Wagner Operas Podcasts

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The Dutchman at Santa Fe with Francis and Julia 11/04/2023

The Dutchman at Santa Fe with Francis and Julia In this podcast my good friends Francis and Julia Creighton discuss their insights into the Santa Fe Opera The Flying Dutchman., which they saw this past summer. Francis and Julia discuss the production, as well as the incredible theater, one of the unique places in the world to hear opera. /episode/index/show/wagneroperas/id/28515212

An A.I. Summer at Bayreuth 07/12/2023

An A.I. Summer at Bayreuth This summer the Bayreuth Festival will present a new production of PARSIFAL that will use Augmented Reality glasses. It promises to be a landmark production in the history of Bayreuth. /episode/index/show/wagneroperas/id/27448548

The Wagner That Blooms in the Spring 05/29/2023

The Wagner That Blooms in the Spring In this podcast I am joined by my good friend, Francis Creighton, as we explore the custom of presenting Wagner at the MET during Spring time, which coincides with the 2023 new production of Lohengrin from the Metropolitan Opera. /episode/index/show/wagneroperas/id/26981577

A Lohengrin for the Ages 05/20/2023

A Lohengrin for the Ages This Lohengrin is one of the great recordings of the 1930's from the Bayreuth Festival. It features Franz Völker and Maria Müller, two of the leading singers of the time, in excerpts from this opera. Many consider Völker to be the greatest Lohengrin of the 20th century. /episode/index/show/wagneroperas/id/26900667

An Afternoon Walküre at the MET 04/02/2019

An Afternoon Walküre at the MET The Metropolitan Opera is currently presenting Wagner's Ring, and the return of the Robert Lapage controversial production. Last Saturday I attended a performance of Die Walküre, and the mechanical problems that plagued this staging during the first season now seem to be gone. /episode/index/show/wagneroperas/id/9233012

The Bayreuth Festival 2018 07/30/2018

The Bayreuth Festival 2018 It’s that time of the year, when that midsummer classic the Bayreuth Festival begins once again. This year I will be attending this yearly ritual, and ahead of me will be performances of The Flying Dutchman, Parsifal, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, and the new production of Lohengrin, directed by , the first American to mount a production at the Green Hill. /episode/index/show/wagneroperas/id/6867569

Herrmann and Wagner 04/08/2018

Herrmann and Wagner In this podcast, we explore the link between the musical score of Alfred Hitchcock’s masterpiece Vertigo, written by composer Bernard Herrmann, and the music of Richard Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde. The 1959 film, whose themes center on obsession, and the links between love and death, covers similar terrain as Wagner’s opera. As a result, Herrmann’s music at times appears to be a loving homage as well as a tribute to Wagner’s greatest work. /episode/index/show/wagneroperas/id/6458168

Parsifal at the Metropolitan Opera - 2018 02/18/2018

Parsifal at the Metropolitan Opera - 2018 When Parsifal is playing in town at the Metropolitan Opera it is a not-to-be-missed event. I was joined by my good friends Francis and his wife Julia, as well as my friend Vlad. Francis and I went to Bayreuth last summer, so he is well-seasoned in the works of Wagner, but this was Julia and Vlad’s first Parsifal. The reaction of my friends to this production, including musical interludes of their favorite moments from this opera, is at the heart of this podcast. /episode/index/show/wagneroperas/id/6272060

A Trip to Bayreuth in 1905 02/15/2018

A Trip to Bayreuth in 1905 A guidebook to the city of Bayreuth, written at the turn of the century, got me thinking: I wonder what a trip to Bayreuth would have been like in those days. In this video podcast we will take a trip to 1905, and listen to the glorious voices that graced the Festspielhaus during the beginning of the 20th century. /episode/index/show/wagneroperas/id/6262461

Wagner's Christmas 12/17/2017

Wagner's Christmas The Christmas season does not usually bring to mind the music of Richard Wagner, but it should, for on Christmas morning, in the year 1870, Cosima, the composer's wife, woke from her slumbers to a new composition written by her husband to celebrate her 25th of December birthday, and played at their house by her friends. The composition was the Siegfried Idyll, Wagner’s very special Christmas music. /episode/index/show/wagneroperas/id/6054564

Halloween with the Flying Dutchman 10/29/2017

Halloween with the Flying Dutchman The Flying Dutchman (Der fliegende Holländer) is Richard Wagner’s answer to Halloween. The story of a ghostly sea captain who is doomed to sail the seven seas for eternity is the perfect opera to enjoy during this spooky festive season. /episode/index/show/wagneroperas/id/5888269

Todesverkündigung 09/09/2017

Todesverkündigung Do you have a favorite moment in Richard Wagner’s monumental Ring of the Nibelung? I do. My favorite moment occurs in the second act of Die Walküre when Brünnhilde visits Siegmund to tell him that he will die in the field of battle and that she will take him to Valhalla. This is the famous “Todesverkündigung,” the annunciation of death, and it is one of the most famous moments from the trilogy. /episode/index/show/wagneroperas/id/5723305

Bayreuth Summer Artists 09/01/2017

Bayreuth Summer Artists My journey to Bayreuth this summer was filled with so many great performers by a host of very talented singing actors. Thinking about the month of August and the great performances I saw and heard, I started wondering what some of these same singers would be like in roles other than the ones I saw them in. And hence this podcast. You will hear performances by Stephen Gould, Johannes Martin Kränzle, Catherine Foster, and others. /episode/index/show/wagneroperas/id/5698254

A Tribute to Tannhäuser 08/24/2017

A Tribute to Tannhäuser After so many years of doing these podcasts I realized that I had never done a program dedicated exclusively to one of my favorite Wagner operas, Tannhäuser. So here is a long program highlighting some of the great moments from this romantic opera from the composer’s middle period. You will hear tenor Jonas Kaufmann, baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, and conductor Christian Thielemann, among others. /episode/index/show/wagneroperas/id/5673450

The Silenced Voices of Bayreuth 08/21/2017

The Silenced Voices of Bayreuth Currently at the Bayreuth Festival there is an exhibit called “Silenced Voices.” It is a tribute to the many singers, artists, and musicians who, during the Third Reich, were banned from the festival because they were Jewish. In this podcast I pay tribute to three of these distinguished Wagnerians: the legendary soprano Lilli Lehmann, the dashing baritone Herbert Janssen, and the great bass-baritone Friedrich Schorr, who was the greatest Wotan of his time. /episode/index/show/wagneroperas/id/5663909

Vincent and Francis visit Bayreuth 08/18/2017

Vincent and Francis visit Bayreuth During these uncertain days, when the whole world seems to be enveloped by confusion, war, and hate, Vincent and his guest Francis visit the Festspielhaus at Bayreuth and speak about their admiration for Katharina Wagner’s production of Tristan und Isolde, conducted by the dynamic Bayreuth music director Christian Thielemann. /episode/index/show/wagneroperas/id/5654697

Wieland Wagner: One Hundred Years 08/05/2017

Wieland Wagner: One Hundred Years This year we celebrate the one hundred anniversary of the birth of Wieland Wagner (1917 - 1966), the composer's grandson who in 1951 revolutionized the staging of his grandfather's work when he reopened the Bayreuth Festival after World War II with an astonishing production of Parsifal. His simple, dark, expressionistic style became known as "New Bayreuth." It was a revolution in staging, and it was a forerunner of the experimentation that exists today. /episode/index/show/wagneroperas/id/5611296

Bayreuth 2017 Opening Night 07/28/2017

Bayreuth 2017 Opening Night The Bayreuth Festival opened this week with a new production of Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Wagner's only comedy. Barrie Kosky, the director of this production has focused on the antisemitism aspect of Wagner's work. The results make for a very interesting night at the Festspielhaus. /episode/index/show/wagneroperas/id/5586121

René Pape at the Festspielhaus 07/22/2017

René Pape at the Festspielhaus It’s been ten years since my last podcast. During that time many wonderful things have happened. In 2012, after a wait of eight years I finally got tickets to the Bayreuth Festival. Now, this summer, I am very lucky to have a chance to go back. /episode/index/show/wagneroperas/id/5564067

Bayreuth 2010: Of Rats and Men and Lohengrin 08/08/2010

Bayreuth 2010: Of Rats and Men and Lohengrin No stranger to controversy these days The Bayreuth Festival opened at the end of July with a new production of Lohengrin directed by one of the best-known Regietheater directors, Hans Neuenfels. His tongue-in-cheek take on Richard Wagner's most romantic opera involved setting it in a land overrun by rats. There was laughter at the Festspielhaus and there were loud boos as well. /episode/index/show/wagneroperas/id/1154417

Bayreuth 2007: Katharina's Meistersinger 07/30/2007

Bayreuth 2007: Katharina's Meistersinger The Bayreuth Festival opened with a much anticipated production of Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg directed by Katharina Wagner, daughter of Wolfgang Wagner. As the heir apparent to the family business, Katharina's new production shows that the Festival wants to continue breaking with the traditions of the past. For some her new production is bold and innovative, while others have dismissed it as insulting Eurotrash. As you will hear, the boos and cheers mixed during this year's opening night. /episode/index/show/wagneroperas/id/1154415

Toscanini at Salzburg: The 1936 Meistersinger 06/15/2007

Toscanini at Salzburg: The 1936 Meistersinger Arturo Toscanini was the most sought-after conductor in the 1930's. He became the first Italian to conduct at Bayreuth, and would have continued performing there had the Third Reich not come to power in Germany. He left Bayreuth in protest and went to the Salzburg Festival. His complete recording of Die Meistersinger from 1937 is readily available, but the fragment that exists from a 1936 performance, taken from a shortwave radio recording, is very rare. We present this historical document in this podcast. /episode/index/show/wagneroperas/id/1154414

Richard Wagner: Before the Operas 03/09/2007

Richard Wagner: Before the Operas Richard Wagner composed his Symphony in C Major at the age of nineteen. It is clearly the work of a young man influenced by the towering figure and musical innovations of Ludwig van Beethoven. The symphony was given its premiere during the composer's youth, and then remained dormant for decades until Wagner himself resurrected it, leading the orchestra as a birthday gift for his wife Cosima. This private performance took place at Teatro La Fenice in Venice a few months before the composer's death. /episode/index/show/wagneroperas/id/1154413

Adrianne Pieczonka & Ben Heppner in Concert 11/10/2006

Adrianne Pieczonka & Ben Heppner in Concert For many opera lovers around the world, Canadian soprano Adrianne Pieczonka became a household word this summer after her critically praised performance as Sieglinde at this year's Bayreuth Festival. In this podcast, recorded from the Ballroom of Rideau Hall in Ottawa, you will hear two of Canada's finest singers together in concert for the first time. Superstar heldentenor Ben Heppner joins Ms. Pieczonka to perform Richard Wagner's Wesendonck Lieder, as well as arias from Die Walküre. /episode/index/show/wagneroperas/id/1154411

In Memoriam: Astrid Varnay (1918-2006) 09/18/2006

In Memoriam: Astrid Varnay (1918-2006) On September of this year, soprano Astrid Varnay died in Munich, Germany. She was one of the great Wagnerian sopranos of our times, and one of the artists chosen by Wieland Wagner to re-open the Bayreuth Festival in 1951. Astrid Varnay was one of the most successful sopranos of the 1950's and 60's. In the mid 1970's she came back to the stage in character roles. In this podcast you will hear her in the role of Brünnhilde in the 1955 stereo recording of Siegfried from the Bayreuth Festspielhaus. /episode/index/show/wagneroperas/id/1154410

Bayreuth Festival 2006: Götterdämmerung 08/16/2006

Bayreuth Festival 2006: Götterdämmerung This performance of Götterdämmerung brings to a close the new production of the Der Ring des Nibelungen at the Bayreuth Festival. One of the shining stars of the last evening was Hans-Peter König who, in the role of Hagen, is positively chilling in the third scene of Act II. You will also hear Christian Thielemann conducting the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra in Siegfried's Funeral Music, as well as the thrilling voice of Linda Watson as Brünnhilde in the climactic Immolation Scene which ends the work. /episode/index/show/wagneroperas/id/1154409

Bayreuth Festival 2006: Siegfried 08/08/2006

Bayreuth Festival 2006: Siegfried One of the delights of the past two Bayreuth Festivals was listening to tenor Stephen Gould mesmerize audiences with his impressive performances of Tannhäuser. This summer he is making the crowds at the "Green Hill" go wild once again, this time with his volcanic interpretation of the title role in Siegfried. In this podcast you will hear him sing this role, alongside tenor Gerhard Siegel (Mime), in the Act I Forging Song, and in the final scene of Act III with soprano Linda Watson (Brünnhilde). /episode/index/show/wagneroperas/id/1154408

Bayreuth Festival 2006: Die Walküre 08/04/2006

Bayreuth Festival 2006: Die Walküre At this year's Bayreuth Festival, one thing is certain: the new production of the Ring is receiving standing ovations thanks to the vision of director Tankred Dorst, the incredible conducting of Christian Thielemann, who leaves no doubt that he is one of the great Wagnerians of our times, and the amazing singing of Adrianne Pieczonka as Sieglinde. In this presentation of excerpts from Die Walküre you will also hear Endrik Wottrich as Siegmund, Linda Watson as Brünnhilde, and Falk Struckmann as Wotan. /episode/index/show/wagneroperas/id/1154407

Bayreuth Festival 2006: Das Rheingold 07/29/2006

Bayreuth Festival 2006: Das Rheingold The highlight of this year's Bayreuth Festival is the new production of Der Ring des Nibelungen, staged by director Tankred Dorst, and conducted by Christian Thielemann. This new production of Das Rheingold, the prelude to Wagner's "Ring," premiered on July 26, 2006. In this program you will hear extended excerpts from this performance, which was broadcast live to the world on Radio Bavaria. The cast features baritone Falk Struckmann as Wotan. /episode/index/show/wagneroperas/id/1154406

The Golden Age of Wagnerian Opera at the MET 07/02/2006

The Golden Age of Wagnerian Opera at the MET Most critics will agree that the richest period of Wagnerian singing in The United States took place during the 1940's, and '50's at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. This podcast pays homage to the incredible talent of those historic decades, and features performances by Lauritz Melchior, Helen Traubel, Herbert Janssen, Ramón Vinay, Margaret Harshaw, Otto Edelmann and others. Their voices are heard in live excerpts from Tristan und Isolde, Tannhäuser, and Die Walküre. /episode/index/show/wagneroperas/id/1154392

Wagner Operas Podcasts

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