They make it look as if it’s just about standing there and making a fabulous noise.” Is there time for anything like relaxation? “Well, I love jazz, and I go to the Vortex or 606 clubs when I can.” Who does she admire? “I think Norma Winstone is fantastic, I’d love to be able to sing like that.” It turns out that Bullock once had her own jazz moment, at the famous Lenox Lounge in Harlem. “It was an open-mike night, and my dear husband had fixed me a slot. I sang Summertime, which was the first song that popped into my head.” Without the mike, needless to say.
On Saturday she’s appearing in the Last Night of the Proms, along with Lang Lang and the BBC Symphony Orchestra. “I can’t believe it’s really happening. It’s something that only happens to serious, grown-up people,” she laughs. “I’ve got to sing Rule Britannia, which is a real pig to sing, it’s full of twiddly fast notes which I don’t do so much any more.” Before that comes one of her set pieces, the Immolation Scene which ends Wagner’s Ring cycle.
“I’ll be rereading the text before I go on, because I have to throw myself into that ecstatic state Brunnhilde enters as she rides on to Siegfried’s pyre. She’s taking leaving of all the things that meant so much to her.”
James Levine, the Metropolitan Opera’s music director, has withdrawn from all performances at the Met for the rest of the year after falling while on vacation in Vermont and damaging a vertebra, the house said on Tuesday. Mr. Levine had emergency surgery on Thursday. The injury comes after a series of health problems, including back operations and periods of rehabilitation to correct a painful spinal condition called stenosis, have curtailed Mr. Levine’s activities.
“I don’t think there’s anybody who’s more frustrated and upset than he is,” Peter Gelb, the Met’s general manager, said of Mr. Levine. “Obviously it’s very disappointing for everybody in the company.”
While the Met said Mr. Levine would remain music director, it elevated its principal guest conductor, Fabio Luisi, to the title of principal conductor and handed over to him most of Mr. Levine’s fall conducting assignments, including a new production of Mozart’s “Don Giovanni,” opening on Oct. 13, and the third installment of a new and expensive “Ring” cycle, “Siegfried,” on Oct. 27. Louis Langrée was engaged to conduct some “Don Giovanni” performances and Derrick Inouye was assigned a Nov. 1 “Siegfried.”
Mr. Levine has struggled to return from a series of setbacks that have forced his withdrawal from several performances over the past five years. He had surgery to repair his rotator cuff, injured in another fall; the removal of a kidney because of a cancerous tumor and two back operations. It was an operation on his back that led to complications that, he said, pushed him to make the decision earlier this year to leave the Boston Symphony, where he was the music director.
Mr. Gelb rejected the suggestion that Mr. Levine’s latest health setback would lead to his departure from the Met.
“Sure the Met could say it’s time to make a change,” Mr. Gelb said, “but why would we want to do that if we have the possibility to continue with him? At the point he can’t do it any longer, he’ll stop. But he wants to come back, we owe it to him to support him.”
In order to take up Mr. Levine’s conducting responsibilities, Mr. Luisi was forced to cancel appearances with the Rome Opera, his hometown Genoa Opera, the Vienna Symphony, where he is chief conductor, and the San Francisco Symphony. He will still lead the Vienna Symphony on a United States tour.
“Well, of course they are not pleased,” Mr. Luisi said in an e-mail message of the other orchestras. “Neither am I, since I always honor my contracts. But they understand the ‘bigger picture,’ and the dimension of the projects we are talking about.”
Mr. Levine, the Met said in a statement, “hopes to recover in time to return to the Met in January, for the new production of Wagner’s “Götterdämmerung,” which opens on Jan. 27, and for the complete “Ring” cycles in April and May. Mr. Gelb said that Mr. Luisi would be expected to step in if health problems prevent Mr. Levine from taking on the “Ring,” a major undertaking for any house.
Buddhist enlightenment at the Ruhrtriennale 2011 Whoever would like to transcend their own ego and find themselves on the path to Buddhist enlightenment should take time to visit the Ruhrtriennale 2011, from August 26 - October 9. It is the third and final festival season to be directed by Willy Decker and is scheduled to end with the destruction of a sand mandala. Before that, there will be a series of theater pieces, dance performances, films, exhibitions, concerts, readings and art events taking place in the disused industrial factories and warehouses of Ruhr region in western Germany. The focus of each event is an examination of Buddhism.
Among other things, Japanese monks will be presenting a selection of Buddhist chants, a new interpretation of the chamber opera "Hanjo" from the Japanese composer Toshio Hosokawa will be undertaken by Spanish director Calixto Bieito and the Ruhr Choir will be taking to the stage with the premiere of "Buddha goes Bayreuth." The Ruhrtriennale is a richly diverse arts festival, with a number of premieres this year, including a version of "Macbeth" by Belgian director Luk Perceval, which is already sold out. You can, however, find a notice board on the festival's official website where tickets can be exchanged or sold.
Bayreuth Ticket allocation has been in the news of late - as regular readers will be aware - but it seems that to now add further woes to those on the "Green Hill" a criminal investigation is to take place.
According to Sueddeutsche.de Public Prosecutor Gerhard Schmitt has stated that he is launching an official criminal investigation into matters related to Bayreuth Ticket sales. This is following two criminal complaints received from as yet unidentified sources.
As yet, there is no mention of who is to be investigated in association with any alleged improprieties
Over at his rather enjoyable blog, (on my bloglist with many other fine Wagner related blogs and all worth visiting in my humble opinion) Paul Pelkonen reports on an interview Domingo gave recently. Seems he is joining members of the Wagner family. I reprint the first few paragraphs below. Please click on continue reading to read the full article:
Plácido Domingo Fights Regie Menace
Bayreuth, Salzburg stagings blasted by star tenor.
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Tenor/conductor/impresario Plácido Domingo has unleashed an attack on both the Salzburg and Bayreuth Festivals. In an interview with Austrian News Magazin, Mr. Domingo expressed his disapproval of new productions of Strauss' Die Frau Ohne Schatten and Wagner'sTannhäuser at the venerable summer festivals.
"This is beyond me," the tenor, 69, said in the German-language interview. "As an opera director I would never allow something (like this.)"
Christian Loy's production of Die Frau Ohne Schatten moves the opera to a replica of the Sofiensaal, the legendary Vienna ballroom converted into a recording studio. The Sofiensaal was the site of many famous Decca recordings in the 1950s and '60s with the Vienna Philharmonic. Ironically, Mr. Domingo sang on Decca's last major production in Vienna: Sir Georg Solti's studio recording of...Die Frau Ohne Schatten.
"In Germany and Austria it is unfortunately becoming a habit," Mr. Domingo continued. He added that he would intervene in productions that did not meet his approval. "If I don't agree with the production, I have the production stopped."
After the success of Tristan and Meistersinger, no Wagner? I never have understood opera companies especially given that Glyndebourne exceeded its Box Office target and the Festival closed at 99.3 per cent capacity over 76 performances – the highest since the opening of the new theatre in 1994. Was this related to the success - and level of publicity - of Meistersinger? Who knows. However, while of little surprise, at least they will be releasing Meistersinger on DVD in 2012. Also, we get a new Figaro and Glyndebourne's Mozart is always a plus. 20 May – 26 August 2012
The 2012 Glyndebourne Festival opens on 20 May and features new productions of Le nozze di Figaro, The Cunning Little Vixen and a double bill of L’Heure Espagnole and L’Enfant et les sortilèges. There are also revival productions of La Cenerentola, La bohème and The Fairy Queen.
Melly Still and Michael Grandage, both of whom made their operatic directing debuts at Glyndebourne with Rusalka (2009) and Billy Budd (2010) respectively, return to Glyndebourne to direct new productions of The Cunning Little Vixen and Le nozze di Figaro.
Music Director Vladimir Jurowski will conduct the new production of The Cunning Little Vixen, and Music Director designate, Robin Ticciati (who takes up this position in 2014) will conduct Le nozze di Figaro.
Director Laurent Pelly and conductor Kazushi Ono, who made their Glyndebourne debuts with Hänsel und Gretel in 2008, are reunited for the new productions of Ravel’s L’Heure Espagnole and L’Enfant et les sortilèges.
The season also includes three revivals: Sir Peter Hall’s production of Rossini’s La Cenerentola, David McVicar’s production of La bohème and Jonathan Kent’s production of The Fairy Queen.
Following the success of its premiere in 2009, Julian Philips’ The Yellow Sofa will be presented as part of the Jerwood Chorus Development Scheme.
Festival ticket prices for 2012 will range from £10 - £230.
With support from the New Generation Programme, there will be approximately 1,500 tickets available over the season priced at £30 for our Under 30s’ programme and Family performance initiatives.
All three new productions will be recorded for future release through a variety of distribution channels to include cinema screenings, online streaming and other forms of broadcast.
CD releases on The Glyndebourne Label in autumn 2011 include the 1960 Festival production of Verdi’s Falstaff with Hugues Cuénod and Geraint Evans, and the 2006 Festival production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Kate Royal and Matthew Rose.
DVD releases for 2012 will feature three productions from the 2011 Festival; Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg with Gerald Finley and Johannes Martin Kränzle; Rinaldo with Luca Pisaroni and Sonia Prina; and The Turn of the Screw with Miah Persson and Toby Spence.
Glyndebourne Festival Opera season
20 May – 26 August 2012
2012 Box Office
General public booking opens on Saturday 24 March 2012. Online booking will open at midnight and telephone booking via the Glyndebourne Box Office (+44 (0) 1273 813813) will open at 10am.
New Productions:
Leoš Janáček
The Cunning Little Vixen
A new production directed by Melly Still
With the London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Vladimir Jurowski
British sopranos Lucy Crowe and Emma Bell make their role debuts as the Vixen and the Fox respectively, and Russian baritone Sergei Leiferkus will sing th e role of the Gamekeeper
With design by Tom Pye, lighting by Paule Constable and movement by Maxine Doyle
With The Glyndebourne Chorus
13 performances between 20 May and 28 June 2012
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Le nozze di Figaro
A new production directed by Michael Grandage
With the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment conducted by Robin Ticciati
American mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard makes her Glyndebourne debut as Cherubino
British soprano Sally Matthews, who sang Fiordiligi in the GFO 2010 production of Così fan tutte, will sing the Countess in her role debut.
With design by Christopher Oram, lighting by Paule Constable, and movement by Ben Wright
With The Glyndebourne Chorus
16 performances between 27 June and 22 August 2012
Maurice Ravel
Ravel Double Bill: L’Heure Espagnole and L’Enfant et les sortilèges
New productions directed by Laurent Pelly
With the London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Kazushi Ono
French mezzo-soprano Stéphanie d’Oustrac, who made her Glyndebourne debut in the GFO 2009 production of Giulio Cesare, will sing the role of Concepción in L’Heure Espagnol
Soprano Khatouna Gadelia will make her Glyndebourne debut as L’Enfant
With design by Barbara De Limburg Stirum and lighting by Joël Adam
With The Glyndebourne Chorus
10 performances between 4 August and 25 August 2012
Revivals:
Gioachino Rossini
La Cenerentola
Sir Peter Hall’s 2005 staging will be revived by Lynne Hockney
With the London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by James Gaffigan
Chinese Baritone Shenyang will make his Glyndebourne debut as Alidoro
American mezzo-soprano Elizabeth DeShong, who sang Hänsel in the GOT 2008 revival production of Hänsel und Gretel and Kitchen Girl in this year’s revival production of Rusalka, will sing the role of Angelina
With design by Hildegard Bechtler and lighting by Peter Mumford
With The Glyndebourne Chorus
13 performances between 23 May and 10 July 2012
Giacomo Puccini
La bohème
David McVicar’s 2000 Glyndebourne on Tour production will be revived by Lee Blakely
With the London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Kirill Karabits
Bondarenko will make his Festival debut in the role of Marcello, following his Tour debut as Malatesta in the 2011 production of Don Pasquale
Winner of the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Prize 2009, Russian soprano Ekaterina Scherbachenko will make her Glyndebourne debut as Mimì
With design by Michael Vale, lighting by Paule Constable and movement by Leah Hausman
With The Glyndebourne Chorus
14 performances between 6 June and 31 July 2012
Henry Purcell
The Fairy Queen
Jonathan Kent returns to revive his 2009 Festival production
Winner of the 2010 Gramophone and BBC Music Magazine DVD awards, and nominated for the South Bank Show Opera Award
With the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment conducted by Laurence Cummings
Cast includes British soprano Carolyn Sampson and 2007 John Christie Award winner, Peter Gijsbertsen
With design by Paul Brown, lighting by Mark Henderson and choreography by Kim Brandstrup
With The Glyndebourne Chorus
11 performances between 20 July and 26 August 2012
An audience of around 5,000 applauded the National Opera production of Richard Wagner's opera "Parsifal", performed for the first time ever in Estonia, at the reclaimed Noblessner Foundry on Tallinn's waterfront.
Parsifal, the last opera written by Wagner, premiered in Bayreuth in 1882 and is considered one of the most complex classical music pieces, presenting a major challenge to companies choosing to stage it.
Just like in 2008, when Wagner's "Tristan and Isolde" was put on stage in Tallinn, the production drew a full house. The difference, however, was in the venue - while the National Opera seats just 700, the recently converted Noblessner Foundry accommodates nearly twice as much. According to the National Opera, groups of Wagner connoisseurs, journalists and critics from across the world, traveled to Tallinn to listen to Wagner's masterpiece during its four-night run from August 25.
Surprisingly, a younger audience made up a large share of the visitors at the Noblessner Foundry, the organizers said.
On November 5, Giacomo Puccini's opera "Manon Lescaut", another first-timer in Estonia, will premiere at the National Opera. The musical director and conductor will be Arvo Volmer, with Latvian-born Andrejs Zagars as the stage director.
The event, one of a four-night run at the venue, was a massive undertaking for the Estonian National Opera and a special showcase for Tallinn in its role as European Capital of Culture 2011.
The crumbling seaside Noblessner Foundry inspired a "Parsifal" heavy on apocalyptic imagery, and a portrayal of rundown humanity in need of redemption. The setting was stunning and thought provoking. This was Wagner brought out of its 19th century philistinism, addressing contemporary life with stark settings and irony.
Richard Wagner took the grail legends of Europe’s Middle Ages, especially Wolfram von Eschenbach's "Parzival" from the 13th century and adapted them for musical theatre at Bayreuth in Bavaria, the Mecca of all things Wagnerian. He authored all aspects of the opera’s production, including the libretto. It was first performed in 1882 and not performed away from Bayreuth for twenty years. In short, it was a work driven and controlled by the vision of the composer. It would be interesting to note Wagner’s comments on the production at Noblessner Foundry.
Over the last 130 years, there has been a plethora of interpretation and criticism on the meaning of "Parsifal", much of it conflated with the sometimes less than savory private musings of Wagner himself. One thing that everyone agrees upon, even Nietzsche, Wagner’s onetime friend turned fiercest critic, is that the music, if not the message, is fantastic. This was on display Saturday at the Noblessner, which proved to be an acoustically worthy choice of venue. For these wonderful sounds we can thank the Estonian National Opera’s orchestra and its music director and conductor Arvo Volmer as well as a stellar cast of singers. As always, the orchestra played brilliantly and on-time, the famous leitmotif of "Parsifal" seamlessly melding with the opera’s action.
As far as the singing goes, the crowd favorite was Eike Wilm Schulte as the morally and physically wounded grail king Amfortas. A smallish and not young performer, his baritone vocal prowess amazed.
The heavy lifting for this "Parsifal" fell on the shoulders of the USA’s Richard Decker, Austria’s Manfred Hemm and Irmgard Vilsmaier of Germany as Parsifal, Gurnemanz and Kundry respectively. Each more than held their own in this demanding test of endurance; five plus hours including intermissions.
Robert Innes Hopkins's sets for the opera, inspired by its place of performance, were minimalist and symbolic. Act III saw a greenhouse stand in for a forest glen. This approach worked and created the atmosphere of metaphysical barrenness which is afflicting the grail knights and which Parsifal works to overcome.
Act II saw a wonderful dose of irony that Wagner probably didn’t intend in the original. A throng of gorgeous flower maidens attempt to seduce Parsifal in order to sway him from his quest. This couldn’t help bring to mind another grail story, "Monty Python’s Holy Grail", where a chaste Michael Palin is "saved" by John Cleese form the mortal danger of a convent full of amorous nuns in need of a spanking.
At Parsifal’s conclusion the world is made whole again. The evil Klingsor (a great effort from Austria’s Martin Winkler) has been vanquished in Act II. Parsifal comes home to the grail knights to release Amfortas from his suffering and assume the role of grail king in possession of the magical spear of destiny in the final act. Act III was powerful. Gurnemanz has been reduced to a hobo, the grail knights are dispirited and Parsifal appears as a kind of post-modern slob cum redeemer. But single-mindedness and the compassion of the "holy fool" win out. A story worthy of reflection. With a nod to Nabokov appropriate enough to an opera at a foundry: the evaporation of certain volatiles and the melting of certain metals are still going on in my coils and crucibles.
I am presently listening to the rather incredible Beecham/Reiner 1937 Tristan und Isolde (Melchior/Flagstad) and doing so came across the following which I thought might be of interest.
1990 TV version of an earlier stage play about the life of conductor Sir Thomas Beecham. Written by Ned Sherrin & Caryl Brahms. Written by Ned Sherrin & Caryl Brahms, with Timothy West as Beecham and Terry Wale as everyone else. Directed by Vernon Lawrence, with musical performances by the Halle Orchestra.
Sometimes it would seem that there is a certain level of insanity in those who obsess, as many of us here can seem to do on occasion, over Wagner’s works - or at the very least that there is a certainly level of eccentricity. Go hunting for every performance recorded of Tristan? Check. A Wagner library that matches the size of one’s professional library? Check. Spend clearly ridiculous amounts of money on catching that “perfect” Wagner performance? Check. And so it goes on.
But surely these people, and one thus assumes most of us, are nothing compared to those outside of the major opera houses who plan Wagner performances: John Christie with Glyndebourne, Wasfi Kani at Grange Park, and the Grahams at Longborough - to name a very select few in the UK. Insane or geniuses it is difficult to say but the world is surely a better place for them. And now to this list we must add the Artistic Director at Fulham Opera - Ben Woodward and the team he has assembled London
I recently had the opportunity to catch-up with Ben and discuss Fulham Operas first fully staged Das Rheingold premiering this August in the unlikely “venue” of St Johns Church Fulham (more details here). During this, Ben discussed the origins of this project in New York in 2008, the unique nature of the production, receiving advice from the Head of Music at Covent Garden, Naomi Said’s chorography, Fiona Williams’ production and much else. Perhaps more surprisingly plans for Die Walkure in 2012 and most tantalizing of all, the possibility of a complete Ring Cycle in the near future? Read on for more.
But before hearing from Ben himself exactly who is he?
Ben was born in Staffordshire, and was educated at Chetham's School of Music in Manchester, and was then Organ Scholar at Trinity College, Cambridge. Immediately after Cambridge, Ben moved to New York City, and was Assistant Organist at Christ Church Greenwich, CT, and latterly Director of Music at St Mary's RC Church in Stamford, CT. Here he directed a professional choir and made several recordings including a world-premiere recording of a Mass by JD Heinichen (1683-1729), which he edited himself from source. Much reknowned as a continuo player, he is a member of the New England Baroque Soloists, with whom he was visiting professor of harpsichord at Williams College, Boston USA.
In 2007 Ben became Organist and Director of Music at St John's Church in Fulham. Since being in Fulham he has instituted a recital series, conducted and played several operas, the Mozart Requiem and St John Passion, and two performances of Tallis's 40-voice motet, Spem in Alium for Fulham Week.
Ben Woodward/The Wagnerian
TW: Ben, you have already staged parts of Walkure and Parsifal in the past at Fulham. These of course are massive achievements for large opera houses with accompanying resources - and now Rheingold complete and fully staged. Even Glyndebourne took nearly 80 years before it touched Wagner. The obvious question is why? And what is your affinity for Wagner?
BW: I've loved Wagner since I was first introduced to it at Chetham's School of Music, and it was explained at little more to me at Cambridge, but it was always something that I'd expected I would tackle much later in life. In 2008 in New York, I repetiteured and chorus-mastered Peter Grimes with tenor Jon Morrell. I had helped Jon prepare the role and the two of us became good friends. When I returned to the UK, it was him that suggested we put on the Walkuere Act I, as a single-act show. Jon's long time colleague Nina Lorcini also came over to sing Sieglinde, and I asked Fiona Williams to direct it; she and I had done a Cenerentola together in 2007.
Robert Presley
The show was a success, and a year later, Jon and Nina suggested the Parsifal Act II, as a similar stand-alone work. Both of these shows we did with me playing the piano, and I absolutely loved playing these big colourful scores.
At Christmas at St John's, we mounted Amahl and the Night Visitors by Menotti, which Fiona also directed. After that show wrapped, Robert Presley (who will sing Alberich) and I were mulling over what to do next. Robert and I still argue about who uttered the word "Rheingold" first - I think it was him - but when it was mentioned it just seemed like a fantastic idea worth running with.
TW: What were people’s reactions when you first announced you were producing a staged version of Rheingold?
BW: It varied from "you're mad" to "okay, I can see how you might tackle that". It is to her credit that when I mentioned it to Fiona initially, she did not miss a beat. The church in Fulham have been extraordinarily supportive about everything that I have mounted in the past 4 years, and I am grateful to them. They have seen incest on their altar (as in the Walkuere), a Spear being caught in mid-air (Parsifal) as well as the St John Passion and Spem in Alium, so they're quite used to my ideas for big productions!
TW: Have you had any help from other opera houses in London?
BW: This past year I've bitten a bullet and (despite being 30) have been back to "school" and have got my postgrad from the Guildhall's Opera School, and many of the coaches have been very helpful to me with musical ideas - three of them have themselves assistant-conductor-ed or repetiteured Rheingold at ROH and ENO, so they've been very helpful. I also took it to the Head of Music at Covent Garden, who gave me some invaluable advice.
TW: You are using the piano score. With a full cast assembled – and a staged production – how does this change the “dynamics” of the drama, voices, etc? In other words, the overall feel of the opera?
BW: St John's Church is a very live space acoustically, and from the moment I walked in four years ago, I could tell it would be magnificent to sing into. Though it would be geographically almost impossible to fit in an appropriate sized orchestra, it would also be overwhelming to both singers, and especially audience - the piano supports the singers perfectly well, and it feels like the audience are an integral part of it all, as they are really not very far away.
TW: As I am sure you are aware, there is always anticipation about the “concept” of new productions of the Ring. Could you tell us a little bit about Fiona Williams’ overall concept? Is this a straightforward reading of the text or will the production be more interpretive?
Fiona Williams
BW: I am (possibly obviously) loathe to give away her concept, which is really very cool, but I will say she has kept away from any similarities to (sorry) "Lord of the Rings", as it was felt that, especially given those recent Peter Jackson movies, that we'd run into all sorts of style minefields! Our production is incredibly stylised, and Fiona has brought in the services of movement coach Naomi Said, who recently worked with her on Holland Park's production of Figaro.
TW: On the subject of the production, how has the “geography” of St Johns itself limited or defined the production - if at all? For example, when St Endellion performed their only semi-staged Walkure last month, they had Walkure running up and down the pews and sword fights around the font! Can we expect anything similar?
BW: I understand that St John's is a similar size to St Endellion - to give you an idea - and we have a large marble altar right in the middle of our "stage", that apparently weighs the same as two double-decker buses! There is certainly movement through the entire space, yes!
TW: Can we expect the entire Ring Cycle in the future?
The next things from Fulham Opera will be Suor Angelica on 7 & 9 October, and then Gianni Schicci is pencilled in for Spring. Then, yes, we are currently looking to find dates for a Walkuere, likely in July 2012. Watch this space. Siegfried summer 2013, Goetterdaemmerung summer 2014...?? "The Fulham Ring"... Hope so...
Catch this very unusual production: 30th, 31st August, 2nd & 4th September. 19:30 Start
For more information visit Fulham Opera. Tickets are only 10 pound – that wouldn't buy you a couple of coffees and a cake at lunch time. How could you not go?
In an interview in Bunte, Nike Wagner (never shy of criticising Bayreuth it must be said) criticises Bayreuth's new Tannhäuser production (but she would hardly be alone there).While she insists that not only must one experiment with Wagner productions but one has to, she says the Baumgarten/Van Lieshout production simply does not work - with nothing fitting together. She goes as far as to suggest that the production should not be revived.
She also maintains that the type of productions being staged by Bayreuth have begun to show the weakness in a festival being managed by the Wagner family. According to Nike, this is not what Wagner had in mind but is something of Cosima's design. The future of Bayreuth that she sees, is one without a Wagner at the helm. The dynastic principle has now shown it's weaknesses" she concluded
Don't say the Wagnerian never offers you anything free - well, actually I'm not offering this just letting you know. These online concerts are normally 9 Euros. But, there are a limited number available now, free in association with Deutsche Bank.
Details below: As normal I do not endorse any product or service, etc. And you supply your email details at own risk, etc, etc.
On Friday 26 August, the Berliner Philharmoniker and their chief conductor Sir Simon Rattle open the 2010/2011 season with a performance of Gustav Mahler’s Seventh Symphony. This concert also marks the beginning of another season in the Digital Concert Hall – the virtual concert venue of the Berliner Philharmoniker on the Internet.
Deutsche Bank, partner of the Berliner Philharmoniker since 1989 and exclusive sponsor of the Digital Concert Hall, invites you to watch and experience this concert live.
Simply go to www.db.com to get your ticket, free of charge and without obligation.
The number of tickets is limited, so do it today to make sure you don’t miss out on this very special concert.
The Berliner Philharmoniker and Deutsche Bank look forward to seeing you there!
K Wagner: What could she have planned for poor old Tristan and Isolde?
Not necessarily news but:
Wednesday will not only be the last performance of Katharina's Meistersinger this season but for a while. At the earliest it will be revived in 2016 - maybe.
Of course, this begs the question, what's next for the de-constructionist director? How about Tristan und Isolde in 2015? Don't those two have enough problems as it is? You have been warned. Papier-mâché makers get your tenders in now.
But not to worry, we at least have Frank Castorf's "postdramatic" Ring Cycle to look forward to in 2013 - the oldest "angry young man" in German theatre.
As you may have noticed, I love opera productions - and especially Wagner productions - "off the beaten track". Don't get me wrong, the MET, La Scala, ROH, ENO, Bayreuth, etc, etc, are all fun (and I wouldn't be without them) but some of the most interesting "Wagner nights" have been in places you would least expect and this year has provided some fine ones. LFO, Grange Park and most unusual off all Walkure at St Endellion - a church in Cornwall. Now, to be honest, I thought St Endellion would beat everything - in the unusual location stakes - but just when you think you have heard everything - Rheingold in a Church in Fulham? With a young cast? With the orchestra replaced with the piano score? This looks like one of those productions it might simply be silly to miss - especially at ten pound a ticket. What's to lose?. If your in London at the time...
Now, I have to say this nearly flew below my relatively acute Wagner radar and so I have only just contacted the organisers to get more information. However, given that the première is only a few weeks away, I thought I would provide you as much information as I could find - more when I get it.
Who
Fulham Opera
As they describe themselfs: "Fulham Opera is West London's Premier Independent Opera Company. Affiliated with Music@theHeartofFulham, we exist to produce great opera in a fantastic space."
Artistic Director is Ben Woodward. Since becoming artistic director he has instituted a recital series, conducted and played several operas - includeing Act 2 of Parsifal in 2010 - the Mozart Requiem and St John Passion, and two performances of Tallis's 40-voice motet, Spem in Alium for Fulham Week.
Willy Decker's last year as Director sees his new production of Tristan und Isolde. Given, as you no doubt are already aware, his three years have seen the festival concentrate on the theme of Urmomente (Primal moments) Tristan would seem the perfect opera to complete such a theme.
Cast:
Tristan - Christian Franz
Christian Franz & Susan Owen: Siegfrid live recoding
Leonard Cohen in Yiddish
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And now, as they say, for something completely different. Swedish band
Louisa Lyne & di Yiddishe Kapelye are touring their show Leonard Cohen in
Yiddish an...
La música grande regresa a Miami
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La gran música regresa a Miami como bálsamo después de meses de sequía. La
espera termina. La nueva temporada ofrece una cosecha de grandes orquestas,
soli...
NY Wagner Society Announces Auditions for Grants
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The Wagner Society of New York has, for many years, awarded grants to young
singers whose gifts and talents indicate that they may have a future in the
Wag...
The Future
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Today is Nostradomus day.These are my predictions for the coming year (I
hoope I'm wrong)> First, Trump will begin the roundup and deportaton anyone
he ded...
Lahti
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I am in Lahti, Finland, to give a talk at the Lahti Symphony's Sibelius
Festival. I've been wanting to visit since I encountered Osmo Vänskä's
revelatory B...
Royal Opera House announces Ring Cycles for 2018!
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Very excited by this announcement. Must start saving now…. ADVANCE
ANNOUNCEMENT Four full cycles performed September–November 2018 The 2018/19
Season open...
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