Wagner Society in NSW Inc. Maximise your enjoyment and understanding of Wagner’s music Newsletter No. 127, December 2012 President’s Report Welcome to the fourth and final newsletter for 2012. It has been a very full year for the Society, featuring many fascinating events. A major highlight was the afternoon with our patron, Simone Young, who spoke so openly and frankly about her life with music, and particularly with Wagner. And I am sure than everybody who attended our Christmas concert and party at the Mosman Art Gallery will agree Lisa Harper-Brown, Louise Scott and Warwick Fyfe – End of Year Recital that it was a triumph. Both Lisa Harper-Brown and Warwick will get in the very near future.” To my knowledge, there Fyfe were in superb voice and accompanied splendidly by has been no further communication. My enquiries tell me Louise Scott. The venue, with its large spaces and resonant that in spite of the positive terms of the letter, there was in acoustics, suited the occasion perfectly. fact a degree of dissension within the Board on this issue. The Bayreuth saga continues. You will remember that we So we will wait and see what happens. In the meantime, were told in January this year that, as a result of a decision of we received the same ticket application forms as in previous the Festival Administrative Board, no further tickets would years, so we have applied for the usual number of tickets for be allocated to Wagner Societies in the future. There was the 2013 festival, namely 12 tickets from the box office and a strong response from many societies around the world, two from the Society of Friends. Members will be informed including the Australian societies. Later in the year we were as soon as we learn of any further developments. told that the Board was to meet again on 9 October, and Your Society is getting a new image! Thanks to committee- that they were going to re-visit this decision. Accordingly, at member, Michael Day, a collaboration was arranged the end of September we wrote another, very conciliatory between the Society and design students at the University letter, pleading for a return to the previous system. The of Technology Sydney. As part of one of their projects, New York Wagner Society wrote a similar letter. Not long they have designed us a new logo. It is yet to be approved afterwards, the New York Society received a letter, dated 10 by the Committee, but – assuming that it is – all our October, from the Chairman of the Board, in the following terms: “I am happy to announce that the Administrative PRESIDENT’S REPORT continued p.3 l Board has decided yesterday, to correct earlier decisions regarding the tickets for your associations. More details you STOP PRESS 1: Special Offer from Inbooks of important books on PATRON: Simone Young AM Wagner at Special Price – See details inside. HONORARY LIFE MEMBERS: Mr Richard King Prof Michael Ewans STOP PRESS 2: Mr Horst Hoffman Der fliegende Holländer – New Zealand performances: Mr Joseph Ferfoglia September & October 2013–see article inside. Registered Office: 75 Birtley Towers, 8 Birtley Place, Elizabeth Bay NSW 2011 Print Post Approved PP242114/00002 Wagner Society in NSW Inc. For Your Diary 2013 Sat. 13 & Sun.14 April Parsifal – Metropolitan Opera production Cremorne Orpheum, Chauvel & (and 18 April at Dendys) Dendy Newtown & Opera Quays 20 and 22 July Der fliegende Holländer - starring Eric Owens - SSO concert performances Sydney Opera House 31 July and 1, 2 August Extracts from Meistersinger and Die Walküre and the Sydney premiere of Sydney Opera House James Ledger’s remarkable The Madness and Death of King Ludwig (31 July and 1 August only) 7, 9, 10 August Wesendonck Lieder – orchestrated by Felix Mottl Sydney Opera House 18, 19, 20, 21 September The Ring – An Orchestral Adventure – arranged de Vlieger Sydney Opera House 14, 19, 21 September Der fliegende Holländer – Concert performance in Wellington, St James Theatre - 7.30pm New Zealand 17 September - 6.00pm 5, 10, 12 October - 7.30pm, Der fliegende Holländer – Concert performance in Wellington, New ASB Theatre, Aotea Centre 8 October - 6.30pm Zealand, Auckland, New Zealand Nov-December 2013 The Ring Cycle – Melbourne: Melbourne Opera Theatre Cycle 1: November 18 to 25. Cycle 2: November 27 to December 4. Cycle 3: December 6 to 13. ## ## Opera Australia has created a new website for its Melbourne Ring Cycle, including a process for registering your application for tickets, if you haven’t qualified for other ticketing arrangements: http://melbourneringcycle.com.au/visit_melbourne. Meetings Dates & Coming Events DATE EVENTS - 2012 TIME & LOCATION EVENT STARTING TIMES MAY VARY PLEASE CHECK THE SCHEDULE FOR DETAILS 2013 Some events may be subject to change and further detail in the next newsletter Sat & Sun 9-10 2013 SPECIAL EVENT: RING WEEKEND – Dr Antony Ernst lectures at the See details below February Willoughby Uniting Church Conference Centre - see details below. 10 March Climbing Towards Midnight - Jack Symonds’ composition referencing Parsifal Act Goethe Institut 2PM 2 - Louis Garrick & Jack Symonds, Sydney Chamber Opera – an introduction to the new work sponsored by the Wagner Society. 14 April Dr David Schwartz (composer, countertenor & specialist on Yiddish theatre) - Goethe Institut 2PM Wagner and Psychological Motivation in The Ring April TBC 2013 SPECIAL EVENT: Sydney Chamber Opera Performances of: Climbing TBC Toward Midnight – for information about this work, visit Jack Symonds’ website: http://jacksymonds.com 22 May 2013 SPECIAL EVENT: Wagner Licht Exhibition opening preceding special TBC Wagner 200th Birthday dinner 26 May Wagner Society AGM with Special Musical Event - concert by singer Luke Stoker Goethe Institut 2PM with accompanist Bradley Gilchrist 30 June Tony Legge, OA, Opera Australia’s Assistant Music Director – on Bayreuth Career Goethe Institut 2PM 14 July 2013 SPECIAL EVENT: Riding the Storm: Seminar on The Flying Dutchman Goethe Institut 9.30AM - 5PM 11 August Lisa Gasteen – Professor of Opera at Queensland Conservatorium: Preparing for Goethe Institut 2PM Major Wagnerian Roles (TBC) 8 September Neil Armfield’s Ring Adventure - Director of Opera Australia’s 2013 Ring Cycle in Goethe Institut 2PM Melbourne 6 October Susan Bullock – Melbourne’s Brünnhilde – Singing Wagner TBC Goethe Institut 2PM Advice about changes to the Program will be emailed to people who have given their email addresses to the Society’s Webmaster; the latest updates will also be available on the Society’s webpage: www.wagner.org.au. Admission to each event will be $20 a Member, and $25 per non-Member, unless otherwise indicated. Goethe-Institut address 90 Ocean Street Woollahra (corner of Jersey Road) Page 2 Wagner Society in NSW Inc. Committee 2012 - 2013 President Jane Mathews 9360 9822 Vice President Leona Geeves 9337 6978 Vice President & Newsletter Editor Terence Watson 8097 9797 Treasurer & Membership Secretary Dennis Mather 0413 156 700 or 9560 1860 Secretary Colleen Chesterman 9360 4962 Members Roger Cruickshank 0414 553 282 immediate past President Tony Jones 0412 572 624 Peter Murray [email protected] Mike Day 0413 807 533 Paulo Montoya Public Officer Alasdair Beck 9358 3922 President’s Report continued communications from now on will be in the new format. It chief conductor of the SSO to speak to us, as well as Eric is a completely different look, clean and modern. We hope Owens, who will be singing the title role. Many members that you, our members, will enjoy this new design. will remember Eric Owens as a wonderful Alberich in the Metropolitan Opera’s new Ring Cycle. Dr David Larkin, Next year, the big bi-centenary year, promises to be a huge musicologist from the Sydney Conservatorium will be year for all of us. In addition to a number of particularly taking part, as will Dr David Schwartz, who will speak on exciting events at our regular Sunday meetings, we are historic interpretations of the Dutchman and Senta. Other involved in some fascinating initiatives. One of these is notable speakers will be participating, as you will learn the Ring Symposium, to be conducted by Anthony Ernst closer to the event. on the weekend of 9 and 10 February. More details of this symposium are given elsewhere in this newsletter. It Amongst numerous other initiatives are: our sponsorship promises to be a truly informative and stimulating event. of Fine Music 102.5, which will lead to the broadcast I know from personal experience that Anthony has an of all ten mature Wagner operas during the year; our enormous depth of knowledge and understanding about support of the Sydney Youth Orchestra, which will be all aspects of the Ring, and also has the communication putting on a concert in August featuring Wagner’s skills to readily impart his knowledge to his audience. music; our grants to the Sydney Eisteddfod, leading to And I have just been told that Lyndon Terracini, the awards for the best singer of a Wagner song or aria, and artistic director of Opera Australia, has agreed to open the best singer of a German language song or aria; and the symposium for us on the Saturday morning. our financial assistance towards a conference to take place between the second and third Melbourne Ring Another fascinating initiative is the Society’s commi- Cycles. ssioning of a brand new opera called “Climbing Towards Midnight”, composed by Sydney musician Jack Symonds. So we are all looking forward to next year with huge As Jack describes it, this has “the dna” of Wagner’s music anticipation. I look forward to seeing you at these within it. It will be performed by the Sydney Chamber fascinating events. Opera in April next year at the National Institute of Editor: Correction – in the last issue your Editor neglected Dramatic Art.