Retrospective of the 2008-2009 Season
Retrospective of the 2007-2008 Season
Retrospective of the 2006-2007 Season
Retrospective of the 2005-2006 Season
Retrospective of the 2004-2005 Season
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Retrospective of the 2008-2009 Season Retrospective of the 2007-2008 Season Retrospective of the 2006-2007 Season Retrospective of the 2005-2006 Season Retrospective of the 2004-2005 Season
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WSNY Calendar
Forthcoming Society events:
March 19 (Friday), 7:30 p.m. The Unknown Wagner. M. J. Albacete, lecturer. Liederkranz Foundation, 6 East 87th Street. Mr. Albacete, Executive Director of the Canton, OH, Museum of Art and co-founder of the Wagner Society of Ohio, has made a world-wide search for obscure recorded Wagner compositions and has created a program of these rare and unusual items. Members: Free. Non-members: $10.00. Reception will follow program.
April 25 (Sunday, 12:00 noon). Seminar on Der fliegende Holländer. 30th annual seminar and a much-anticipated event. In-depth study covering a wide range of topics, in conjunction with the Met performances. St. Joseph's School--Yorkville, 420 East 87th Street. Speakers: Dr. Hans Melderis, Saul Lilienstein, Joe Pearce, Met cast roundtable and members of the creative team. Boutique will feature many Wagner titles and Wagneriana. Flyer and reservation form will be posted soon.
June 1 (Tuesday). Tribute to George London, a great baritone of the last century. Details to come.
Additional information on forthcoming events will be posted and mailed.
Recent Past
Programs:
January 13: Sir
Thomas Allen, British baritone, particularly renowned for his interpretations of
Beckmesser and Don Giovanni, discussed his career and thoughts on the state of
the arts today, including the ramifications of HD theater screenings.
February 3: A Tribute to Plácido Domingo featured a
PowerPoint list of every role he has performed, accompanied by excerpts from his
Wagner performances; a conversation with him on the many aspects of his career;
video clips including his stunning performance of Siegmund (Die Walküre, Act I, Scene 3, from the
2005 BBC Proms); and presentation of the Society's Anton Seidl Award. We will
post photos and video clips from the program here.
Please renew or join now in order to receive all member benefits, by mail, fax, or online
Wagner Society of New York
P.O. Box 230949, Ansonia Station
New York, NY 10023-0949, U.S.A.
Phone: 212/749–4561 Fax: 212 749–1542
Email: wagnerring@aol.com
September 25. “Bayreuth 2008.” Visuals and discussion by attendees.
October 28. John J. H. Muller. “Wagner as Miniaturist: A Study of Tristan und Isolde.”
November 11. Maestro James Conlon. “The First Los Angeles Ring.”
December 7. Tristan und Isolde Seminar. Lectures by Marian Burleigh-Motley, Joe Pearce, Jeffrey Swann, Prof. Hans Rudolf Vaget; Met Cast Roundtable.
January 4. Holiday Musicale: Valerie Bernhardt and Corey Bix.
January 16. Gary Thalheimer. “Teatro Colón: Its History and Great Wagner Performances.”
February 27. Prof. Robert Bailey. “The Wagner Tuba.” With musical illustrations by Anne Scharer (Wagner tuba, Met Orchestra).
March 28. John J. H. Muller. “Wagner’s Subtle Art of Transitions in the Ring” (luncheon-lecture).
March 30. Reception and presentation of Anton Seidl Awards to Otto Schenk and Günther Schneider-Siemssen.
April 2. “Otto Schenk and Joe Clark: A Conversation."
April 27 and May 4. Welcome receptions and boutiques.
April 27 and May 4. Das Rheingold dinners.
April 28 and 30. Lectures on Ring topics by Desirée Mays.
May 1. “Rhine Journey on the Hudson”: dinner cruise in New York harbor.
May 8. Jeffrey Swann. “Wrapping It All Up: The Immolation Scene” (luncheon-lecture).
August 20–28: Bayreuth English-Language Lecture Series. 2009 lecturer: Professor Hans Rudolf Vaget.
Retrospective of the 2007-2008 Season
September 20: “Die Meistersinger (Bayreuth); Kirov Ring (New York).” Panel discussion and visuals. Panelists: Kirov Ring: Ellen Scaruffi, John Margulis, and Erick Neher. Bayreuth: Verena Kossodo, Scott Carlton, and Erick Neher. Visuals on Kirov Ring: Mr. Neher. Powerpoint presentation on Die Meistersinger: Eugene Brister. F. Peter Phillips, moderator.
October 17: Dr. Sven Friedrich (Bayreuth archivist): “The Honorable Lady, An Appraisal of Cosima Wagner.”
December 6: Prof. Hans Rudolf Vaget (Smith College): “The Importance of Ernest Newman.”
December 30: Holiday Musicale: Julia Rolwing (soprano) and Jeffrey Springer (tenor), WSNY endowed fund grantees; Lloyd Arriola, pianist.
January 5, 2008: Reception for Adrienne Pieczonka, Bayreuth and Met soprano (for special contributor members).
January 29: Conversation with Anja Silja and Eva Wagner-Pasquier. In collaboration with George London Foundation.
February 3: Annual Seminar, on Die Walküre. Speakers: Professors Edward Haymes and Robert Bailey, Cori Ellison, Joe Pearce, Maestro Donald Runnicles; Met Cast Roundtable, hosted by Lew Grenville, moderator: Margaret Jane Wray (Sieglinde cover), Michelle DeYoung (Brangäne), and Clifton Forbis (Siegmund).
March 26: Reception for Gary Lehman (tenor), WSNY grantee who sang two performances of the Met Tristan, and his wife Susan Foster (soprano) (for special contributor members).
April 13: Paul Schofield: “Wagner and Buddhism” with booksigning for his book The Redeemer Reborn: Parsifal as the Fifth Opera of the Ring.
May 21: Program on Das Liebesverbot by cast members and director of Glimmerglass Opera (preparation for their presentation of the fully staged American premiere of the opera).
August 22: Group attendance at Das Liebesverbot, Glimmerglass Opera.
August 20–28: Bayreuth English-Language Lecture Series. 2008 lecturer: Professor Hans Rudolf Vaget.
Retrospective of the 2006-2007 Season
September 28: “The New Bayreuth Ring.” Annual program on the Bayreuth Festival, with visuals and panel discussion. Panelists: Verena Kossodo, Bill Earle, Lew Grenville, Frank Hartin, and Aidan Mooney; F. Peter Phillips, moderator.
October 26: Donald Arthur: “Hans Hotter, an Operatic Giant.” Lecture with audio and visual illustrations, by translator and editor of Hans Hotter: Memoirs. Booksigning and purchase
October 28: Reception for Heinz Zednik, Bayreuth tenor (for special contributor members).
November 14: Yvonne Nilges, Ph.D.: “Richard Wagner’s Midsummer Night’s Dream: Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg.”
December 13: John Louis Gaetani, Ph.D.: “Inside the Ring.” With panel of essay authors (Winnie Klotz, Neil Friedman, Gregory Kershner, and Geoffrey Riggs), discussing his new book. Booksigning and purchase.
December 31: Holiday Musicale: Sara Greeson (soprano) and David Kelso (tenor); Linda Hall, pianist. Featuring Die Walküre, Act I, Scene 3.
January 28, 2007: “Mozart Reflected in Wagner.” Panel: Professors Lydia Goehr, Peter Hoyt, and Philip Kitcher.
February 26: Francesca Zambello: “Directing Wagner Today.”
March 11: Annual Seminar on Die Meistersinger on Nürnberg. Speakers: William Wixom, Hans Rudolf Vaget, Nicholas Vazsonyi, Joe Pearce, Yuval Sharon, Jonathan Khuner, Raymond Hughes, and Met Cast Roundtable (Clayton Brainerd, Marie Plette, Richard Brunner).
April 12: “The Three Divas” (interview with Martha Mödl, Birgit Nilsson, and Astrid Varnay).
May 20, 2007: Memorial tributes to Astrid Varnay and Thomas Stewart. Appreciations, videos, and audio examples. Presenters: Tim Page and Geoffrey Riggs. Also, a celebration of Wagner’s 184th birthday and WSNY’s 30th anniversary.
July 13–21. Ring à la Russe, during the Kirov Ring cycles.
July 13 and July 16: Hospitality Suites: reception and boutique of Wagner-related books and Wagneriana.
July 13 and July 16: Das Rheingold dinners.
July 15 “Rhine Journey on the Hudson.” 4-1/2 hour harbor dinner cruise on the World Yacht Princess.
July 18 “The Influence of Wagner on Russian and Soviet Art”—Lecture with slide presentation by Marian Burleigh-Motley.
July 21: “The Kirov Ring in Context.”—Panel of presentations by scholars and specialists. Moderator: Catharine Nepomnyashchy. Speakers: Lynn Garafola, Joe Pearce, Maya Pritsker, and Ellen Scaruffi. Co-presentation of WSNY and Harriman Institute.
August 20–28. Bayreuth English-Language Lecture Series. 2007 lecturer: Jeffrey Swann, Ph.D.
Retrospective of the 2005-2006 Season
September 16: “Bayreuth 2005.” Visuals and panel discussion of new Bayreuth production of Tristan and Isolde and other 2005 operas. Bill Earle, Verena Kossodo, John Margulis George Preston, and Andrew Zacks; F. Peter Phillips, moderator.
October 6: Donald Arthur. “Ghosting for the Stars.” Co-biographer with Astrid Varnay, Hans Hotter, and James King. With rare footage and musical examples.
November 17: Stuart Skelton, heldentenor. Reception and interview.
December 6: William Berger, author and lecturer. “Evolution of the Gesamtkunst.”
January 1, 2006: New Year’s Day Musicale: Recital by Barbara Quintiliani, soprano, and Andrew Gangestad, bass.
February 24: Prof. Simon Williams, University of California, Santa Barbara. “Coming to Terms with History: Wagner, Nietzsche, and the Ring.”
February 27, March 27, April 24, and May 1: “Wagner Our Contemporary.” Four provocative programs with superb soloists, including WSNY’s Lauch Awardee and Met soprano Marjorie Elinor Dix. Presented by French Institute Alliance Française.
March 9: Special contributors’ event. Lohengrin DVD (Vienna State Opera)– excerpts, commentary, performances by grantees Andrew Gangestad and Gary Lehman, and champagne reception.
March 27, April 24, and May 1: “Wagner Our Contemporary.” Provocative programs with superb soloists, including WSNY’s Lauch Memorial Grant Awardee and Met soprano Marjorie Elinor Dix. Presented by French Institute Alliance Française.
April 7: Professor Boris Gasparov, Columbia University. “Shostakovich’s Fifteenth Symphony and the Semiology of Siegfried’s Death.”
April 23: Annual Seminar: "The Grail Operas." Speakers: Professors Joseph Goering, William Kinderman, Katherine Syer, and Benjamn Korstvedt, Joe Pearce; Met Cast Roundtable, hosted by F. Peter Phillips, moderator; Luana DeVol (Ortrud), Kelly Cae Hogan (Elsa cover), Greer Grimsley (Telramund), and Simon O’Neill (Lohengrin cover).
May 21: Memorial tribute to James King, and birthday tributes to Mr. King and Richard Wagner ((May 22) and Birgit Nilsson (May 17).
August 18, 19, 21, 22, 23, 25, and 27. Bayreuth Festival English Language Lectures. Jeffrey Swann, DMA
Retrospective of the 2004-2005 Season
September 22: "Bayreuth 2004" Visuals, tapes, and panel discussion by attendees: Felicia Bonaparte, Eugene Brister, Verena Kossodo, and Thurmond Smithgall. Moderator: F. Peter Phillips.
October 15: Dr. Oswald Georg Bauer, lecturer. "United are Love and Spring."
November 23: Prof. Michael Beckerman, lecturer. "The Not Too Long and Somewhat Strange Story of How Dvorak Came to Choose Wagner over Brahms. Celebration of the centennial of Dvorak's death"
December 5: "Tannhäuser Seminar" Speakers: Prof. Robert Bailey, Prof. Stephen R. Cerf, Joe Pearce; Met Cast Roundtable, hosted by Robert J. Sweeney), moderator: Michelle DeYoung, Mark Lundberg (Tannhäuser cover), Charles Taylor (Biterolf). Production panel discussion, hosted by Peter Allen: Phoebe Berkowitz (Tannhäuser stage director), Steve Brown (Met company manager), Diana Levy (ballet director), Sylvia Nolan (costume director).
January 2: Holiday Musicale: Recital by Charles Taylor, Met Opera baritone (WSNY Robert Lauch Award recipient, 2004).
January 22: Joe Pearce. "Tannhäuser and the Windgassen Family."
February 10: 1912 silent film "The Life of Richard Wagner" (digitally remastered in DVD format with soundtrack) and discussion of film by Dr. Paul Fryer.
March 11: Mark Lundberg, heldentenor. Recital, interview, and dinner (a benefit for the WSNY Singers Fund).
March 18: Speight Jenkins. "The 2005 Seattle Opera Ring." With presentation of Anton Seidl Award to Mr. Jenkins.
April 27: 2-hour documentary on Astrid Varnay, Donald Collup: “Never before: The Life and ‘First' New York Career of Astrid Varnay”
May 22: Wagner Birthday Celebration on his 192nd birthday.
June 9: New York Philharmonic concert, Lorin Maazel conductor. Wagner: Siegfried Idyll; Berg: Seven Early Songs (Deborah Voigt); Bruckner Symphony No. 3
August 23, 24, 26, 27, and 28: Bayreuth English-language Lectures. Jeffrey Buller, Ph.D.