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Welcome to the Wagner Society
of New York
To
view information about the Society (celebrating its 35th anniversary in 2012
and the largest in this continent), upcoming events, membership, excerpts from
our bimonthly publication Wagner Notes, our extensive catalogue of
Wagner-related books (with member discounts), and links to many other Wagner
organizations and institutions, please click on the buttons. Secure online form
is available for membership and some events.
Non
members, please join now to receive many Society benefits, including the
complete Wagner Notes and the opportunity to apply for tickets for the
Bayreuth Festival (click here for Bayreuth Ticket Policies - 2012). Although the policies for 2012 have been changed suddenly by
their Administrative Board (see news item below), we still will be
able to obtain some tickets. Please note: New memberships received after
January 1, 2012 will be current until August 2013.
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NEWS: Bayreuth Ticket Allocations
As you have probably read or heard by now, the Bayreuth
ticket allocation process that had been followed by the Bayreuth Festival for
many years has been dropped. Resolutions were adopted by the supervisory
committees of the Bayreuth Festival on Oct. 18, 2011, as a result of
investigations of certain ticket allocation procedures, by the Bavarian General
Accounting Office and the German Federal Court of Auditors, per a Dec. 15th
letter signed by Eva Wagner-Pasquier and Katharina Wagner. Excerpt: “It is
unfortunately no longer possible to accord special interest groups or tour
operators any privileges in the allocation of tickets.” Special interest groups
applies to Wagner societies around the world! Nota bene: Wagner societies have
always been involved with and essential to the Festival. Indeed, the first
Festival of 1876 may never have gotten off the ground, had it not been for the
founding of the first societies in 1872 and shortly thereafter.
The Wagner Society of New York acknowledged
receipt of this sudden and delayed announcement immediately and informed
Society members who had applied for tickets, noting that we would try to locate
tickets for those who wanted them. (If you received an individual invoice for
Bayreuth tickets but cannot attend, please let us know.) The 14 North American
societies, in addition to the International Association of Wagner Societies,
have since sent a strong unified letter to protest this action, which will have
an impact on all aspects of participation in the Festival. The Wagner Society
of New York has received an allotment since 1984 and has presented our
much-appreciated Bayreuth English-language lecture series since 1985, from
which we have been able to make additional contributions to our membership in
the Gesellschaft der Freunde von Bayreuth. We hope for a reconsideration of
this draconian action and will continue to report on it.
(The above information was provided in a recent mailing to
our entire database. You may also see Wagner-related blogs for other articles
on this matter. The Feb. 2012 issue of Wagner Notes, our bimonthly
member publication, will provide further details.)
WSNY Upcoming Programs at a Glance
Jan. 23 (Monday). Discussion of Rienzi,
with Maestro Eve Queler (conductor) and Elisabete Matos (Irene). See Events page.
Feb. 5 (Sunday). Noon-5:00 p.m. Götterdämmerung Seminar: Flyer with all speakers and Met cast
roundtable with reservation form: click here. Secure
online form for reservations: click here.
Spring 2012. Met Ring cycles. Many Society ancillary
events will be announced as we get closer to the cycles. Flyer and reservation
form for the Sunday, May 6 Rhine Journey on the Hudson (lunch cruise) will be
mailed and posted here.
Further details on Events page.
News from the Met
Principal Conductor Fabio
Luisi will conduct the Met’s new production of Wagner’s Götterdämmerung
which premieres January 27, 2012, and continues on January 31, February 3, 7,
and 11 matinee. He replaces the Met's Music Director, James Levine, who is continuing his rehabilitation after a fall last September that necessitated emergency back surgery
Gary Lehman, who was scheduled to sing Siegfried at
the Metropolitan Opera on October 27, November 1 and 5, has withdrawn due to
illness. Jay
Hunter Morris performed the role on those dates. Mr. Lehman has also
withdrawn from the Götterdämmerung Siegfrieds in January-February 2012
and will be replaced by Mr. Morris in some performances; Stephen Gould is
singing other performances.
The Met's Website, www.metopera.org
, will offer a free live audio stream of the Gotterdammerung
premiere on Jan. 27.
VIDEO CLIPS from three recent programs are now available
Meagan Miller, soprano, and William Hobbs, piano, January 9, 2100. Click here to view a clip from the Holiday Musicale program that they presented.
Waltraud Meier: An Interview and Reception
in Her Honor, April 8, 2011. Click here to view interview clips from the multimedia program.
Die Walküre Seminar, May 1, 2011. Click here to view clips from the Seminar: Met Cast Roundtable Discussion (Marjorie Elinor
Dix, soprano, and Stuart Skelton, tenor); and Jeffrey Swann, Prof. Edward R.
Haymes, and Hilan Warshaw, lecturers.
See the new Multimedia page for video clips from three previous
programs.
Wagner Society of New York
Phone: (212) 749-4561; Fax: (212) 749-1542
E-mail: WagnerRing@aol.com
E-mail Links: Wagner Society or WSNY
Webmeister
Press inquiries: 212 749-4561
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