Wagner Opera

The November 2019 issue (vol.13, no.3) of The Wagner Journal has been published and contains the following feature articles: • ‘Knappertsbusch in Bayreuth’ by Hans Rudolf Vaget • ‘In Wagner’s Eyes: Casting Light on a Disputed Portrait‘ by Michael Trimble, Dale C. Hesdorffer, Robert Letellier and Gordon Plant •’Ernest Newman in ‘’Naziland‘’: In Search of Otto Strobel‘ by David Cormack • ‘Report on the Production of Tannhäuser in Paris’ by Richard Wagner (translated by Niall Hoskin) plus reviews of:  Tannhäuser  at the Bayreuth Festival,  Das Rheingold  at Longborough and Grimeborn,  Die Meistersinger  by Fulham Opera,  Die Walküre  in Kassel,  Götterdämmerung  in Würzburg and  Lohengrin  in Nuremberg; the Bernstein  Tristan und Isolde  (Munich, 1981) on DVD; CDs of the Hallé  Siegfried  and of Lise Davidsen in Wagner and Strauss www.thewagnerjournal.co.uk

150 years after the Munich premiere of Das Rheingold, a newly formed company, Tarnhelm Opera is bringing a unique production of the work to cathedrals and large churches in the West of England and South Wales. The performances are staged, in costume and sung in German with English surtitles. The performances make full use of the substantial organ in each of the venues, supplemented by percussion, giving a remarkably faithful and impressive account of Wagner’s score in magnificent and lofty surroundings. The production opens Thursday 17th October 2019 in Bath and then moves on to Gloucester, Worcester, Bristol and Cardiff. Performances 17 Oct 2019 St Mary’s Church, Bathwick 19 Oct 2019 Gloucester Cathedral 25 October Worcester Cathedral 2 November St Mary Redcliffe, Bristol 16 November Llandaff Cathedral Tarnhelmopera.co.uk

The July 2019 issue (vol.13, no.2) of The Wagner Journal has been published and contains the following feature articles: • Es klang so alt, und war doch so neu. Wagner's Greatest Myth: Musical Historicism in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg • In ein fernes Land: The Politics of Translation in Wagner‘s Arrangement of Gluck‘s Iphigénie en Aulide • Das, was eigentlich Musik: Richard Wagner's reception of Beethoven‘s Piano Sonata No, 28, Op. 101 by Roger Allen plus reviews of: Tannhäuser in Dresden and Amsterdam, Holländer in Dresden, Die Meistersinger, Rienzi and Parsifal in Berlin; a study of Alexander Ritter by Michael Hofmeister, The Trouble with Wagner by Michael P. Steinberg and Staging Verdi and Wagner, ed. Naomi Matsumoto Order your copy here!

Stefan Herheim. Photo: Per-Erik Skramstad Deutsche Oper Berlin has announced that Stefan Herheim will stage a new Ring starting in 2020 with Donald Runnicles conducting. The cast will include Derek Welton as Wotan and Markus Brück as Alberich. Other cast members include Annika Schlicht, Flurina Stucki, Judit Kutasi, Thomas Blondelle, and Tobias Kehrer as Fricka, Freia, Erda, Loge, and Fafner, respectively. Padraic Rowan and Robert Watson are Donner and Froh while Andrew Harris is Fasolt. As the Rheinmaidens are Meechot Marrero, Irene Roberts, and Anna Buslidze. Performance Dates: June 20-27, 2020. The whole Ring will be performed in June 2021, according to the plans.     

The March 2019 issue (vol.13, no.1) of The Wagner Journal has been published and contains the following feature articles: ‘ ‘’Accompanied by Solemn Songs‘‘: Wagner’s  Ring  as it might have been‘ by Arnold Whittall ‘Redeeming Senta‘ by Edward A. Bortnichak and Paula M. Bortnichak ‘Ludwig Revisited‘ by Joseph Horowitz ‘Being Isolde: the Theory and Practice of Anna Bahr-Mildenburg‘ by Karin Martensen ‘Legend and Reality in Wagner‘s Creativity‘ by Ulrich Drüner plus reviews of: the  Ring  at Covent Garden and various venues in Germany, plus  Die Meistersinger  in Wiesbaden and Mannheim; Barrie Kosky‘s Bayreuth  Meistersinger  on DVD; Jaap van Zweden‘s Naxos  Götterdämmerung  on CD; a new translation of the  Ring  by John Deathridge, Oswald Bauer’s monumental history of the Bayreuth Festival and reviews of publications by Jens Malte Fischer, Dieter Borchmeyer and Udo Bermbach. Order your copy here!