No: 203 October 2011 No: 203 October 2011 INSIDE 6 Bayreuth Report 7 Mastersingers events 8 Pleased to meet you: Mike Bousfield 9 James Rutherford in Bayreuth 12 Paris Opera Siegfried 14 Longborough Siegfried 16 Opera North Rheingold 18 Fulham Rheingold 19 Things to come: Wagner events worldwide 20 Cover Story: A new visual image of Richard Wagner 21 Lohengrin in Savonlinna, Finland 22 Forthcoming Society events 24 Film: Captain America 25 Lübeck Ring 26 San Francisco Ring 27 Northern Wagner Orchestra Tannhäuser 28 A Wagner Virgin 29 Bayreuth Tannhäuser 30 Tristan und Isolde and Die Meistersinger in Bayreuth 31 Berlin Ring 33 Review of DVD boxed set Wagner 34 Book review: Wagner and Cinema 38 Book review: Wagner and the erotic impulse 40 Wagner’s Mediæval sources: Recordings now available 41 Letters 44 Rehearsal Orchestra 16th October event CLANGERS If only this were a reference to Oliver Postgate’s delightful swanee whistling characters from the sixties who shared their planet with the Soup Dragon, but it concerns alas two errors in Wagner News 202 which you did not have to be eagle-eyed to spot. Alwyn Mellor is singing the role of Brünnhilde in the Seattle Ring in 2013 rather than 2012 as stated. She will not be appearing in Götterdämmerung at Longborough next year because she was already cast as Sieglinde in Opera North’s Die Walküre . Apologies go to anyone who may have been inconvenienced or embarrassed by these inaccuracies which crept in to the “News of Young Artists” item. A big apology is due in particular to Chris Argent, whose review of Tony Palmer’s DVD The Wagner Family began with a repeat appearance of the opening lines of Ewen Harris’ review of the cinema relay of Die Walküre from the New York Metropolitan Opera. The sources of the problems responsible for both of these errors have been identified and we have taken the actions necessary to prevent any such recurrence. STOP PRESS Mastersingers Company alumnus Julian Close is covering the role of Fafner for Hans- Peter König in the New York Metropolitan Opera production of Siegfried . The cinema relay will be transmitted on 5th November at 4pm. –2– EDITOR’S NOTE As we prepare for the celebrations of 2013 the Wagner Society is unveiling an exciting programme of events which will be delivered by its own performing arm, The Mastersingers Company (see: page 7) in association with such organisations as the Music Club of London and Arts in Residence. This image will be seen with items which relate to the Society’s 2013 programme. It has been commissioned for Wagner News from Peter West of Donnington Arts. He tells us the story of this entirely new and original image of Richard Wagner on page 20. NEW AND RETURNING CONTRIBUTORS Nicholas Jacobs ran the Libris publishing house specializing in German literature until he retired in 2010. He is the proud nephew of Robert L Jacobs, author of the 1935 Master Musicians Wagner [email protected] According to Tim Reynoldson his musical talent level is reflected by some piano grades and a good enough voice to sing in a (“very”) amateur choir. [email protected] Max Page is a professional cricket umpire operating in the Sussex League. He and his wife Elizabeth joined the Wagner Society ten years ago and were lucky enough to win the ballot for Ring tickets at Bayreuth in 2009. [email protected] Retired army captain Christopher McQuaid founded the Wagner Society of Ireland in 2002. In 1994 he had read an item in Wagner News on how to get tickets for the Bayreuth Festival which, he says, “showed me the way.” [email protected] Ulrich Müller is Professor Emeritus at the University of Salzburg. For nearly two decades he has been writing articles for the Bayreuth Festival. Among his passions is that of performing mediaeval music. [email protected] Andrea Buchanan is serving her second stint on the Committee of the Wagner Society. She works in the Civil Service. With the minimal amount of free time that is not taken up by opera she is learning German. [email protected] Retired Clinical Psychologist Terence Gaussen returned to singing about 10 years ago. He currently sings in Leeds Festival Chorus and plays trombone in local orchestras. [email protected] A Fellow of Hertford College Oxford, Paul Coones founded and conducts the Hertford Bruckner Orchestra which consists of both undergraduates and adult players and which specialises in the late romantic repertoire. [email protected] Cover Photo: Peter West [email protected] 01256 222 339 Designed by Roger Lee. Printed by Rap Spiderweb – www.rapspiderweb.com 0161 947 3700 –3– HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE COMMITTEE MEETING 21st September 2011 Andrea Buchanan Jeremy Rowe opened the meeting by welcoming the new committee member, Richard Miles. Richard comes from a financial background and his business and commercial expertise will be most welcome. It was with great regret that he then announced the resignation of Pam Hudson as Ticket Secretary. Pam did a fantastic job for the Society for many years and we would all like to thank her for her hard work and the valuable contribution that she made. We are delighted to inform the membership that Dame Gwyneth Jones will be featuring in a new film about retired opera singers due for release in 2012. Based on the Ronald Harwood play of the same name, Quartet is being directed by Dustin Hoffmann and will also star Dame Maggie Smith, Michael Gambon and Billy Connolly. The Secretary reported that she had established contact with the Oxford Wagner Society and we hope that this will result in members of both societies attending each other’s events. The Oxford Society are planning a Wagner concert in the Sheldonian theatre on November 12th. Once we have more details, we will post these on our website. The Treasurer presented accounts for the year to date. We are happy to report that the financial position of the Society is sound and healthy. It was decided to invest a further £5,000 in Charifund shares. Mike is making headway in his search for a new firm of accountants who will act as examiners for the Society. The Membership Secretary reported that membership numbers remain broadly stable from last year. The Webmaster gave an update on the website including a new area called “Wagner News Extra” where reviews etc for which there is insufficient space in the magazine may be posted in full. The Secretary gave an update on arrangements for the Bayreuth Bursary event on 3rd December (see page 23). The Committee was delighted to note that David Syrus will accompany Scenes from Götterdämmerung and that Kelvin Lim will accompany singers for the Bursary competition. Andrea continues to work closely with Malcolm Rivers on this event and we urge members to attend. The quality of our young singers is known and appreciated in Bayreuth and we look forward to sending another up and coming opera star to the Bursary events in 2012. The International Wagner Verband Congress in May 2012 in Prague was discussed. Jeremy and Andrea will attend and will also attend the RWVI annual general meeting during the Congress. All members are most welcome to attend, should they wish. There is an excellent programme of operas and excursions on offer for visitors, along with the opportunity to meet Wagner Society members from all over the world and exchange views. For further information and registration forms, visit the RWVI website on http://www.richard-wagner-verband.de/english/index.html There was also some discussion about the library and the archives currently held by Ralph Wells and Geoffrey Griffiths. The committee are investigating the possibility of finding alternative accommodation for the large collection of German books currently held by Ralph. SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT FROM THE CHAIRMAN Please watch the website for full details of a recital to be given on Thursday 5th January at St Paul’s Church, Covent Garden, with Allison Pears and David Syrus. Tickets will be £15. –4– FROM THE CHAIR With this issue of Wagner News we have changed to direct mailing from the printers to the members rather than have Margaret Murphy continue to cope with the huge task of putting 800 magazines into envelopes, together with a number of flyers. (I did it once, and it was a terrible chore!) We are enormously grateful for all that Margaret has done for the magazine, and send her great thanks. She will continue as Membership Secretary, keeping an eye on overseas and complimentary members and of course continuing as a valuable member of the Committee. Direct mailing means that we will no longer include event flyers separately, but will incorporate these into the centre pages of the magazine. The magazine will not be affected by pulling out the centre to send in applications for events, and the new system will make for a far more efficient booking system whereby members can send one cheque to pay for all events on the flyer. Our Treasurer, Mike Morgan, will be handling all ticketing after the Rehearsal Orchestra event. The Committee will be booking events further ahead in future which will better enable members to plan which events they wish to attend. As your Chair I am concerned that we are rather “London-centric” and thus I have been making it my business to see what’s going on outside London. It was therefore an enormous pleasure to travel to Leeds for the Northern Wagner Orchestra’s Tannhäuser . A review in this magazine conveys the enthusiasm and success of the event, and it was very exciting to greet many old friends in the soloists, as well as meeting conductor Michael Williamson for the first time.
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