13895 Wagner News

No: 204 January 2012 Number 204 January 2012 INSIDE 4 Pleased to meet you Michael Druiett 5 Richard Wagner Verband Extraordinary Assembly Andrea Buchanan 5 Essential Wagner: Melos Roger Lee 6 Berlin Ring : 9th to 18th September Paul Dawson-Bowling 8 Berlin Ring : 20th to 24th September Robert Mitchell 10 Opera North Rheingold at Salford Katie Barnes 12 Edinburgh Players Opera Group: “ Scotterdämmerung ” Roger Lee 13 A young heldentenor Jonathan Finney 14 A sort of alchemy Hugh Bolton 14 A Wagnerian blogger Rob Saunders 15 On singing Brünnhilde Kimberley Myers 16 Ross Alley: “I still owe the world a Tannhäuser .” Jeremy D Rowe 16 Concert at the Royal College of Music Jeremy D Rowe 17 Die Walküre at Saint Endillion David Ross 18 Der fliegende Hollander at Covent Garden Katie Barnes 20 Interview with Alwyn Mellor Michael Bousfield 22 UK premiere of Wagner Dream by Jonathan Harvey Barbican Music Team 27 Der Ring Edinburgh residential summer school Derek Watson 28 Rehearsal Orchestra: Scenes from Götterdämmerung Paul Dawson-Bowling Meirion Bowen 31 Der fliegende Holländer in Liège Jeremy D Rowe 32 Siegfried cinema relay from the New York Met Ewen Harris 34 Oxford Wagner Society Orchestra concert Andrea Buchanan 35 Magdalen Ashman shines at St James Piccadilly Jeremy D Rowe 35 An evening of Wagner at Queen’s Gate Terrace Jeremy D Rowe 36 Mastersingers Bayreuth Bursary Competition Day Katie Barnes 39 Bursary Competition: Let’s hear it from the Singers! Andrea Buchanan 42 From Wotan to Bluebeard with Sir John David Edwards 43 Seattle Opera’s Speight Jenkins honoured Malcolm Rivers 44 Liederabend: Song recital at St Paul’s Church Covent Garden 45 Mastersingers Presteigne weekend: Rogues and Lovers in Opera, Verse and Art 46 Letter: No thank you, Bayreuth Giles du Boulay

Cover: Helena Dix, winner of the Wagner Society 2012 Bayreuth Bursary Competition Photography and Design by Peter West: [email protected] 01256 322 339

–2– EDITOR’S NOTE

“Experiencing Wagner’s Ring is like living one’s life several times over.” So writes Meirion Bowen on page 30 of this issue in response to the Rehearsal Orchestra workshop of scenes from Götterdämmerung with young singers of the Mastersingers company at the Henry Wood Hall. With a kaleidoscope of careers in music which include prodigy organist, distinguished music teacher, music critic for the Guardian and many other publications, musical assistant to Sir Michael Tippett, mentor to a legion of young musicians and associate of Nicholas Cleobury and Sir Colin Davis, Meirion Bowen can speak with authority about “living one’s life several times.” Bowen’s opening sentence: “Great Wagner performances need long term preparation” refers to the fact that those events such as the Henry Wood Hall Götterdämmerung which so distinguish the UK Wagner Society among its worldwide siblings represent the very process of “long term preparation” whose aim is to produce the great Wagner performances of the future. Whether it is explicitly stated in these pages or not, Sir John Tomlinson, Dame Anne Evans and Malcolm Rivers have powerfully contributed to the outcomes of more than a dozen events and personal reflections which are reported in this issue alone. Thanks to our well-established symbiosis with the Mastersingers the Wagner Society can take pride in its role in developing a lengthy catalogue of now established Wagnerian performers from Bryn Terfel to James Rutherford, Alwyn Mellor, Andrew Rees, Rachel Nicholls, Stuart Pendred and many more who have taken part in our programme of “long-term preparation” toward that goal of helping to produce the “great Wagner performances” of our time. As for the future, the Edinburgh Opera Players production of Götterdämmerung (pages 12 to 15), and the riches of talent displayed on the Bayreuth Bursary day (pages 36 to 41) tell abundantly of our response as a Society to the need to provide a future generation of Wagnerian artists with the “long term preparation” about which Merion Bowen writes.

–3– Pleased to meet you MICHAEL DRUIETT The big discovery from Britain’s Wagner-rich summer was Mastersingers Company alumnus Michael Druiett as Wotan in Das Rheingold for Opera North. Paul Dawson-Bowling wrote in the October Wagner News: “I cannot sufficiently praise the Wotan of Michael Druiett who invoked all the gravity and authority of the role and also sang it superlatively and brought out its high drama. His voice is clean-cut and pure in intonation, but his heldenbariton flexibility has an added seasoning from the dark, rich hues of a true bass. It beggars belief that Michael Druiett is not snapped up for appearances at the Met, Bayreuth, Paris, Seattle – everywhere.” On page 10 of this issue Katie Barnes writes: “Michael Druiett’s Wotan ruled the stage with effortless authority and he sang with beautiful bronzed tone in excellent German. On this showing he has the potential to become a major heldenbariton. It will be good to see how he develops the character vocally and dramatically.” Michael told Wagner News: “The role of Wotan means so much to me. It is everything I have spent twenty years in the profession waiting to do. It has been a wonderful journey during which I have learned so much about myself and my singing. (I think I have found the reason why I have been given a 6’ 6” frame and a voice!) So many people said that this would be me and I could be a successful exponent of the role. I am so thrilled that my first run at it in this concert format has been so well received. “At English National Opera. I was a very young and inexperienced singer and Malcolm Rivers did his best to keep me on the straight and narrow! I first came into contact with the Wagner Society six or seven years ago when I was starting my transition from bass to heldenbariton. I entered the Bayreuth Bursary Competition with my first sketch of Wotan’s farewell and came runner up. I was invited back for the concert ‘From Busetto to Bayreuth’ with my old friend from Welsh National Opera, Anthony Negus. I have to say a big ’thank you’ to the Mastersingers Company for enabling me to study Das Rheingold with the wonderful Philip Thomas. Philip was one of those who said that this was the role I would sing one day. His emphasis on its lieder-like lyrical aspects showed me how Wotan is more that standing there shouting and bawling, and I was pleased to read how people had appreciated my interpretation. “John Tomlinson and I worked together before the two September performances and he was so supportive and positive. John is such a hero and somebody I have had the great pleasure of sharing the stage with for twenty odd years. Two particular highlights were when I shone my lamp as Nightwatchman in the Covent Garden Meistersinger and spent a lot of time listening to his great Hans Sachs unfolding, and another was Pelléas at Glyndebourne as the Doctor with John’s extraordinary Golaud. We spent an hour on the first page of Wotan’s music! His insight into the character and the music was fascinating and every so often a priceless discovery would emerge for me. Above all, to be told by the greatest living Wotan: ‘yes, you can do this, and do it well’ was a wonderful compliment. I plan to continue with the other two parts of Wotan with Sir John as mentor.” [email protected]

–4– REPORT ON THE EXTRAORDINARY DELEGATE ASSEMBLY OF THE RICHARD WAGNER VERBAND INTERNATIONAL E.V. Frankfurt am Main, October 9th 2011 Andrea Buchanan As a result of unfinished business and requests from delegates at the annual assembly held in Wroclaw in May 2011 the Executive Committee called for an Extraordinary Assembly to be held in October. Representing our Society I joined delegates from 45 other Wagner Societies. There were two candidates for the election of Treasurer: Finn Elkjær of Copenhagen and Horst Eggers of Bayreuth. Mr. Eggers was elected by 24 votes to 19, with 1 abstention. There then ensued a long and complex discussion of the issues arising from the Wroclaw meeting and of the dissatisfaction in certain quarters with the way these issues were subsequently minuted. These related to the disagreement between Vice President Thomas Krakow and the former Treasurer Hubert Glomm of Bayreuth. Eventually it was agreed that the Wroclaw minutes be updated to address these concerns. President Professor Märtson then announced the unanimous committee decision to withdraw the application that had been made in Wroclaw to amend the statutes of the RWVI and to replace these with Statutes of Procedure. The rest of the meeting concerned suggestions as to how future Congresses should be organised, delegates’ agreement to the 2015 Congress being held in Dessau to coincide with their “Bauhaus” Ring, further details of the Congresses in Leipzig (2013) and Graz (2014), matters pertaining to the Scholarship Foundation and the mailing of the annual reports book to member societies. The minutes are available (by email only) on request from the Secretary, Andrea Buchanan, if members would like to know more. [email protected]

ESSENTIAL WAGNER MELOS Roger Lee

On page 7 Paul Dawson-Bowling writes: “Robert Dean Smith sang Winterstürme wichen dem Wonnemond and much else with an incomparable legato, somehow taking its phrasing through all Wagner’s awkward consonants which break up his beautiful melos.” As a conductor Richard Wagner felt that the job should consist of more than that of simply beating time. One had to go beyond the notes to penetrate and extract its meaning, its essence, its soul. Referring to this as the “melos” of the music he wrote: “you cannot know the tempo of a piece unless you know the melos, unless you hear the underlying melody”. Here the translator of Wagner’s essay On Conducting states that melos means melody in all its aspects, that is to say not just the notes but also an idea of “inner melody”. Wagner’s point was that if you don’t hear and identify with this “inner melody” then what you conduct may be accurate but it will have missed the essence of the music.

–5–– 5– DER RING DES NIBELUNGEN IN BERLIN 9th to 18th September 2011 Götz Friedrich’s time-honoured staging blazes to life to fight another day Paul Dawson-Bowling I recommend the Berlin Deutsche Oper Ring to anyone suffering from Ring hunger. It is one of the best that I know, with tickets costing so much less than Covent Garden banker’s league prices as announced for 2012 that there would be money enough left for anyone to cover the costs of flights to Berlin and hotels. When I last saw Götz Friedrich’s quarter of a century old “Time Tunnel” production four or five years ago it seemed tired and outmoded, overdue for retirement, but it has now sprung up to rich new life. Much of the credit must go to Donald Runnicles, but the shift is partly because Götz Friedrich’s staging, his damning Marxist critique of capitalism had then seemed a historical curiosity, whereas it has now acquired an urgent and compelling relevance thanks to the worldwide catastrophes of capitalism since that time. These catastrophes have shown up the failures of capitalism not simply as a matter of one or two “whiskers” in the system which can soon be tweaked right, but as something intrinsic to capitalism itself. Götz Friedrich’s accent on the Ring ’s attack against capitalism resonates quite differently now, as a renewed vindication of Marx for having in many ways been right all along. What has dated more is the representation of technology. Alberich the grim capitalist still sits in his Nibelheim control centre surrounded by screens that spy on his workers, and he still faces an immense dashboard whence he dominates this operation, flicking controls, throwing switches and terrorising his slave Nibelungen, but his communications system looks quaintly old fashioned, such is the pace of technological change. Even so the other great set pieces of the production: the vast, floor-level braziers of magic fire in Die Walküre , the fantastical tank-like contraptions of the mechanical dragon in Siegfried and the huge magnifying mirrors that add to the sinister presences of Götterdämmerung all remain riveting, and this Ring ’s beginning and end, consisting of the same petrified tableau slowly coming to life at the start of Das Rheingold and sinking back into silence and stillness again at the end of Götterdämmerung were as impressive as ever. The slight frustration over this 2011 revival is that it has two rather different revival directors, Jasmin Solfaghari for Das Rheingold and Siegfried , and Gerlinde Pelkowski for Die Walküre and Götterdämmerung . Apart from the fact that Wotan and Siegmund now both sport the almost mandatory pigtails, the biggest change from both directors was the altered Personen-regie , their deployment of the singing actors (as opposed to the scenic conception, the Inszenierung ), so as to present far closer personal interactions, particularly in the Pelkowski sections. Even in Solfaghari’s Das Rheingold , at the point where the problems confronting the gods have evidently been resolved, she has the Wotan of Das Rheingold and Siegfried , Mark Delavan, warmly embracing his Fricka, the creamy yet imperious Daniela Sindram. They lean affectionately close so that their foreheads touch. Again, Siegmund in former times used to sing to his Sieglinde from the opposite side of the stage, but the expressive Robert Dean Smith now addressed the incandescent Petra Maria Schnitzer while clasping her in a passionate embrace worthy of Wieland Wagner at Bayreuth 1958. By contrast the Siegfried of Torsten Kerl in Siegfried , unfailingly musical but slightly overextended in a theatre of this size, still addressed himself to the scenery at the –6–– 6– back in Act III instead of the “wondrous woman” who has taken possession of his imagination. Incidentally Robert Dean Smith sang “Winterstürme wichen dem Wonnemond” and much else with an incomparable legato, somehow taking its phrasing through all Wagner’s awkward consonants which break up his beautiful melos. Burkhard Ulrich has advanced his arresting Loge a stage further, creating a kind of performance of a performance for his own sardonic appraisal and amusement without ever sacrificing the impression of being the most clear-sighted and truthful of the gods, as well as the most amoral. It was in character that after Wotan has robbed Alberich (the slightly soft-centred Gordon Hawkins) of the Ring and stands gazing at it in besotted self-regard, this Loge watched him with a mix of disbelief, disgust and horror that anyone could be so deluded. Burkhard Ulrich went on to present a Siegfried Mime who was thoroughly dislikeable and again beautifully sung. Greer Grimsley made a spirited attempt at the Walküre Wotan but he seemed miscast, with a vocalism too high and too light, and a conception too homely, particularly in the context of this mythic production. At the end of Die Walküre , Grimsley’s Wotan staggered across the stage clutching his heart and emoting, suggesting the possibility (heresy!) that Wagner’s heroes might after all simply be petit bourgeois grossly inflated, as Nietzsche jeeringly alleged. Grimsley’s predecessors had never for one moment run the risk of letting us think of the Walküre Wotan as anything less than a god, however devastated by events he may be. Mark Delavan in Das Rheingold and Siegfried may have been smaller in voice and stature, but he seemed to have a better measure of the role. One of this Ring ’s many other fine features was its Rhinemaidens, all ravishingly pure, and even more so its Woodbird, whose every note of every phrase was sung with a perfect, silvery purity by Hila Fahima. As usually happens at the Deutsche Oper, there was not a weak link among the “minor roles”, such as Erda, and Waltraute or the Rheingold gods and giants. There was a Gutrune out of Rubens and a magnificent set of Valkyries, even though the idea of having them wake up and slowly stretch themselves free of slumber went against the tumultuous energy unleashed instantly by their music. The finest part of this Ring was Götterdämmerung . Janice Baird had shown immense promise as the Siegfried Brünnhilde, and in Götterdämmerung she fulfilled every hope with her intense, overwhelming portrayal. Nowhere did she ever let up on brilliant singing and brilliant acting, and we should have had her for Brünnhilde in Die Walküre as well, instead of Jennifer Wilson who was outclassed by Baird. I have never seen the moment when Gunther commends to the populace the two happy couples more heartrendingly realised. The look of joy that lit up this Brünnhilde’s face on hearing the name Siegfried, her turning round and her headlong rush to embrace him, and then her confusion and the gradual, wondering anguish of her growing disbelief – all this she presented incomparably. Possibly her voice itself, so bright and pure above the stave, could do with a little filling out in the five notes above middle C, but I have no hesitation in hailing her Brünnhilde as belonging to the same great league as the youthful Gwyneth Jones or Astrid Varnay. Almost as impressive was the Siegfried of Stephen Gould, whose bronze magnificence barely comes across on any of his recordings. Matti Salminen, equally magnificent as Hagen, is so scheming and menacing that any Siegfried with the slightest sense or awareness should have instantly left Gibichung territory for a different continent, although Salminen was far different from that great Hagen of the past, Gottlob Frick, who managed to combine a threatening grimness with a scrawny, unmeritable exterior more in line with Wagner’s own conception. –7–– 7– Donald Runnicles can barely have finished the Ring at San Francisco before beginning rehearsals for his two cycles in Berlin, and it would be interesting to have his views on the differences. The most obvious one must have been the orchestra. The orchestra of the Deutsche Oper Berlin is like the Staatskapelle Dresden, both more crucial than ever now as keepers of the flame for that deep beauty of sound which is something uniquely German (the old Philharmonia Orchestra came close). This depth of sound gave a special ruggedness to the storm at the beginning of Die Walküre and a special saturation to the great rolling string phrases of the Todesverkündigungen , all amply and lovingly shaped by Donald Runnicles. His tempi seemed to be brisk, and his exciting descent to Nibelheim (no holds barred for the trumpets) even veered dangerously towards the hectic confusion that Pappano and Haitink confer on this music. Runnicles’ way with the Ride of the Valkyries was happily reminiscent of Furtwängler’s poem of speed at Milan. Not that there was anything over-brisk about the expansive rein he always gave to the music’s exaltation, but his energy made it a surprise to find that his Act III of Götterdämmerung which had seemed impetuous at the time had taken a full 78 minutes. Along with the stage conceptions of Janice Baird and Götz Friedrich, it was Runnicles who made the end of Götterdämmerung so mighty and so moving that the stunned silence afterwards lasted a rapt ten seconds before the applause broke out – in torrents. This was the most important aspect of this Ring , that it was not just such an interesting experience but such a moving one. Nor was it impossible to get tickets; there were even occasional empty seats. Forget Covent Garden and go to it next time round if you possibly can.

DER RING DES NIBELUNGEN AT DEUTSCHE OPER, BERLIN 20, 21, 22, 24 September 2011 Robert Mitchell From my Wagner collection I recently listened to a 1986 performance of Götterdämmerung from an opera house of great repute not a million miles south of Berlin. In spite of an excellent cast and orchestra it was one of the worst in my experience, marred by singers and orchestra going their own ways on far too many occasions. We normally expect the two to be in time with each other and should perhaps rejoice when this occurs, rather than take it for granted; it can so easily go wrong. So first praise must go to Maestro Runnicles who held everything together and never let the drama drag. He let the music play without any exaggeration and was invariably considerate to the singers. The orchestra responded magnificently, with golden playing from the bass clarinet and cor anglais . I first saw Der Ring at the DOB in 1971, produced by the Intendant of the house, Gustav Rudolf Sellner, with wonderful angular-geometric scenery by the Viennese sculptor Fritz Wotruba. The authorship of his designs is instantly recognisable; his Church of the Holy Trinity in Vienna could be confused with his design for Valhalla in that production, or with the sculpture in the upper level walking area of the DOB today. Hollreiser conducted, and unforgettable vocal legends such as Gustav Neidlinger, Thomas Stewart, Catarina Ligendza, Hildegard Hillbrecht, Marga Höffgen, Hans Beirer and Martti Talvela appeared in the leading roles.

–8–– 8– The present Ring is a venerable successor. However as I commented last year the Time Tunnel has few advantages. It looks like the segments of a giant submarine. Its great limitation is that there is no possibility of seeing the sky. Ortlinde may sing “Gewittersturm naht von Norden ” but there is no visual equivalent. Subsequently the stage directions state that the rocky peak is enveloped in black thunderclouds, or that the weather becomes clearer as the evening twilight falls, followed at the close by night. These directions have their musical equivalents and manifest Wagner’s wonderful feeling for natural phenomena, but if no sky is visible a potentially wonderful effect is absent. The production had many plus points in the interaction of the characters as in Act I of Walküre , the expiration of Siegmund as Wotan leans over him, Wotan countering the phalanx of spear wielding Valkyries with his own spear, or looking back at Brünnhilde from extreme stage left before making his sorrowful exit, the riddle scene in Siegfried , Gunther’s look of righteous indignation to Brünnhilde as Siegfried’s swears his innocence on Hagen’s spear (from my seat in the Parkett row 1, I had a perfect sightline here), Hagen folding his spear-wielding arm around Brünnhilde for “Vertraue mir..”, Hagen moving to stage right, with Brünnhilde centre and Gunther left for the vengeance trio, Hagen pushing Siegfried down onto a seat at the beginning of the hero’s narration, craftily moving his sword out of reach at “ dort fälllt ich Fafner, den Wurm ”, subsequently distracting Siegfried’s attention when the latter realises that his sword is not about him with “ Was er nicht geschmiedet, schmeckte doch Mime ”. The singing was generally first rate. New to me was Greer Grimsley whose 6’ 3” slim Wotan cut a fine figure with a voice to match. His spellbinding narration. “Wunschmaid warst du mir ” was followed by a furious “ gegen mich doch hast du gewünscht ” and so on with “ Schildmaid ” and “ Loskieserin ”. Like all great Wotans the final “ nie ” was held until the Siegfried motif played on the trombones and trumpets. Mark Delavan sang a fluent and firm toned Wanderer. Robert Dean Smith’s vocal qualities continue to delight, not least his sustained “ Wälses ” now approaching Melchiorian duration. Petra Maria Schnitzer was predictably a great Sieglinde with great impassioned crazies in Act II and a fervent “ Hehrstes Wunder ”. Reinhard Hagen gave a great black- toned, sinister Hunding and sonorous Fasolt. Jennifer Wilson has great qualities – touching acting, a clear, well-projected voice, and crystal clear diction – but was vocally indisposed, singing at limited volume. Doris Soffel, a veteran of Peter Hall’s Bayreuth Ring from 1983, replaced Miss Sindram as Fricka with great authority. Torsten Kerl has just the right vocal and acting qualities for Siegfried, and mightily impressed me in the broadcast from the recent Paris Ring . But live he was disappointingly small-scale. Only at “ so schneidet Siegfrieds Schwert ” did the voice really ring out. Another indisposition perhaps, although no announcement was made. Gordon Hawkins has the right vocal colour and heft for Alberich but somehow neutered the role with expressionless diction. I had no great sense of his malevolence; no doubt this will develop. Not so Matti Salminen as Hagen who, unlike last year, did not spare his black granite voice and produced the Hagen of one’s dreams. As last year, Burkhard Ulrich excelled as Loge and the Siegfried Mime, as did a slimmed down Heidi Melton, surely a lady with a great future (a radiant Sieglinde from the Act I concert from Milwaukee), as Gutrune, and Ewa Wolack’s voluminous contralto Erda. The DOB chorus was, as usual, splendid, in particular one 6’6” plus beefy tenor who stood centre stage left and whose “ Groß Glück und Heil ” really rang out in a most enthusiastic and exciting manner. –9–– 9– DAS RHEINGOLD : OPERA NORTH IN SALFORD 10th September 2011 Katie Barnes Lacking the facilities (or the funds) to mount a fully staged Ring cycle or to attract many singers already experienced in Wagner, Opera North have hit upon the solution of a series of semi-staged concerts, which give experience to singers new to their roles, with the inestimable benefit of having Dame Anne Evans as artistic consultant. The result is a triumph for all concerned. Peter Mumford (justly described in the excellent programme as one of theatre’s true renaissance men) created and lit a semi-staging which was far more staged than semi, placing Opera North’s superb orchestra at the centre of the action, with the singers acting out the drama at the front of the platform. Initially my heart sank when I saw the three projection screens at the back, as I usually find projections during an operatic performance hopelessly distracting, but I was pleasantly surprised to find how discreetly and creatively they were used. Images of water, clouds and fire created ambience without tiring the eye, and, in addition to the surtitles, text projected onto the screens helped to set the scene and keep any audience members unfamiliar with the drama informed of scenic locations, the characters, their relationships and their places in the narrative. Lush prose from Michael Birkett’s prose retelling of the tetralogy, The Story of the Ring , was invaluable in drawing the audience into the drama. The staging told the story fully but simply, with all the singers wearing clothing suitable for their characters: glorious green glitter for the Rhinedaughters, elegant black for Fricka, superb evening dress with a magnificent brocaded waistcoat for Wotan and, most arrestingly, identical grey suits with red ties and red breast pocket handkerchiefs for the giants - but no props at all. Gold, Ring, Tarnhelm, spear, all were mimed so realistically that it was a shock to find that they were not there. All this might have been expected to place a heavier burden than usual upon the singers in terms of communicating the story to the audience, but instead the staging’s simplicity became its strength. It made for a far more convincing and powerful performance of Das Rheingold than many an expensive, fussy, fully-staged production I have witnessed. The Opera North Orchestra made the most of its position at the centre of the proceedings, which was crucial to the success of the enterprise. Freed from the confines of the pit, their sound flowered and Richard Farnes gave the score exquisite fluidity, ebbing and flowing like the Rhine itself. Delicate details, usually concealed within the Wagnerian sound, emerged and sparkled like jewels, and the strings and harps had cobwebby delicacy. The Giants’ unexpectedly brisk march was enough to strike terror into the heart of any God (these Giants really meant business). The descent into Nibelheim was like a prolonged shriek of terror, enhanced by the anvils, not pre-recorded or placed offstage as is so often the case but ranged across the back of the platform, played with exceptional musicality, their sound beautiful yet hideous. And the final ascent to Valhalla was like the rising of the sun itself, a sustained magnificence so intense that it could scarcely be borne. I have rarely heard it played so masterfully. Most of the cast were new to their roles, yet they created an exceptionally strong ensemble and gave individual performances of an amazingly high standard. Michael Druiett’s Wotan ruled the stage with effortless authority and sang with beautiful bronzed tone in excellent German. On this showing, he has the potential to become a major

– 10 – heldenbariton. It will be good to see how he develops the character, vocally and dramatically. He was finely matched by Yvonne Howard’s outstanding Fricka, sumptuous of voice, articulate with the text, and dramatically alert. She used her eyes so well to create the character - her gaze at the completed Valhalla showed that, for all Fricka’s complaints, she was overwhelmingly proud of her new home. The speculative gleam in her eye as she questioned Loge about the Rheingold’s properties said volumes, and the glance between husband and wife at “Gewänne mein Gatte sich wohl das Gold?” (which has surely never been so alluringly sung) positively smouldered. Far from already being deeply divided at the start of the tetralogy, this Wotan and Fricka were very close and clearly found power very sexy indeed - which will make their subsequent rupture in Die Walküre all the more painful to witness. Peter Wedd’s clarion tones on Froh’s first entry, as bright and flashing as raindrops in sunlight, made the audience sit up with a jolt, and Derek Welton’s Donner was immensely exciting. Both have enormous potential. Lee Bissett’s Freia was full of sweetness and charm. Andrea Baker’s Erda exuded gravitas , and her deep, rich voice was absolutely thrilling. In such exalted company, I found the Giants slightly disappointing. Gregory Frank’s Fafner was strong-voiced and his characterisation of the unpleasant bully came across well, but I missed the individuality which his colleagues were bringing to their roles. Brindley Sherratt’s stage personality was too austere and self-contained for the affectionate Fasolt, and his spare voice lacked the beauty needed to make the most of such passages as “Weibes Wonne zum Pfand “ and “ein Weib zu gewinnen”. Fasolt’s death was one of the strongest moments of the production: Fafner walked up to his motionless brother, ripped the red handkerchief from his breast pocket, and cast it into the audience. The floating red silk looked like a gout of blood. Wolfgang Ablinger-Sperrhacke, an experienced Mime, made the transition to Loge. It was good to have his razor-sharp German diction, but his whining tones, which are just about acceptable for Mime, grated on my ear when imposed upon Loge’s loveliest lyric music. I found his acting fussy and camp, and his ceaseless hand movements soon became annoying. Quite simply, he was working too hard. Less would have been more. Peter Sidhom, the most Ring -experienced member of the cast, was an Alberich of elemental power and passion, richly and movingly sung. The change from the vulnerable and loving dwarf who wooed the Rhinedaughters (his response to their rejection had genuine pathos) to the raging tyrant in Nibelheim, racked with agony at the knowledge of what he had lost, was simply shattering, leavened with unexpected comedy with Alberich’s transformation into a toad (Sidhom crouched and hopped!), and the overwhelming impact of his curse was enough to make even Wotan momentarily stop in his tracks. This man is a force of nature. By contrast, Richard Roberts went against expectations to create a sweetly sung, lovable Mime full of impish charm, quite unlike any other interpretation I have seen of this role. The potential for development in Siegfried is immense - how will the heldentenor cope with a Mime who is his rival for the audience’s affections? Jeni Bern, Jennifer Johnston and Sarah Castle were a bewitching trio of Rhinedaughters. Opera North’s intention had been to create an introduction to the Ring for their audiences, who had not had the opportunity to witness the tetralogy in live performance for some years. What they gave us was an ideal “My first Rheingold ” primer, which leaves us begging eagerly for more. The remaining operas in the cycle cannot come soon enough.

– 11 – EDINBURGH PLAYERS OPERA GROUP GÖTTERDÄMMERUNG WEEKEND “SCOTTERDÄMMERUNG ” 22nd to 25th September 2011 Roger Lee This run-through at Portobello Town Hall completed Edinburgh Players Opera Group’s second Ring cycle, its predecessor having run from 2001 to 2004 with Tristan und Isolde, Parsifal and Die Meistersinger occupying the years in between. Mike Thorne conducted the 60 plus orchestra (with a full complement of special “Wagner” brass instruments) who were the real heroes of this so successful expedition to the summit of Western music’s Everest. Jonathan Finney, lyrically lovely in Leeds as Tannhäuser with the Northern Wagner Orchestra now carried much of this production on his heldentenor’s shoulders with apparent ease. He is a most reliable and versatile musician, a rock upon which all around him can rely to enable them to bring out the best of their own roles. Magdalen Ashman put in a sensational performance as Waltraute. With abundant power throughout its range, her voice seems to be at its most splendid when she is working below the stave. Her scene with Kimberley Myers as Brünnhilde represented what would remain as the high point of the weekend right up until the closing moments of this drama, which the part of Waltraute does so much to set up musically. She was powerfully convincing as she revealed the gamut of emotions which Waltraute experiences during the course of this dialogue. This graduate of the Mastersingers Goodall Academy convincingly became (as she always does) the very character which she had been asked to portray. It is difficult to believe that this was Kimberley Myers’ first performance as the Götterdämmerung Brünnhilde. The big orchestral tuttis held no terror for her. She had power to spare throughout an Immolation scene which gave the weekend its magnificent climax. The wonderful E to A# “breaks” in Auch deine Raben hör’ ich rauschen were delivered in a spine-chilling manner reminiscent of Birgit Nilsson and which had been so effectively anticipated by Magdalen Ashman in Act I to establish the ravens’ unearthliness. Wagner’s Ruhe, ruhe, du Gott! is a miniature test-piece in itself, and Kimberley Myers delivered these extended notes from beginning to end with the most exquisite control. John Cunningham as Hagen stood in for Julian Close (who was on duty at the New York Met covering Fafner for Hans-Peter König) and revelled in his exchanges with a lusty male chorus. The nearest comparison which his performance brought to mind was with that of Gottlob Frick in the famous George Solti recording, and it was a richly memorable experience to be allowed to bellow back at him as one of the Gibichung vassals. John was a founder member of The Mastersingers Company with Malcolm Rivers and on this occasion he opened Act II with a very active and familiar Mastersingers worker from the present day: Nick Fowler as Alberich. The rich and dark tone with which he voiced this role brought a fine ominous colour to this scene between the two bass baritones. The inside story of this “ Scotterdämmerung ” (as it was known among the participants) and of the ten previous years of Edinburgh Opera Players Group’s Wagner productions may be found on Rob Saunders’ very amusing and informative blog at: http://einekleinenichtmusik.blogspot.com/2011/10/edinburgh-players-opera-group.html You can paste and copy this address from the Wagner News Extra section of the Wagner Society website: www.wagnersociety.org – 12 – EDINBURGH PLAYERS OPERA GROUP GÖTTERDÄMMERUNG WEEKEND A YOUNG HELDENTENOR’S EXPERIENCE Jonathan Finney The Edinburgh Opera Players Group Wagner weekends have given me the opportunity to sing Tristan, Parsifal, Walther von Stolzing, Loge, Siegmund, and both Siegfrieds. This is music and drama that I adore, and I feel I have won the raffle every time I am allowed to sing next to magnificent sopranos like Sarah Estill, Kim Myers and Elaine McKrill. The Northern Wagner Orchestra and the Edinburgh Opera Players Group present rare chances to be involved in what would be an arid field of possibility without the Wagner Society and the Mastersingers Company. With these groups we singers have been given wonderful opportunities to explore the demands and rewards of our roles. I am always conscious of the fact that everything is owed to the orchestra, without whose presence, enthusiasm and skill these chances for the singers would not arise. The feeling of support which we singers experience at Edinburgh and Leeds is phenomenal. However I sing I know that it goes better because of the extremely committed atmosphere that surrounds us all, emanating from the instrumentalists and conductors. They are amateurs in the original sense of doing something from a feeling of love. Malcolm Rivers as the prime mover behind the Mastersingers was particularly supportive to me when I began to move into Wagnerian territory. He enabled me to sing Mime in Rheingold with the Rehearsal Orchestra in 2003. The next year I was promoted to sing Loge opposite Donald McIntyre at Longborough. Malcolm also assembled a lovely crowd of flower maidens at Childwickbury including Kim Myers, who sang an excellent Brünnhilde here at Edinburgh these last two years. He provided a helping hand in my development as a heldentenor and was always robustly supportive. Our coaching sessions were always constructive, raucous and humorous occasions. [email protected]

Rob Saunders reports from the second violins It is always a huge privilege to be able to play complete Wagner music dramas. You spot all kinds of musical subtleties (fleeting glimpses of leitmotifs, clever orchestration, etc) that pass you by as a mere listener. It is of course also physically a huge effort. We spent three hours rehearsing on the Thursday then eight hours each on Friday and Saturday. Speaking as a violinist, while Act I is the longest it's Act II which is the killer, with pages and pages of tremolandos to do our backs in. It's a huge effort trying to fix players for these weekends, and, amazingly, not everyone leaps at the chance of giving up several days to wear themselves out playing Wagner. Are they weird, or is it us? The singers were fabulous. Jonathan Finney was brilliant as usual (he's been singing with us since our 2005 Tristan ), and our Brünnhilde (Kimberley Myers) and especially Waltraute (Magdalen Ashman) were also great. Of course the real miracle is that our Conductor Mike Thorne continues to have the stamina and good humour to coax us all through it year in, year out. It is amazing to think that we have now done two full Rings and will be doing our second Parsifal next year. [email protected]

– 13 – EDINBURGH PLAYERS OPERA GROUP GÖTTERDÄMMERUNG WEEKEND A SORT OF ALCHEMY Hugh Bolton While still in my teens I became captivated by the emotional charge of Wagner’s music with a tattered copy of the vocal score of Parsifal which enabled me to bash out sections of the piece on the piano and appreciate its amazing harmonic sophistication. Sitting in the orchestra is like being part of a huge engine in which the synchronized working of all the parts by a sort of alchemy produces what is surely amongst Western civilization’s most impressive aural tapestry. As a principal of the second violins I felt a responsibility to get everything right as far as one’s capabilities as an amateur allow. Study of the score certainly enhances one’s admiration for Wagner’s writing. You can see for instance how he ensures that each section of the orchestra (even the ‘inner’ string sections) is given interesting music to play. Which parts of Götterdämmerung are the most difficult for string players? One has to get a firm grip right at the start because the prologue starts in E flat minor (6 flats) and the Norns’ leitmotif needs delicate playing. I found the Rhinemaidens’ music in the first scene of Act III the most challenging with its prolonged sequences of exposed, chromatically descending semiquaver pairs, but the “Fire” motive sections for strings at the end of Act III (triplet semiquavers, separately-bowed, some of it in the 5 flats key of D flat) come pretty close. The music accompanying Hagen’s summoning of the vassals includes 43 almost continuous bars of semiquaver sextuplets played forte or fortissimo from the violas and second violins, albeit on a single note for long periods, so one can struggle to avoid repetitive strain injury! Whether one is using every brain cell and sinew to play the difficult sections or just going with the flow in the exciting parts, the sheer pleasure one gets from the music and being part of a big team makes for a great experience. [email protected]

A WAGNERIAN BLOGGER INFORMS AND ENTERTAINS A short piece by violinist Rob Saunders appears on the previous page. As a sample of the often hilarious content of his very informative blogging site here is part of his account of the Edinburgh Opera Players Group’s 2006 first rehearsal of Parsifal : “The player of the Grail bells was fairly short and initially had only one mallet, so that he ran around madly, swatting furiously at the bells as though they were a swarm of bees, occasionally missing one completely. Rather like Jacques Tati plays Quasimodo. The rest of the orchestra were all corpsing. Noel Coward once described Lerner & Lowe’s “Camelot” as like Parsifal but without the jokes. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you... Parsifal with the jokes.” http://einekleinenichtmusik.blogspot.com/2011/10/edinburgh-players-opera-group.html You can cut and paste this address from Wagner News Extra at www.wagnersociety.org

– 14 – EDINBURGH PLAYERS OPERA GROUP GÖTTERDÄMMERUNG WEEKEND REFLECTIONS ON SINGING BRÜNNHILDE Kimberley Myers Whenever I walk into a room with an orchestra in it playing live I know that I am one of the luckiest people alive. I also know that those witnessing it are similarly lucky. It seems that the entire enterprise is a labour of love for all those involved. This summer I took part in the St. Endellion Festival singing the part of Gerhilde in Die Walküre . When the orchestra played that mighty score in the small Cornish Church the electricity in the room was so great that it was a miracle that the rafters weren’t set alight. The experience in Edinburgh was similar, in that to sit and listen to this wave of sound and emotion that is Wagner’s score in such an intimate space is rare and special indeed. I moved to Britain 18 years ago from outside of a small town Canada where one simply cannot have these experiences. When I arrived here dazed and confused from jet lag and full of the realisation that I had just left my entire life behind, I knew I had done it for a reason. All of the years of study and working through all of the various and wonderful roles have helped build to this moment, to sing Brünnhilde. What a privilege! It is thanks to these events being supported by the Wagner Society and the Mastersingers Company that we Wagnerians are able to cut our teeth on these roles in a safe environment. It is also thanks to all of those who have encouraged us and even those who have had the courage and commitment to tell us honest truths along the way, that we singers are still developing today. From my point of view a special thanks goes out to my husband and to Elaine McKrill, who gave me the little nudge that I needed to try these incredible roles. Put simply, we singers could not progress without these opportunities. Thank you for them. Kimberley Myers sang Gutrune at the Mastersingers Bayreuth Bursary Day: See page##

HOI HO! RECRUITING THE VASSALS FOR LONGBOROUGH Roger Lee Longborough Festival Opera are now recruiting the male chorus for their productions of Götterdämmerung in 2012 and 2013. They are looking for very high musical standards and the job will involve active stagework. Productions will be conducted by Anthony Negus and directed by Alan Privett with Simon Joly as Chorus Master. Rehearsals take place in London from June 18th to-22nd and 25th to-29th and at Longborough from July 7th to 15th with a Sitzprobe in Birmingham on 4th July. Performances are on July 17th, 19th, 22nd and 24th. Either accommodation with families in Longborough will be provided or transport from London to Longborough and as required from July 7th, and for the Sitzprobe on July 4th .The fee for the engagement is £1750. Contracts will be issued by the Longborough Festival Office and singers will be expected to attend the first rehearsal with the score memorised. Contact Amanda Laidler: [email protected] .

– 15 – “I STILL OWE THE WORLD A TANNHÄUSER. ” A talk by Ross Alley given on 29th September 2011 Jeremy D Rowe A rather small audience gathered for the first event of the autumn season to hear Ross’ talk about Tannhäuser , Wagner’s “problem” opera. Ross started by explaining the way in which the opera had evolved and the basic way in which changes had been made from production to production. With the aid of a number of excellent photocopies of small fragments of the score, he showed the ways in which Wagner had embellished the melody line and the orchestration. With each example he played excerpts from the different versions of the opera, enabling the audience to grasp the changes. It became clear that a number of passages which Wagner had written earlier in his career had been considerably developed in later versions with a great deal of additional text, melody and harmonies. Thus it was possible to compare early Wagner with later Wagner. Ross Alley has the considerable gift of taking a complex and challenging subject and making it easily accessible for his audience, and the members who attended were full of praise for his talk. It’s a pity the audience was small, but those who attended made up for this in their appreciation.

MUSIC FROM PARSIFAL et al AT THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF MUSIC 13th October 2011 Jeremy D Rowe Paul Daniel conducted the Orchestra of the Royal College of Music in two orchestral extracts from Parsifal in an outstanding concert. In the Prelude the strings soared in the clean acoustic of the Amaryllis Fleming Concert Hall and the quality of ensemble playing was truly remarkable. The Good Friday Music was equally thrilling and sonorous. The young players of the Royal College of Music reached a breath-taking standard, urged on by passionate and emotional conducting by Daniel. This was Wagner at his most sublime. The programme also included Stravinsky’s Symphony of Psalms, and Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms. The huge Royal College of Music chorus matched the orchestra in passion and commitment and produced phenomenal sounds, at times almost too loud for the hall, but always carrying the audience on a tidal wave of emotion. The youthful voices had a rough edge which was used by Daniel to full advantage. Wagner Society members are urged to keep an eye on the activities of our music colleges, as the performances they produce are wonderful. They can muster huge forces to perform works by Wagner, and deserve our support and recognition.

www.boxoffice.rcm.ac.uk.

– 16 – DIE WALKÜRE AT SAINT ENDILLION, CORNWALL 5th August 2011 David Ross The Saint Endellion music festival has run in a medium sized church on the north Cornish coast for over 50 years. The acoustics are very different from those of a concert hall or opera house, but the architecture was after all designed for voices, solitary and in chorus. This natural amplification was exploited memorably by the Valkyries, themselves creating a powerful supernatural howl; who knows what the pub-goers in the dark lanes outside might have thought. The individual voices were wonderfully clear. With such a cast the singing did not disappoint. John Tomlinson, (a last-minute replacement for Robert Haywood), Susan Bullock and Richard Berkeley-Steele all regularly fill much greater spaces; only Rachel Nicholls as Sieglinde, singing beautifully but handicapped by singing from a score (and at times away from the centre of the church) occasionally seemed quieter in comparison, though oddly enough only in the lyrical calm early on. The main differences lay in the stone’s lack of damping, which tended to harshen the brass, and in the altered balance of voice and orchestra, the latter amplified by the (tiny) space behind as well as not being shielded in the pit. My early apprehension that this might take me back to student days in the gods when voices directed at the circle were drowned out by the unfettered orchestra soon vanished. Conducted by Martyn Brabbins (and on something of a high with the unexpected appearance of a legendary Wotan,) the orchestra started exuberantly but settled quickly and never overpowered the singers. The cellos and woodwind in particular were beautifully enhanced by the intimacy of the venue. Wagner’s views on Christianity might be the subject of a book not a short review, and I wonder how he would have viewed this as a venue. From the other perspective, some of the themes of Die Walküre might seem inappropriate for a church, but paganism, illegitimacy and incest are all familiar biblical themes. There are spontaneous resonances; for instance, Susan Bullock started to deliver the annunciation from the pulpit. The relationships at the heart of the opera were beautifully framed here. I had expected a concert, but it was almost fully staged, exploiting many of the features of the church. An unexpected benefit was to experience how intensely the singers inhabit their characters, often diminished with distance and the artifice of stage designs. To feel Jon Tomlinson’s charismatic ardour as he greeted Brünnhilde gradually chill over the next two scenes, yards away, was almost visceral. Andrew Slater’s acting, enhanced by the claustrophobia of the space conveyed a more threatening Hunding than I have seen on bigger stages. Sara Fulgoni (new to me) used the lack of grandeur to portray a Fricka more confidently manipulative than strident, rounded off with an exultant smirk as she passed Brünnhilde. In all, a night that exceeded expectations more than any I can recall. [email protected] Following their masterclass at the Mastersingers Company Aldeburgh weekend in May Rachel Nicholls is currently studying the role of Brünnhilde with Dame Anne Evans for the 2012 production of Götterdämmerung at Longborough Festival Opera.

– 17 – SLOW BOAT TO SANDWIKE Der Fliegende Holländer at the Royal Opera House, 21st October 2011 Katie Barnes On its first appearance in 2009 Tim Albery’s production was highly praised by many (including myself) despite its bleakness and starkness. On its revival I felt that its power had been diluted. Much of the beautiful detail in the Personenregie , which had made it so remarkable, appeared to have been forgotten or misinterpreted. Tiny, individual touches such as Daland's initial indignation at a request from a total stranger for Senta’s hand in marriage, the Steuermann’s memory of the struggle to moor Daland’s ship, the terrible sense of Senta’s necklace becoming a shackle, were all gone. Much of the sense of dilution can be attributed to Jeffrey Tate’s conducting. In the past he has been responsible for some wonderful Wagnerian moments. The ethereal, almost unbearable beauty of his Lohengrin prelude in 1988 is still strong in my memory, but this Holländer was stately to the point of somnolence. There were rewards in some of the lyric passages: the Steuermann’s aria was exquisite, and Erik’s Cavatina beautifully long-breathed where it can so often be choppy – but the wild, skirling, almost feral power of the Dutchman’s music, the sense of the listener being in the eye of a violent sea storm was leached away, making the opera feel ponderous and interminable. I also felt that Tate's slow tempi caused difficulties for the singers. Falk Struckmann had originally been announced to sing the Dutchman, but had to withdraw less than three weeks before the first night due to illness. Egils Silins, who shared the Rheingold Wotan in Paris with Struckmann last year (and whom I preferred of the two), replaced him in a notable Royal Opera debut. His singing is clean and strong, with a grace and elegance which one does not always associate with Wagner, and his German diction has improved immeasurably since I saw him in Paris (when I complained about his choppy phrasing!). He cuts a handsome and imposing figure, but inevitably is slighter and less charismatic than his mighty predecessor. One could see the space around the edges which Bryn Terfel had previously filled. As required by the production, he creates a Dutchman so austerely remote, almost wraith-like, that he seems to exist – if he exists at all – on a totally different plane from those around him, so that when Senta embraces him it is surprising that she can touch him. As before, it is Anja Kampe's fearless, blazing Senta which gives the performance its pulse, with an interpretation so intense, so utterly possessed by the music and the character, that one can feel quite uncomfortable watching it. I was reminded of a young Josephine Barstow. I could not help noticing this time that the sheer drive of her singing had a price in uneasy top notes and snatched climaxes, which made me fear that she is driving her voice too hard. But she, most of all of the cast, was placed at a disadvantage

– 18 – by Tate’s tempi, especially in the Ballad, which was taken so slowly that it was a wonder that she did not run out of breath before the end of each line. This was the first time I had seen Stephen Milling since his miraculous Fafner in Paris last March, on the basis of which I was expecting something really special from his Daland. But disappointingly, he sounded just like any other good bass, which from him is still very good but comparatively ordinary. Perhaps it was because Fafner has such a low tessitura, while Daland's is higher that when he hit the bottom register at “Mir ist nicht bang” the sound was velvety. His characterisation was more conventional than his predecessor's, probably because so much individuality has been drained from the production. As Endrik Wottrich has in the past been an uneven singer whose exciting qualities in performance have been marred by poor intonation and voice production, and Erik is the most awkwardly written of Wagner's tenor roles, I feared that he and his audience, would have a hard time. I was pleasantly surprised when he sang beautifully throughout, apart from one very tiny vocal skid in the notoriously difficult Cavatina, and his technique sounded far more secure than before. On the basis of this performance, I would hope that in future we may hear yet better things from him. However I understand that on another night his voice gave out before the end. Claire Shearer was a rich-voiced Mary, unexpectedly maternal and sympathetic, and John Tessier made the Steuermann's aria a few minutes of purest beauty, his voice floating between heaven and earth and holding the audience spellbound. The chorus, augmented by over 60 extra singers (including Mastersingers alumni Matilde Wallevik and Gerard Delrez) created some glorious sounds, especially in the thrilling double chorus between the crews of Daland’s and the Dutchman’s ships. There was much in this performance to admire and much to enjoy. But I shall remember it as one which could have been so much better if Albery’s production had been revived with more care and Tate had taken the brakes off his conducting. At over two and a half hours, this was a very slow boat.

– 19 – ALWYN MELLOR: RISING SUPERSTAR Interview by Michael Bousfield

Alwyn Mellor has stunned audiences over the last two years as Brünnhilde at Longborough and as Isolde at Grange Park. Tell us about your musical background and influences. I was born in Rossendale, Lancashire to a family who appreciated music but who were not musical themselves. I started piano lessons at 9 and singing lessons at 10. My teacher believed in taking her students out to gain regular performing experience. I never imagined that this would be my career; it was just something I had grown up with and loved doing passionately. At 16 I sang in a music festival where an adjudicator from the Royal Northern College of Music suggested that I audition. I was awarded a scholarship and joined at 18 as a mezzo. I had no range then, just a darker quality to the voice, and for many years my teacher worked on technique. He would not let me perform principal roles, so the groundwork was done preparing the voice in a safe environment. After College I went to Welsh National Opera as a principal for three years. At WNO I met my husband Paul, who is a member of the chorus, and Cardiff has been our home for the last 19 years. After three years at WNO I spread my wings and went freelance, but I still return to them regularly. Peter Moores helped to sponsor me at College and at WNO. This helped me to study with Renata Scotto, Janet Baker and Ileana Cotrubas as well as at the Kirov in St Petersburg to study Onegin when Gergiev was in charge of the theatre opera. When did Wagner appear? My first role was Gerhilde at the Edinburgh Festival with Tony Pappano. I sang Senta for WNO about five years ago and I always knew that there was something more to come beyond my then repertoire. I resisted for a while, but I felt that this was the right thing to do even if it meant that there were times with very little work. What about your future plans? In Seattle in 2013 I shall sing all three roles and I’ll be understudying Susan Bullock at the Royal Opera House next year, which will be wonderful background for Seattle. How do you find singing in smaller venues such as Grange Park and Longborough? I love the intimacy of smaller theatres. You are so close to the conductor and the audience. Seeing people’s faces is a much better way of communicating. Seattle with 3,500 seats will be very different. Yet I find that I sing no differently whether the audience is large or small. – 20 – How do you prepare for a new role? Every role I have done in the last two years has been new. I am very lucky that Dame Anne Evans has coached me. She knows the problems and how one feels and she can alert you to any pitfalls, such as when you are likely to be tired. She has been very important to me. A new role from scratch can take a couple of years to master. I covered Tristan at Covent Garden and was there for all of the rehearsals, immersing myself in what it is all about – all vital preparation for Grange Park. Every time you come back to a role there is something new to find. It develops in your head and your voice through the other work you are doing. Singing these roles takes a huge amount of dedication and concentration. They involve your whole being. You learn a lot about yourself, about life and the world because of the way that Wagner wrote. When it’s going well it is the best job in the world. The rewards are so great: to get feedback from the audience – that’s whom we do it for. We feel something coming back to us on stage – and this is what is so lovely about Longborough and Grange Park – you can do these huge works in such lovely environments. Malcolm Rivers and the Mastersingers have been a great inspiration and they are hugely important in nurturing young artists by providing coaching, financial support and performing experience. I love working with Anthony Negus and I met him first at WNO. He has encouraged me hugely in this repertoire.

BAYREUTH FESTIVAL 2012 For a total of 57,750 tickets more than 320,000 ticket applications were received from 80 different countries. The 2012 Festival will open with the premiere of Der Fliegende Holländer on July 25th. The new production will be realised by Jan Philipp Gloger (Director), Christof Hetzer (Stage Designer), Karin Jud (Costume Designer), Urs Schönebaum (Light Designer) and Sophie Becker (Dramaturgy), who all work for the Bayreuth Festival for the first time. Christian Thielemann will conduct. Russian baritone Evgeny Nikitin will sing the title role, making his Bayreuth debut. Canadian soprano Adrianne Pieczonka, who portrayed Sieglinde at the Festival in 2006/2007, will be seen as Senta. Further roles will be sung by Franz-Josef Selig (Daland), Michael König (Erik) and Benjamin Bruns (Der Steuermann), who all make their Bayreuth debut. On August 5th the 2012 the Stefan Herheim production Parsifal will be recorded. The conductor will be Philippe Jordan. The 2012 programme also includes: Tristan und Isolde produced by Christoph Marthaler, conducted by Peter Schneider, Hans Neuenfels’ Lohengrin , conducted by Andris Nelsons, as well as the 2011 production of Tannhäuser by Sebastian Baumgarten, again conducted by Thomas Hengelbrock.

– 21 – UK PREMIERE OF WAGNER DREAM BY JONATHAN HARVEY Sun 29th January 2012 at 7:30pm in the Barbican Hall Barbican Classical Music Team Set within the stunning surrounds of a 16th Century Venetian Palace, Jonathan Harvey’s opera ‘ Wagner Dream ’ explores Richard Wagner’s unfulfilled desire to write an opera based on his late interest in Buddhism and eastern philosophy. After an unusually angry altercation with his wife, Wagner suffers a heart attack and dies. During his final moments on earth Wagner has a vision of the unfinished opera that had occupied him for the final thirty years of his life. Working from sketches which Wagner left behind Harvey has created an opera that cleverly intertwines scenes from his domestic life with the myth of Prakriti, the untouchable, whose love for the Buddhist monk Ananda is at first thwarted but finally reaches a chaste fulfilment. “The work is a fantasy based on fact” writes Jonathan Harvey. The semi-staged premiere will be performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Martyn Brabbins and features the “thrillingly intense” (The Guardian) soprano Claire Booth as Prakriti as well as acclaimed baritone Roderick Williams and bass Richard Angas. Wagner Dream is part of the Barbican’s Present Voices series and takes place during the BBC Symphony Orchestra’s Total Immersion weekend of 28th and 29th January, a celebration of the life and music of the composer Jonathan Harvey. Tickets for this production (from £10 to £25) are available from the Barbican box office on 020 7638 8891 or through the www.barbican.org.uk. Wagner News readers are entitled to a 10% discount. To claim discount quote “Wagner Dream 10% discount” at the box office or use the online promotion code 29112.

JONES-ROWE OPERA TOURS

Luxury long weekend tours to exciting destinations, to see the works of Richard Wagner and other composers. Featuring small accompanied groups, gourmet gala dinners, airport limo transfers, champagne receptions and best available seats in the house. Single occupancy arrangements. Bespoke summer festival tours also available. [email protected] www.jonesroweopera.org + 44 (0) 20 7402 7494 + 44 (0) 7956 290 884 33 Lancaster Gate London W2 3LP United Kingdom

– 22 – Wagner Society Membership Renewal

Membership subscriptions are due for renewal on 1st January. 2012 rates are as follows: UK: Individual/Institution: £25 Joint membership (one address): £35 Europe other than UK: £35 Rest of the world: Surface Mail: £35 Airmail: £50 Full-time Students (under 25 years of age) Half of the above rates Please note that due to the first change in subscription rates for 8 years standing orders etc will now need to be updated. A £1 surcharge will apply for payment by cheque.

The Membership Secretary 16 Doran Drive Redhill Surrey RH1 6AX [email protected]

– 23 –

Wagner Society Annual Dinner Friday 6th January 2012

Hosted by our President: Dame Gwyneth Jones and our Chair: Jeremy Rowe With special guests Professor Hans-Michael Schneider, Vice-President of the Richard Wagner Verband International, and members of the Wagner Society of Munich Charing Cross Hotel The Strand, London WC2N 5HX Musical performance by Zoe South (soprano) and Kelvin Lim (piano)

Reception 7.30pm Dinner 8pm Entertainment 10pm Carriages 10.30

A few tickets remain available.

TO: Mike Morgan, 9 West Court, Downley, High Wycombe, HP13 5TG [email protected]

Please reserve … tickets @ £75.I enclose a cheque to The Wagner Society for £……....

NAME: ……………………………… Tel/Email: ……………………………………...

ADDRESS:………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………

– 25 – Wagner Society Diary

Thursday 5th January 2012 In association with the Wagner Society of Munich Alison Pearce (soprano) and David Syrus (piano) The programme includes songs by Linley, Greene, Purcell, Howells, Quilter and Ireland Wagner’s rarely performed French Lieder will be contrasted with Berlioz’s Les nuits d’été. 8pm at St Paul’s Church Covent Garden Tickets: £15 from Mike Morgan (See page 25)

Tuesday 20th March 2012 Der Ring in Bayreuth and beyond Professor Hans Rudolf Vaget Professor Vaget will explore how performances of Der Ring spread so quickly round the world after its premiere in Bayreuth, eventually reaching New York. 143 Great Portland Street London W1W 6QN (Lift to Top Floor) Wine: 7pm. Presentation: 7.30 Tickets £12 from Mike Morgan (See page 25)

Tuesday 17th April 2012 The Heldentenor An exploration by Neil Howlett Details in the April issue of Wagner News

Thursday 26th April 2012 Multimedia Presentation: Wagner at the Met Dan Sherman Details in the April issue of Wagner News

Saturday 26th May 2012 The Ring experience and its meaning to us A study day with Paul Dawson-Bowling Details in the April issue of Wagner News

Sunday 21st October 2012 Act III of Die Walküre The Rehearsal Orchestra and the Mastersingers with James Rutherford as Wotan and Rachel Nicholls as Brünnhilde (subject to artists’ availability) at the Henry Wood Hall

– 26 – – 27 – A GREAT WAGNER OCCASION Mastersingers Company/Rehearsal Orchestra: Scenes from Götterdämmerung Henry Wood Hall, 16th October 2011 Paul Dawson-Bowling The occasion was the showcasing of seven superb young artists from The Mastersingers . For anyone who does not yet know it, The Mastersingers is the brainchild of Malcolm Rivers, not only a profound and subtle artist but an intensely practical man of the theatre. His scandalous neglect by British opera companies forces us to go back to Seattle and its historic tapes to experience his devastating Alberich, but with characteristic generosity of spirit he has turned the insult into a resource and created The Mastersingers Company as a cradle and crucible to nurture and springboard young British talents in Wagner. Fantastic was the description commonly applied to this extraordinary afternoon, and its greatness was way beyond any simple measure of its technical polish regarding the orchestra, The Rehearsal Orchestra. One of the violinists told me that this band of valiant amateurs had not seen the music until 48 hours beforehand. Although nobody could have guessed this from the playing, there were inevitably certain points where instrumental aspirations ran ahead of their realisation. It was of no account; any blips and blodges were as nothing compared with the zest and fervour of the players, and as guided by David Syrus (a Wagnerian of vast experience) they created a rich frame for seven talents of amazing quality. Indeed it was wonderful to see how well they all managed when set against Wagner’s enormous orchestra; no problems of balance with any of them. Alwyn Mellor needs no introduction for anyone lucky enough to have witnessed her sensational Isolde, a high-water-mark of the Grange Opera Tristan und Isolde , or her Siegfried Brünnhilde at Longborough, whose fierce rapture was unforgettable. She was on stamina form for Götterdämmerung , singing great stretches of the role twice: once for the rehearsal, and once for the run- through, never just marking, and without even the breaks that the full opera itself incorporates. Her fascinating, slightly edgy tonal production gave a special frisson to her rapture, her serenity, and above all her raging outburst against Waltraute. Alwyn has been engaged as Siegfried Brünnhilde for Den Nye Opera in Bergen and Oper Leipzig, Sieglinde for Opera North, Die Walküre and Siegfried Brünnhilde for the Paris Opera, Gerhilde for the Royal Opera House Covent Garden (as well as covering Susan Bullock as Brünnhilde for the four Ring cycles) and Götterdämmerung Brünnhilde for Opera North. The only big regret was that Stuart Pendred’s appearance was truncated from Hagen’s Watch to just “Zurück vom Ring!”, not exactly enough to register much impression of a singer, but then there was an unexpected pleasure in the Siegfried of the afternoon, Jonathan Stoughton. With impressions of Stephen Gould, superb at Berlin, still fresh in the memory (a singer not entirely unlike Jonathan Stoughton), comparisons still went in favour of the young Englishman.

– 28 – This is an arresting heldentenor voice of real heft, well able to take on Wagner’s Götterdämmerung orchestra, but it is also a beautiful voice, falling gratefully on the ear, lyrical in its tonal colourings, and deployed with an elegant musicality which already revealed so much more to his Siegfried than strength and brawn. His scene from the prologue with Brünnhilde was preceded by the full Norns’ scene, and this put on show as Norns three more young women: Niamh Kelly, Catherine Young, and Meta Powell, all of whom I would be delighted to encounter at any of the world’s great opera houses in bigger roles than these. There was also a Waltraute scene which presented Miriam Sharrad as a Waltraute of exceptional warmth and evenness throughout the whole range, as well as a very distinctive personality. As with the Norns, it was not so much a matter of the audience trying to make out potential as revelling in ascertainable quality This scene paved the way for the biggest thrill of all: Alwyn Mellor and the Immolation. It was really her afternoon, and she sang as though possessed and gave us a full measure of the ecstasy and hysteria, the “ Wahn - illusion” that propels Brünnhilde to her destiny. Along with her, David Syrus (much thanks for not imposing any ghastly Luftpause before the last eight bars!) encouraged his players beyond themselves, and at the end the overwhelming effect of it all reduced everyone to silence. We all simply sat there, too moved to applaud for a long time.

Photographs: Peter West: [email protected] It is in no small part thanks to Malcolm Rivers that although James Rutherford is unheard and unknown at British Opera Houses, his great talents are not languishing under a bushel but shining brightly as Sachs, whether at Graz or at Bayreuth, no less! Malcolm Rivers observed that October 16th made a strange experience for him in that he was preparing a singer for Seattle some 36 years after he himself had been involved in the – 29 – process of creating the first ever Rings on the West Coast, along with George London and Glynn Ross. When Speight Jenkins announced that he had engaged Alwyn Mellor Malcolm Rivers determined that the Mastersingers could employ the Rehearsal Orchestra as they had with James Rutherford, in order to help prepare her for the road ahead. It was a hard job to find finance for coaching her and for the occasion generally. Support came from Anne Evans, funds from the Mastersingers and the Goodall Scholarship, while Ludmilla Andrew, Eric Adler and Frances and David Waters also generously provided sponsorship. Even then there was barely enough finance to cover the basic costs. I urge anyone who was touched by the afternoon, and also those who were not there but read this, to dig as deeply as possible into their bank balances and send cheques to The Mastersingers, 44 Merry Hill Mount, Bushey, Herts, WD23 1DJ. This afternoon’s blossoming talents are all of them fit to beat the same trail as James Rutherford, but in order to make this happen the Mastersingers need every bit of money we can send them. And yes, the Mastersingers created a great Wagner occasion, “fantastic” is the word! Meirion Bowen writes: Great Wagner performances need long-term preparation. Thus, especially valuable are the opportunities for young singers to try out their roles in concert performances. One such was the evening of excerpts from Götterdämmerung at Henry Wood Hall with the Rehearsal Orchestra conducted by David Syrus. In the Norns scene Niamh Kelly, Catherine Young and Meta Powell conjured an appropriate mood of foreboding and were well balanced and careful in relation to each other. The orchestra was at its best performing Siegfried's Rhine journey. The strings, reticent at first, became more assured and able to match the other orchestral contributions. The stars of the show were Alwyn Mellor as Brünnhilde and Jonathan Stoughton as Siegfried: rapturous in their Act I love duet. Miriam Sharrad as Waltraute struck an aptly imploring note. But the climax of the evening came with Brünnhilde’s immolation scene, where Alwyn Mellor rose to the challenge with great fervour. The final flare-up as Valhalla is destroyed and the Ring returned to the Rhinemaidens was overwhelmingly powerful. Experiencing Wagne’s Ring is like living one's life several times over, giving one the strength to continue one’s existence.

Photographs: Peter West: [email protected] – 30 – DER FLIEGENDE HOLLÄNDER AT OPERA ROYAL DE L IÈGE 27th November 2011 Jeremy D Rowe A fairly quick and easy journey by Eurostar to Brussels and thence onward by Thalys to Liège, means that the Opera Royal de Liège is readily accessible from London. The main house is nearing the end of a massive rebuild, reminiscent of Covent Garden’s rebuild of a few years ago, and until it is finished opera is presented in an enormous tent on a car park a short way outside the city centre. The tent auditorium is very wide, giving odd sightlines to those near the end of rows, but the steep rake of the seating means that almost every seat has a good view of the stage. The orchestra is not in a pit, but on floor level in front of the stage, rather like the arrangement at Holland Park. There is no fly tower, so scenery is wheeled in from the wings. The concept of the production was that it was all a dream. The curtains opened during the overture to reveal Senta’s funeral. Hallowe’en-style skeletons crawled out of surrounding graves during the funeral, and a generally gloomy atmosphere of Victorian melodrama was established. Without closing the curtains, large chunks of rather wobbly scenery were wheeled on and off stage, transforming the graveyard into Darland’s tramp steamer, and later into what appeared to be a laundry. The production suffered greatly from the large chorus all frantically overacting: sailors pulling ropes, laundry girls in their underwear flapping sheets about, and lots of other unnecessary distractions. It was as if the production team were determined to say, “Just because we’re in a tent, it doesn’t mean we can’t fill the stage with non-stop stage business!” Wild seas (often at times which were inappropriate) were back-projected, and a giant clock was wheeled on, presumably counting the hours left in Senta’s life. Unsurprisingly, the Dutchman arrived swinging onto the stage standing on a large anchor. The melodramatic concept continued as more and more slabs of scenery arrived or were turned round to reveal random bits and pieces of a Victorian city. Finally against a back-projected boiling sea out of which rose large red balloons, the Dutchman stabbed Senta to death, and departed on his preferred mode of transport, the swinging anchor, leaving Eric to take the body to the graveyard, bringing us back to where we started. Mark Rucker’s Holländer was well sung, although without much variation in colour. Manuela Uhl’s Senta took a long time to settle down, rather screechy at first, but later arriving at a powerful delivery. Corby Welch’s Eric also did not seem to have warmed up very well, but sang into the part and produced a full-bodied sound later in the opera. At first I feared that we had made a big mistake travelling so far, but after the interval the production was musically very exciting, with all voices, including the large chorus, creating a very effective sound. Paolo Arrivabeni’s orchestra was very well rehearsed, although some of his tempi were painfully slow. Under all the trappings of the melodrama, there’s probably a good production, but the singers all seemed to be suffering from the need to act as if they were in a silent movie at the turn of the century. The potential of this opera company is obvious, and it will be interesting and exciting to visit Liège again when the refurbished house is open.

– 31 – A STAR IS BORN Cinema relay of Siegfried from the New York Met, 5th November 2011 Ewen Harris A substitute for a substitute rather stole the show. Siegfried was originally to have been sung by Ben Heppner. He withdrew in February and was succeeded by Gary Lehman who reported sick with just weeks to go. His cover Jay Hunter Morris (who had sung the role in San Francisco in the summer) grasped this opportunity with both hands and much enthusiasm. The prelude to Act I sets the scene in a dark forest. We saw a forest floor showing vegetation and tree roots with small creatures wriggling and scuttling about in it and wind-blown leaves. By virtue of the rotation of the ubiquitous planks the floor became the trees of the forest. We had sight of a younger Mime accompanying (presumably) a sub-teenage Siegfried through the forest. (This bit is not Wagner) The soft drum roll followed by the two brooding bassoons set the scene admirably, slightly spoiled by the contrabass tuba (representing Fafner) which failed to behave itself properly. The day was saved by the bass trumpet with a thrilling rendering of the sword motif. Thereafter the band was exemplary. The Act began in Mime’s “cave” which turned out to be a chaotic timber structure with a stream running in front of it. Scene 1 went very well and the exchanges between Mime and Siegfried were believable. Not too much was made of the episode with the bear. The sword which Mime had produced, instead of being destroyed on the anvil, was broken by Siegfried rather ludicrously over his knee. The scene when Siegfried finally forces Mime into revealing his origins and especially when he is given his father’s sword was really moving. Gerhard Siegel is an old hand at Mime but I did find his constant twitching, lip licking and general mannerisms a bit over the top. His “starling” song was almost as irritating as it obviously is to his “sohn”. Scene 2 with Wotan now in his guise as the Wanderer was a bit of a relief in the sense that the music was now less fussy and more dignified and with Bryn Terfel in fine voice for the riddle episode. Jay Hunter Morris came into his own during the forging scene, seemingly as fearless as the character he was portraying. Wagner was clearly no metallurgist so it’s best to pass over the details of this, but why could we not have seen the anvil split in two quite obviously? The Met is evidently alive with technology and so this bit of drama should have been no problem.

– 32 – The motifs most prevalent in the prelude to Act II are those of the growling of the dragon (the contrabass tuba now under total control) and the curse. Eric Owens’ portrayal of Alberich was the very epitome of evil and darkness. Mime leaves Siegfried alone to the wonderful orchestral interlude Forest Murmurs, and wonderfully played it was. Siegfried stabs Fafner in the heart, although it looked more like the neck since all we saw of the dragon was a Triassic-looking head with yellow eyes and the neck. The Wanderer appears behind the planks (with his legs cut off as so often occurs in this production) now orientated to simulate “a rocky place”. He climbs on to the planks to summon Erda. This was thrilling: Bryn Terfel in full and magnificent voice and Erda surrounded by mists rising from among the rocks/planks. He wishes to know the fate of the gods. She evades his questions and he resigns himself to the impending end of the reign of the gods. During the scene, in a rather un-godlike manner on his hands and knees, he is required to unroll what appears to be a carpet runner but turns out to be a large scroll on the front of the stage (this is not Wagner either). Scene 2 between Siegfried and the Wanderer occurs on the same “rocky place” as Scene 1. Both rose magnificently to the occasion, Bryn Terfel at his most dignified and Jay Hunter Morris at his most irreverent and innocently arrogant. Scene 3 takes place on Brünnhilde’s rock as per the conclusion of Die Walküre . Once more the planks are re-orientated to represent the mountain top. Siegfried climbs, like the violins in the orchestra, to the heights, although we did not see him penetrate the fire. We are presented with what looked like an area of devastation, like the embers of a recent fire with flames still licking up around the edges. Siegfried arrives, spots Grane, then what he perceives as a knight in armour, asleep. Removing the armour he is soon disabused and for the first time in his life he knows fear, yet he longs to wake what is now obviously a beautiful woman. In desperation he kisses her on the lips and she raises herself to a sitting position to a flurry of harps and the ravishing music of Heil dir, Sonne . Deborah Voigt made a shaky start here with a brittleness to her voice, but she recovered. The final duet was almost unbearably beautiful, Siegfried sounding as fresh as he had been at the beginning and Brünnhilde matching him with the orchestra in ecstatic full flow. A distinct source of irritation in this production is that when a scene eg the forest is projected on to vertical planks, the spaces between the planks appear on the screen as black lines which give the illusion of railings. Many times I wanted to get to the other side of the “railings” to see the trees properly. In the theatre this is presumably not a problem. All photographs: Ken Howard for The Metropolitan Opera New York Full version of this review and more photos at www.wagnersociety.org Wagner News Extra

– 33 – OXFORD WAGNER SOCIETY ORCHESTRA CONCERT 12th November 2011 Andrea Buchanan It is a particular pleasure for members of one Wagner Society to go along to events organised by another. I am sure that Richard Wagner Verband members in Germany are more able do this as they have so many active Verbände . We in London are somewhat limited in our ability to do this, so it was with great pleasure that we learned recently of the formation of the Oxford and Cambridge Wagner Societies. Not only are these beautiful towns within easy reach of London, but they were also the first two university Wagner Societies to be affiliated to the Richard Wagner Verband International. In keeping with our aim to get more young people involved in Wagner’s music, this was excellent and welcome news, and we contacted both societies immediately. President of the Richard Wagner Verband International, Professor Eva Märtson has a particular passion for the university initiative and she was really pleased to hear of our co-operation. President of the Oxford Society Christian Stier, and the Secretary Victor Vu had attended our Mastersingers Rehearsal Orchestra event in November and they enjoyed it very much. Conductor Christian Stier is pursuing his DPhil on Wagner’s music at Magdalen College under Professor Laurence Dreyfus. Christian studies conducting with Sir Colin Davis. These impressive credentials augured well for an exciting evening. The concert was held in the gorgeous surroundings of the Sheldonian Theatre (the 17th Century Wren masterpiece in the round) and it was very well attended with around 400 people present, a substantial number of whom were students. The orchestra was composed both of students and other amateur and professional musicians. The programme began with a stirring rendition of the Overture to Der fliegende Holländer with a good pace and excellent contrasts. The bass and woodwind sections were particularly strong and overall the music conveyed the unease and yearning that foretell the mood of the opera to follow. Christian Stier’s inspiring leadership was to be evident throughout the evening. We moved on to the Karfreitagszauber from Parsifal, a much trickier proposition given the intense woodwind solos and the altogether more solemn yet spiritually uplifting tone of the music. The orchestra negotiated this piece very well, with strong support from the excellent woodwind section, featuring a particularly moving oboeist. The second half brought us soprano Sara Wallander-Ross and tenor Justin Lavender for the Prelude, Scenes 1 and 2 and the Morgenröte from Lohengrin . In the Prelude we were treated to the chorus part being played on the Sheldonian’s magnificent organ. This added a new dimension to the familiar music. Both singers sang and acted well, conveying all the despair of their unredeemable situation. The mood and the tempo, which had sunk into profound sadness, were then lifted right up by the Morgenröte, ending the concert on a positive and energetic note. It really was a lovely evening. The setting was magnificent and the playing, singing and conducting were skilful and enthusiastic. It was particularly heart-warming to share this experience with far more young people than one usually does. One of the orchestra (a girl in her early twenties) afterwards told me that it was hard work playing Wagner, but she loved all the romantic and emotional music and the feelings that it brought out in her. Oxford Wagner Society are to be congratulated on a truly memorable event. I can’t wait for the next one!

– 34 – MAGDALEN ASHMAN SHINES AT ST JAMES PICCADILLY Jeremy D Rowe Magdalen Ashman and guests presented a very mixed operatic programme on 19th November in aid of the Motor Neurone Disease Association, and to help Magdalen herself with preparing forauditions in Germany. Highlights included the astonishing Russian virtuoso pianist Sergei Podobedov whose breathtaking readings of both Prokofiev and Chopin had the audience enthralled, and the counter tenor Cenk Karaferya whose amazing range was put to great effect in two pieces by Handel. Tenor John Upperton has a powerful and reliably expressive voice, and he bounced into La Donna e mobile with great panache. He came into his own with Recondita armonia (Tosca) and in the great finale duet from Carmen with Magdalen. It would have been wonderful to hear him sing some of the German repertoire in which he also excels. The star of the show started with Handel and Purcell. Whilst she performs this repertoire well, it was not until the second half of the programme when she turned to Wagner that we heard the true quality and power of her voice. As Fricka she was joined by Gerard Delrez as Wotan for Wo in Bergen du dich birgst , from Die Walküre . Although he did not have a great deal to sing, Gerard's reading of the part was very strong – perhaps the best I have heard him sing. Magdalen is a natural Fricka, and she brought the character alive with a very assured and strong performance. She also performed Waltraute’s narration from Götterdämmerung, and again gave a powerful and well-modulated rendition. In the Wagner repertoire, perhaps more than in the Italian works, she showed great understanding of the characters, and insight into the dramatic moments portrayed in the excerpts she had chosen. The evening on the whole was well worth attending for the many dramatic and exciting highlights.

AN EVENING OF WAGNER AT QUEEN’S GATE TERRACE Jeremy D Rowe Many readers will be familiar with the outstanding series of concerts given at Queen’s Gate Terrace, home of Sir Vernon Ellis. The audience who gathered on 22nd September were astonished by the virtuosity of pianist Kelvin Lim and the mature singing of soprano Meta Powell. These were vintage Wagner performances, uniformly excellent from start to finish. Meta Powell showed a range of tone and colour in her voice which enabled her to go from the most tender of the Wesendonk Lieder to Brünnhilde’s window-rattling Hojotohos. Both in her physical presentation and timbre of voice she reminded me of a young Gwyneth Jones, a remarkable achievement. Kelvin Lim is of course very familiar to many Wagner Society members, and he provided an accompaniment which matched Meta in its range of tone and colour. His solo items were not surprisingly breathtaking, and he scored a big hit with the Wagner/Liszt transcription of the technically nigh-impossible overture to Tannhäuser . Afterwards he told me that Vernon’s piano was probably the best one he’d ever played on. Perhaps at some time in the future we can persuade Meta and Kelvin to repeat the programme for Wagner Society members. – 35 – MASTERSINGERS BAYREUTH BURSARY DAY London Welsh Centre, 3rd December 2011 Katie Barnes Photography by Peter West [email protected] The day opened with scenes from Götterdämmerung staged by Christopher Cowell and accompanied by David Syrus who pulled off his usual achievement of making a grand piano sound like a full orchestra. The action was backed and framed by red drapes with the stage strewn with autumn leaves and furnished with three elaborately carved wooden thrones, the Norns' rope snaking across the floor. With all the singers in modern dress wearing black, the effect was reminiscent of Macbeth and the choice of scenes performed was suggestive of a revenge tragedy with the Norns standing in for the three witches. It was one of the Mastersingers’ best stagings yet. All three Norns were excellently sung, with Niamh Kelly’s First Norn a standout: youthful, urgent and tragic in her lament for the Weltesche . Catherine Young (Second Norn) sounded slightly strident, but had great dramatic presence. Meta Powell (Third Norn) is a marvellous dramatic soprano who, like many singers of this role, sounded destined for bigger Wagnerian things. I liked the treatment of the rope, in places whole and undamaged, in others frayed and ravelled, split into three since the Weltesche died. When it broke they gathered it into a pile at the centre of the stage, masking the entrance of Hagen, who seemed to materialise behind them holding a glass brimming with red wine. The music moved seamlessly into the Watch while he surveyed them triumphantly and menaced each in turn until they fled, leaving him in possession of the stage. This was Stuart Pendred’s first substantial Wagnerian appearance (he has sung a few phrases as Hunding and Hagen with the Rehearsal Orchestra), and it was sensational. His voice was amazingly resonant: huge, inky- black, and tremendously incisive, and his stage presence was massively powerful. This was the discovery of the day, and I have no doubt that we will hear from him again. The moment when he dipped his fingers into the wine and licked it off sent shivers down my spine – was it wine, or was it blood? At the end of the aria the music made another seamless transition to Act II, Scene 5 as Brünnhilde entered, carrying her spear. Alwyn Mellor was to have sung the role, but was replaced at a day’s notice by the ever-amazing Elaine McKrill, who, as expected, tore the place apart. The power, passion and beauty of her singing would grace any international stage, and the way she conveyed Brünnhilde’s newly-found vulnerability, her anguished inner conflict as Hagen tempted her to betray Siegfried, and her silent grief

– 36 – and pain when Hagen proposed “Siegfrieds Tod”, were heartbreaking. She and Pendred created tremendous tension, and Andrew Mayor’s excellently sung Gunther was also very fine, establishing the man’s cowardice and weakness in a few phrases. At his reference to “Blutsbrüderschaft”, he picked up the glass, and during the final, tremendous trio, all three smeared wine (or blood?) on their faces. That trio seemed shorter than usual, simply because the three singers generated such huge intensity. All three exited as the music moved to Act III, Scene 3. Kimberly Myers’ timid Gutrune made her mark in the crucial solo which opens the scene, especially when she gathered the courage to call out to Brünnhilde. Hagen’s offstage calls again paid tribute to Pendred’s astonishing resonance before he entered carrying Siegfried’s clothes and boots which Gutrune seized and sank to the ground, weeping. Hagen, cynically bored with her grief, turned on Gunther, strangled him, snatched the ring from his dead hand and sat gazing at it as Brünnhilde entered. The gentleness with which she comforted Gutrune was very touching, and, unusually but very effectively, their new-found sense of sisterhood gave Gutrune the courage to snatch the ring from Hagen and give it to Brünnhilde. Gutrune tenderly laid out Siegfried’s clothes at the front of the stage and the Norns (who here appeared to be doubling as the Rhinedaughters) surrounded Brünnhilde, who gave the Ring to them. McKrill, of course, surpassed herself in the Immolation, especially at the lovely moment when she mimed releasing a bird into flight, just before the huge peace of “Ruhe, ruhe, du Gott!” and in the almost cosmic power of the ending. During the final music she lay down beside Siegfried’s clothes while the Norns covered her with leaves and then departed, leaving Hagen dead (presumably of grief at losing the ring) and Gutrune, cowering but alive. Seven singers competed for the Bayreuth Bursary (an eighth, Jonathan Stoughton, had to withdraw due to illness). Justine Viani launched the proceedings with Elsa’s “Einsam in trüben Tagen” and Sieglinde's “Hinweg! Hinweg!” She made a slightly nervous start, perhaps due to her being given the job of singing first. Thomas Humphreys, singing Wolfram's two arias, displayed a pleasant if slightly gluey voice, but did not convince me that he would be able to sing any other Wagnerian roles, and as both are “stand-and-deliver” pieces he had no chance to show us whether he could act. The pace picked up with Helena Dix’s arrival. Her first choice, unusually, was Eva’s line from the Quintet taken as a solo, beautifully sung in a lovely, creamy, confident, secure voice, with a captivating sense of wonder and serenity. (Kelvin Lim clearly had a great time playing the other vocal lines). Before beginning Sieglinde’s “Der Männer Sippe”, one could see her thinking herself into the character of a bitter woman, hardened by suffering, who was exalted by her memory of Wotan’s arrival at the feast before she came down to earth, mocking the guests who could not claim the sword. The

– 37 – final section was terrific. This was the first singer of the contest who was really in charge of her material and convinced me that she could sing the complete role. Even more unusual was Simon Lobelson’s choice of repertory: Alberich’s “Du Rat wütender Ränke!” from Siegfried and “Schmähliche Tücke!” and "Bin ich nun frei?" from Das Rheingold . I cannot remember any previous contestant basing his entire programme on Alberich, and I expected this to be a plucky effort from a singer who had bitten off more than he could chew. I could not have been more wrong. He sounded absolutely in command of this difficult music, never distorted or forced his voice, and was completely inside the character from first to last. To my mind he was the contestant who made the most use of the words. A tremendous actor, he had the audience by the throat, especially as he took us through Alberich’s terrible ordeal in Das Rheingold . There was a huge buzz in the audience after his programme. Ione Cumming also sang “Der Männer Sippe”, with less ease in the voice than Dix but even greater dramatic power, rising to Brünnhilde-like intensity in her recollection of Wotan and her amusement at the powerlessness of the guests. Her soaring radiance in Elisabeth’s “Dich, teure Halle” was thrilling, beautifully mingled with sadness and tenderness. Charne Rochford, nothing if not ambitious, launched his programme with Erik’s Willst jenes Tags”, continued with Siegmund’s “Winterstürme”, and concluded with Loge’s Narrative. He rushed through all three numbers at almost impossibly brisk tempi which gave the words and music little chance to mean anything, and hurled himself at his high notes with unlovely results. He does not lack confidence, but he should take care not to press his voice so hard. Miriam Sharrad devoted her whole programme to Waltraute’s “Höre mit Sinn”. She is a beautifully musical singer, and made sure that the words really meant something, but it was a pity that she had to fight to be heard above the very resonant piano, which made her push her voice, forcing her high notes out of shape. By the unanimous decision of the three judges Helena Dix won the Bursary, with Miriam Sharrad as runner-up. A welcome innovation this year was the Audience Prize, which also went to Helena Dix by a single vote. She reprised “Der Männer Sippe”, if anything even better than before, to send the audience home tired and happy.

Competition Judges James Rutherford, Dame Anne Evans, David Syrus

– 38 – LET’S HEAR IT FROM THE SINGERS Wagner Society Bayreuth Bursary Competition 3rd December 2011 Andrea Buchanan Photography by Peter West [email protected] Miriam Sharrad finds Wagner’s music wonderful and a complete joy to sing. “I feel very comfortable with the music and I think that it suits my voice well. It is very physical music to sing and it takes lots of stamina, so it brings a real sense of achievement as a result.” She considers Wagner’s characters to be larger than life, although at the same time there is much that she can relate to in them. “When you take on a Wagnerian character there is a real sense of playing a part in a drama, and you can use your acting skills to the fullest extent. That is exciting and rewarding.” Having only recently come to Wagner she would like to continue in that direction, as she feels vocally ready to embark on this journey. On discovering Wagner Ione Cumming was surprised at how romantic the music is and how it can sweep you away with emotion. Despite being very taken with Wagner, she doesn’t feel ready to specialise as a Wagnerian at this stage of her career. It’s important to keep her voice flexible and this means continuing with a wide repertoire. She told me that the greatest challenge in singing Wagner is to stay within your vocal capabilities and not to push yourself too hard. It also demands great attention to detail, and remembering that the smaller, quieter notes are as important, if not more so, than the bold, sweeping ones. Whilst Justine Viani munched her soya bean pods we discussed what opera singers should and should not eat before a performance. I was intrigued to learn that large doses of protein to provide slow release stamina are a good solution. Justine swears by a glass of red wine the night before and a rare steak for breakfast on the day. Above all a singer should avoid anything that might induce burping, so carbonated drinks are out. A Vienna Bursary winner at the age of 24, she found herself addicted to Wagner’s music. “I find the music totally satisfying to sing and I love the words and the feelings behind them. Wagner was a genius for the voice, especially in the way he leads the singer to warm up, reach a great climax and then calm gently down.” – 39 – Covering Ariadne recently at Garsington Helena Dix found that late 19th/early 20th century German music suited her voice well. For her the pleasure lies in the intensity behind the sound and the fact that you have to be on top form the whole time you are singing, as there are no opportunities to take it easy vocally. She feels comfortable with the music and the fach in general. Wagner’s characters appeal to her, particularly the courage that his women display. She said that winning the Wagner Society Bayreuth Bursary award is a wonderful opportunity for a would-be Wagnerian singer. “At Bayreuth I shall be able to see how it’s done, meet others in a similar position and get good advice.” Thomas Humphreys would love to sing the role of Wolfram one day, (both of his competition pieces came from Tannhäuser) but at 23 he feels that he is too young to tackle Wagner at present. The most important thing for him as a very young singer was to find a teacher who could guide him into suitable roles. He praised his current teacher Joy Mammon very highly, describing her as a “technical magician”. Thomas told me that he thinks Wagner’s music is amazing and perhaps the most wonderful ever written.

Simon Lobelson studied with Donald McIntyre who often told him that he should consider Wagner. “I found a reduced-price DVD of Das Rheingold with McIntyre as Wotan which sat on my shelf for three years. When I finally came to watch it I was completely blown away. I was fascinated by the role of Alberich so I decided to learn it.” He was surprised and delighted to be chosen for the final. So began his love affair with Wagner’s works. Simon loves to get inside a character and as his performance at the Bursary demonstrated, he is a fine actor. He prefers strong acting roles and he relishes the opportunity to take on more of these in the future. He understudied the role of Alberich at Longborough last summer, which he found a hugely enjoyable experience.

– 40 – Charne Rochford is drawn to the more Italianate of the Wagner roles such as Lohengrin. He feels strongly that he wouldn’t yet aspire to be a Wagnerian singer as such and that he should continue to sing the way he does best and when that suited a Wagner role he would consider it. We agreed that this approach had a Jonas Kaufmann feel to it (we are both huge fans!). He had initially thought that everything about Wagner was massive and intimidating, but he came to realise that the music was about magnifying intimate details and exploring microcosms in the human character. “The key to singing Wagner well is that of paying attention to detail”. The Wagner Society began to award the Bayreuth Bursary to a promising young musician (not necessarily always a singer) in 1983, although the International Richard Wagner Verband have been devoting nearly a week during the annual Bayreuth Festival to the Stipendienstiftung, or Scholarship Foundation since 1882. Promising young artists are welcomed to Bayreuth, get the opportunity to see three operas (or a Ring Cycle) and are given a series of lectures, guided tours and the opportunity to spend time with other young artists from all over the world. Some years, the most promising artists give a concert, attended by members of the Wagner family, or major artists performing at the Festival. Nowadays this Scholarship Foundation is funded by individual Wagner Societies who are members of the RWVI and Societies can pay to send up to 6 young artists in addition to paying for their travel and accommodation. The Wagner Society has a proud tradition of running an annual competition to select its Bursary winners (not all Wagner Societies do this) and we have an excellent reputation for the quality of the singers we send to Bayreuth. Former competition winners/Bursary attendees (not always the same people) include Robert Hayward in 1985, Bryn Terfel in 1989, Christine Rice in 1999, Paul McNamara in 2000, Amanda Echalaz (Bayreuth attendee) and Simon O’Neill(competition winner) in 2003 and last but not least, Kelvin Lim in 2007. This year’s winner, Helena Dix is guaranteed a fascinating, instructive and unforgettable five days in Bayreuth in 2012.

– 41 – FROM WOTAN TO BLUEBEARD WITH SIR JOHN David Edwards I recently had the good fortune to work on the Philharmonia’s production of Duke Bluebeard’s Castle with Michelle de Young and Sir John Tomlinson, conducted by Esa- Pekka Salonen. This fabulous conductor’s work in the opera house is sadly infrequent: Mathis der Maler at Covent Garden in the1990s and Tristan und Isolde in Peter Sellars’ video-dominated staging with the Philharmonia stand out, but the concert stage (and composing) now demands most of his time. Having two great singers such as John and Michelle as Bluebeard and Judith was a great luxury. Both are celebrated Wagnerians in their own right, and they brought a particular intensity and human quality to the characterisations of these two tragic and deluded people in Bartok’s opera. The missed connections between them and the lost, wasted opportunities for love seemed both deeply sad and utterly unavoidable at the same time. Bluebeard’s dark past and Judith’s naïve optimism that she could change his future were wastelands of sorrow. It sometimes seemed as if Bartok had somehow picked up on the bleak pessimism of Wotan’s predicament in Der Ring and foreshadowed Beckett’s Endgame at the same time. I make this connection obviously because of John’s close identification with both roles. It seems to me that there are aspects of Wotan/Wanderer which transmute fairly seamlessly into Duke Bluebeard: a tendency towards lack of honesty and denial of the truth; a pride in past achievements and a lust for power; a desire to be loved and yet the failure fully to reciprocate that desire; and a loneliness and isolation resulting from misguided, self-centred behaviour. Now I am not for a moment suggesting that Bartok was taking direct inspiration from Wagner or writing a sequel to Wotan’s demise (though as a student at the Academy in Budapest from 1900 to 1904 Bartok thrilled to live performances of Tristan, Die Meistersinger and Der Ring ). But seeing John, whose Wotan has been so wonderfully stirring and complex over many recent years, once again take on the mantle of Bluebeard prompted these parallels in my mind. One day in October, on tour with the orchestra, we found ourselves in Lisbon, performing Bluebeard in the wonderful Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation concert hall (adjacent to a magnificent collection of Asian and European art). I went to see John in his dressing room shortly before the performance and on the spur of the moment we found ourselves discussing Wotan. I can’t remember how the topic arose but John was saying how, towards the end of Act III of Die Walküre , Wotan’s enormous crisis punches him in the gut: Brünnhilde announces that Sieglinde is pregnant with Siegmund’s child – something that Wotan longs for as a potential solution to the problem of how to regain the Ring, and yet something that his covenants and oaths to Fricka and the world prevent him from supporting. His response to the news has to be: Nie suche bei mir Schutz für die Frau, Noch für ihres Schosses Frucht! He cannot help protect Sieglinde and her unborn child, his own grandchild, but for Wotan, this is at the same time possibly the greatest news he ever hears: there is, potentially, hope and a means to recover the Ring, not exactly as he had planned through the Wälsung twins but through their child instead. John, who has sung around 150 performances of the Walküre Wotan, told me that he has never seen this moment of hope, revelation and the

– 42 – anguish of inevitable denial staged clearly. But without doubt, it must be there in the character’s response to Brünnhilde’s shattering news. John sees aspects of Wotan very much in Jungian terms: there are always two sides to the character, balancing each other and then cancelling each other out. Hence, after Rheingold he is trapped in his perpetual Zwiespalt , the dilemma which tears him apart. Personal crisis is one element that makes us intrigued by characters on the stage, and there are few great operatic characters who are immune to this. John knows this intuitively and in a long and distinguished career he has always questioned and probed the multitude of emotions and vulnerabilities of the people he plays on stage. This great artist continues to excite and unsettle us with his raw, uncompromising approach and the connections he makes between the characters he impersonates. Maybe the journey from Wotan to Bluebeard (via Boris Godunov, King Phillip and John Claggart) is not such a strange progression after all? Fortunately, John also finds time to delight us with his Baron Ochs… David Edwards is directing a semi-staging of Dallapiccola’s Il Prigioniero with the Philharmonia, conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen, at the Royal Festival Hall on January 26th and Sir John Tomlinson appears in Der Rosenkavalier at English National Opera from January 28th to February 27th

SEATTLE OPERA’S SPEIGHT JENKINS HONOURED

A United States National Endowment for the Arts Opera Honors Award has been made to Speight Jenkins who is retiring as General Director after three decades at Seattle The Award is in recognition of Jenkins’ vision which helped to make Seattle one of the world’s pre-eminent opera companies. As a recipient of this award he joins a community which includes John Adams, Marilyn Horne, Leontyne Price and James Levine. Malcolm Rivers (who sang Alberich for Jenkins in the first year of his tenure) writes: Credit is due to Speight Jenkins for his part in realising Alwyn Mellor’s potential with her engagement as Seattle’s next Brünnhilde as well as for his recognition of James Rutherford’s talent when he became the first ever winner of the Seattle Wagner Prize.

A FRENCH RING AVAILABLE FREE ONLINE

David Waters reports that Arte have made a French production of the Jonathan Dove/Graham Vick reduced Ring available on the web until early May 2012 Rheingold – http://liveweb.arte.tv/fr/video/Ring_Saga_L_or_du_Rhin/ Walküre – http://liveweb.arte.tv/fr/video/Ring_Saga_La_Walkyrie/ Siegfried – http://liveweb.arte.tv/fr/video/Ring_Saga_Siegfried/ Götterdämmerung – http://liveweb.arte.tv/fr/video/Ring_Saga_Le_crepuscule_des_Dieux/

– 43 – Thursday 5th January 2012 LIEDERABEND Song Recital ST PAUL’S CHURCH COVENT GARDEN ALISON PEARCE (soprano) and DAVID SYRUS (piano) 8.00pm

Programme includes songs by Linley, Greene, Purcell, Howells, Quilter and Ireland

followed by Berlioz Les Nuits d’Ete and Early French Lieder by Richard Wagner

The programme opens with lesser known songs from some of the greatest of English composers. After the interval, Wagner’s rarely performed early songs contrast with Berlioz’s much more famous song cycle.

Tickets £15 from The Wagner Society, (please send SAE to Mike Morgan, 9 West Court, Downley, High Wycombe, Bucks HP13 5TG) or on the door.

– 44 – The Mastersingers Company, The Music Club of London and Arts in Residence present “HEROISM AND VILLAINY IN OPERA, VERSE AND ART” Presteigne: September 21st to 23rd 2012 Friday 21st September

6pm Welcome at the Judge’s Lodging. Quality Wine tasting by Richard Black.

8pm Grand Victorian Buffet with wine.

Saturday 22nd September

10.30am Assembly Rooms: Terry Barfoot sets the tone for the weekend with one of his much-respected and interesting illustrated talks: Heroism in Opera with live music, recordings and projections. Finish: 12.45 pm

3pm Dame Anne Evans works in the Assembly Rooms with Longborough’s new Brünnhilde, Rachel Nicholls as she prepares for the complete Ring in 2013, having sung the role in Götterdämmerung in 2012. Finish: 5pm.

7.30pm Drinks at The Rodd followed at 8 by the opening of Sir Sidney Nolan’s exhibition on the subject of Ned Kelly. There will be readings from the Ned Kelly trial and Australian folk songs of the period to support the artwork. The evening will end with a piano recital by Tamriko Sakvarelidze and her husband Richard Black . Finish: 10.30pm

Sunday 23rd September

11a Assembly Rooms: Terry Barfoot: Villainy in Opera . Finish: 1pm

3pm Dame Anne Evans coaches Rachel Nicholls and other members of the Mastersingers Young Artists Programme .

7.30pm Drinks at The Rodd

8pm Grand Gala Concert With international vocal and instrumental artists associated with The Mastersingers Finish: 10pm.

Only 90 places are available for this quality weekend. Rosemary Frischer will shortly be issuing full details of costs. To ensure a place as a priority please register with Malcolm Rivers on [email protected] or text to 07811 889 785

– 45 – LETTER From Giles du Boulay The remarks made by Robert Mitchell in Wagner News 203 about the performance of Tristan und Isolde at Bayreuth this year struck a chord with me. My wife and I were thrilled to obtain centre Parkett tickets for the 16th August performance as our first visit to Bayreuth after many years of applying. Sadly it is likely to be our last. We have been fortunate over the years to have experienced uplifting performances of all of Wagner’s mature operas in such places as Berlin, Savonlinna, Munich, London and Cardiff. Our keenly awaited pilgrimage to the Festspielhaus however was a bitter and expensive disappointment. The music was of course wonderful, the singing not uniformly so. Stefan Vinke (Tristan) and Robert Holl (König Marke) were superbly sonorous, although Iréne Theorin seemed rather a diffident Isolde, but the production was distracting, dowdy, plain silly and completing lacking in erotic charge. Had we been able to lose ourselves in a thoroughly absorbing, life-enhancing performance then the surely nowadays unacceptable discomfort of the seats, the overpriced and indifferent food available in the intervals, and the considerable cost of the local accommodation and travel would have counted for little. As it was they all rankled along with the arrogance that pervades Bayreuth. I seek nourishment for my spirit and escape from the inanities of the world, not to have my face rubbed against the wall of a dirty “public urinal” (as Robert Mitchell aptly described the stage setting). Given our experience, and having seen the posters of other productions this season (and for 2012) offering such delights as Klingsor in stockings, and having now checked reviews on the internet, it was not difficult to ignore the application form for next year which landed a few days after we returned home. No doubt my temerity in failing to apply again will cast us into Nibelheim for a few years, but perhaps if more people shun such arrogant productions at Bayreuth, Geschäftsführerinnen Eva and Katharina will eventually get the message. Giles du Boulay has been a member of the Society for about sixteen years. He comments that ‘whilst Beethoven was my first true love, someone must have slipped me a magic Wagner potion about thirty years ago as I've been obliviously unfaithful since...’ [email protected]

LIVE GÖTTERDÄMMERUNG CINEMA RELAY FROM THE MET

The live relay of Götterdämmerung which completes the New York Metropolitan Opera Ring for digital cinemas takes place in the UK from 5pm on Saturday 11th February. To find a cinema showing the relay go to www.metoperafamily.org and select “Live in HD” and “International Cinemas”.

– 46 – President: Dame Gwyneth Jones Vice President: Sir John Tomlinson CONTACTS

Chair and Jeremy Rowe 0207 402 7494 [email protected] Programme Director: Flat 20, 33 Lancaster Gate, London W2 3LP

Assistant Gary Kahn [email protected] Programme Director:

Treasurer: Mike Morgan [email protected] 9 West Court, Downley, High Wycombe, Bucks, HP13 5TG

Financial Advisor: Ralph Wells [email protected]

Membership Secretary: Mrs Margaret Murphy [email protected] 16 Doran Drive, Redhill, Surrey, RH1 6AX

Secretary and Bayreuth Andrea Buchanan [email protected] Bursary Administrator: 7 Avenue Mansions, Finchley Road, London NW3 7AU

Website and Publicity: Ian Jones [email protected] Flat 20, 33 Lancaster Gate, London W2 3LP

Events Co-ordinator: Ross Alley [email protected] 60a Marylebone Lane, London W1U 2NZ

Archivist and Librarian: Geoffrey Griffiths [email protected]

Editor of Wagner News: Roger Lee [email protected] 155 Llanrwst Road, Colwyn Bay, LL28 5YS

Society Website: www.wagnersociety.org

The Wagner Society is registered charity number 266383.

– 47 – THE MASTERSINGERS Registered Charity No. 1076508 Artistic Director: Malcolm Rivers CREATING OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUNG SINGERS TO MASTER THEIR CRAFT Saturday February 4th 2012 2 to 6pm MASTERCLASS with PETRA LANG With Adrian Baianu pianist and coach The distinguished Wagnerian mezzo-soprano gives a public masterclass with Wagner singers from the Mastersingers’ Young Artists Programme Peregrine’s Pianos 137A Grays Inn Road, London WC1X 8TU Corner of Guildford Street. Tube: Russell Square Buses 17, 44, 45, 19, 38, 243 TICKETS: £15 from Malcolm Rivers (07811 889785) 44 Merry Hill Mount, Bushey, Herts, WD23 1DJ CHEQUES PAYABLE TO MASTERSINGERS. INCLUDE SAE FOR RETURN OF TICKETS PLEASE NOTE THAT THERE IS NO DISABLED ACCESS AT THIS VENUE

Wednesday February 29th 2012 6.30 for 7pm FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE A joint Music Club of London/Mastersingers event A concert of operatic and instrumental music by Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff featuring Mastersingers Young Artists accompanied by Kelvin Lim (piano) 49 Queen’s Gate Terrace, London SW7 5PN By kind permission at the home of Sir Vernon and Lady Ellis, situated at the Gloucester Road end of the Terrace. Nearest tube: Gloucester Road TICKETS: £25 to include wine and light refreshments Concessions: £20 to Music Club of London, Wagner Society and Strauss Society members Tickets available from Mrs Frances Simpson 3 Hunt Close, Morden Road, London SE3 0AH CHEQUES PAYABLE TO MUSIC CLUB OF LONDON. INCLUDE SAE FOR RETURN OF TICKETS

www.mastersingers.org.uk – 48 –