No: 209 April 2013 Wagner news Number 209 April 2013 CONTENTS 6 From the Committee Andrea Buchanan 7 A new Committee Member Emmanuelle Waters 8 Wagner Society 2013 Annual General Meeting Andrea Buchanan 10 Wagner Society 2013 Singing Competition Andrea Buchanan 11 Wagner Society Ticket Ballot Winners Mike Morgan 12 The Times: The Chosen Ones on Rachel Nicholls Neil Fisher 13 Paul Dawson-Bowling’s book launch Ken Ward 14 The Unreachable Star Ken Sunshine 16 Inside The Ring David Edwards 18 News of Young Artists Roger Lee 19 Seattle Opera Competition 20 Film review: Quartet Katie Barnes 22 Quartet : the joy of music, friendship and fun together Dame Gwyneth Jones 24 Wagner 200 Festival Programme 28 Fulham Opera Siegfried Robert Mansell 31 Siegfried in the Suburbs Irene Richards 32 Erda: discovering a character Rhonda Browne 34 Opera on your new iPad Kevin Stephens 36 CD: The Gergiev Die Walküre Kevin Stephens 38 CD: Jonas Kaufmann: Wagner Keith Richards 40: Book: Wagner and Venice Chris Argent 43 Tristan und Isolde in Canada Frances Henry 44 Pleased to Meet You Katie Barnes 46 Rudolph Sabor Remembered Michael Bousfield Printed by Rap Spiderweb – www.rapspiderweb.com 0161 947 3700 –2– EDITOR’S NOTE At the beginning of the end of the Napoleonic era in 1813 Beethoven’s seventh symphony was first performed, Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice was published and Richard Wagner, who would change the course of music history and exert a greater influence than any other artist upon the culture of our age, was born on 22 nd May. On the threshold of Wagner’s third century we announce in this issue of Wagner News a superlative programme of Bicentenary events of whose involvement and support by the Wagner Society its members can be justifiably proud. The Wagner 200 Festival of which the Wagner Society is the Founder Sponsor opens on 22 nd May with the Wagner 200 th Birthday Concert at the Royal Festival Hall with Susan Bullock and James Rutherford. The Wagner 200 Programme on pages 24 to 26 details a 30-event Festival which runs until the end of the year. Dame Gwyneth Jones, Sir John Tomlinson, Janice Watson, Ll r Williams, Sir Andrew Davis, the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Aurora Orchestra, tŷhe BBC Symphony Orchestra and the London Symphony Orchestra are among the dazzling array of artists who will deliver concerts, recitals, masterclasses and even (on 28 th June) a dramatized recreation of the events which surrounded the first performance of the Siegfried Idyll . In November and December Sir Antonio Pappano will conduct a new production of Parsifal at Covent Garden with Simon O’Neil, René Pape and Gerald Finley. We are offered more than a dozen opportunities to enhance our understanding of Wagner’s all-pervading impact upon the history of music as well as of the man himself with interviews, lectures and symposia at the Goethe-Institut, the British Library Conference Centre, Kings Place and at the London Jewish Cultural Centre from such Wagner luminaries as John Deathridge, Keith Warner and Barry Millington In addition to this cornucopia, the Wagner Society has also commissioned David Edwards and The Mastersingers to present a programme of some 17 events designed to complement Longborough Festival Opera’s three Ring cycles from 17 th June to 11 th July, the only fully staged Ring production which will take place in Britain this year. This is the Inside the Ring Festival which is described by Artistic Director David Edwards on pages 16 and 17. Whether you have secured tickets for Longborough or not, a sumptuous Wagnerian feast awaits on the evenings between the performances at the opera house. Inside the Ring draws upon artistic resources developed over the years among young artists and eminent performers alike by The Mastersingers Company under the direction of Malcolm Rivers so as to be able to provide masterclasses from Dame Anne Evans, Kim Begley and Gwynne Howell, plus discussions and presentations with John Deathridge, Anthony Negus, Bryan Magee, Alan Rusbridger, Tony Palmer and Martin and Lizzie Graham. Such riches come our way thanks to the sphere of influence which has been developed by our Society among a huge range of Wagnerian practitioners and theorists. May the 2013 Bicentenary provide something for everyone by introducing Wagner’s work to new audiences whilst extending and deepening our appreciation of the artwork of the future. –3– BICENTENARY LUNCH CANCELLED We regret to announce the cancellation of the celebratory bicentenary lunch, planned to take place on 22nd May. This is due to the fact that very few people showed any interest and we would have incurred a substantial loss on the event. All monies paid to date will be refunded. THE BÄRENREITER TRISTAN UND ISOLDE FACSIMILE SCORE OFFER Bärenreiter are making a special offer to Wagner Society members for their facsimile edition of the autograph score of Tristan und Isolde , details of which have been mailed out with this issue of Wagner News. The offer represents a saving to members of more than £60 on the retail price of £557.50. Bärenreiter are willing to honour the price of £499 plus free postage until the end of April 2013 for all orders placed on 01279 828 930 or by post or by emailing [email protected]. Wagner news mini reviews CHELSEA OPERA GROUP DIE FEEN Ann Denton Die Feen was delightful! It played to a full house; I thoroughly enjoyed it and everyone else seemed to enjoy it too. We were swept in with a wonderful overture and you could hear the Wagnerian style there. The singers were great. Indeed, Kirstin Sharpin who sang Ada was a bit of a young Joan Sutherland. Lora sang about her heaving bosoms and they certainly did! I felt that it would make an enchanting staged opera and would certainly go and see it again. It was lovely and casual. At one point the Conductor stopped and announced that they could do that bit better and so they started again! Geoffrey Griffiths A most enjoyable evening with wonderful orchestral climaxes at the end of each Act. Quite a clever and complex story, and if the music is not in the fully developed Wagner style, one wonders why he allowed it to survive, but I am glad he did not destroy it. –4– WAGNER, LISZT, ALKAN AND BERLIOZ SOCIETIES DINNER An exciting new collaboration Catherine Dobson and Ursula Sullivan It is always an interesting experience to take part in something new, and the event we attended on 24 th January 2013 was no exception. Ten Wagner Society members joined fifty from the Liszt, Alkan and Berlioz Societies for a concert and dinner to inaugurate, celebrate and promote a working partnership between our respective memberships. Our Chairman Richard Miles and Secretary Andrea Buchanan had met last year with officers of these societies and agreed that a dinner would give their members an opportunity to meet one another and exchange views in a celebratory atmosphere. This might encourage the forging of closer links between the societies at a time when we are all aware of the need to attract younger members and increase attendance at the events of our favoured composers. We met, rather appropriately, at The Forge Restaurant in Camden Town, a music and arts venue with an attractive small concert hall and restaurant. We were welcomed by Jim Vincent of the Liszt Society who had undertaken all the administrative arrangements for this first venture very efficiently. He had organised a seating plan for dinner that enabled members of the four societies to mingle and chat in convivial surroundings. The recital opened with a soprano soloist, Cara McHardy, who would have been familiar to those Wagner Society members who had attended Susan Bullock’s recent masterclasses. She sang the same aria that had impressed Susan and her audience: Einsam in trüben Tagen from Lohengrin Act I. This was followed by a soaring rendition of Mild und Leise from Tristan und Isolde Act III. Her accompanist Ben Woodward (an accomplished repetiteur and Music Director of Fulham Opera for their current acclaimed Ring Cycle) was another familiar face to Wagner Society members as he had been a popular participant in our December Bayreuth Bursary Fund competition. The evening continued with an amazingly assured performance by the young pianist Mark Viner of two of Chopin’s Nocturnes and his Fantasie Impromptu, Etudes by Alkan, a Fantasie by Thalberg, a contemporary of the composers featured and the monumental Hexameron , a series of variations by six famous pianists of the nineteenth century with an introduction, connecting links and a finale by Liszt. Mark is a dazzling virtuoso and he performed all of the works without a score. He was rewarded with a standing ovation and we all went into dinner singing his praises. The food and wine were excellent and lively conversation was heard on all sides. The Wagner Society plans to host the next event for the combined societies. What better way of achieving fruitful collaboration than to join forces on informal occasions like this, where ideas can be shared and friendships made. The success of this first venture should encourage all our members to come along to the next one, to meet like-minded people and have fun! SAVE THE DATE The next Annual Dinner of the Wagner, Liszt, Alkan and Berlioz Societies will be held on Thursday 23 rd January 2014 Venue, cost and programme to be announced –5– FROM THE COMMITTEE Notes from the Committee Meeting held on 30 th January 2013 in London Andrea Buchanan Apologies for absence were received from Roger Lee and Charlie Furness Smith.