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Dear Members
Welcome back after what I hope has been a safe and restful New Year
break.
Elke Neidhardt
At our November 2002 function, Elke Neidhardt answered questions
about her 2004 production of the Ring in Adelaide, and gave us an
insight into the process of direction an opera. (Terence Watson’s
review is elsewhere in this issue.) Ms Neidhardt began by challenging
us with a question of her own - why do Wagner Societies exist, and
why do their members hold views with such passion? After all, she
suggested, Wagner was not the greatest composer that ever lived –
most would accept that Mozart or Beethoven had more right to that
title - and yet these composers do not attract such militant bands
of devotees. To us, of course, the question is rhetorical and slightly
bemusing – how can anyone who has experienced Wagner’s music not be
passionate about it?
End of year party, and "Friends"
Our last function in 2002 was our annual end-of-year party, at which
we honoured six members as "Friends of the Wagner Society in
NSW". They are Sue Kelly (member number 4), Janet Wayland
(10), Clare Hennessy (19), Margaret Hennessy (19A),
Barbara Brady (380) and Shirley Robertson (416). We sometimes
forget that our Society exists today through the hard work, commitment
and loyalty of our "Friends", and the committee determined
to formally acknowledge this by introducing these awards, which we
hope to make annually.
Hildegard Perini and Amana Finlay
I regret to report that two of our members, Hildegard Perini and
Amana Finlay, have passed away. Hilde joined the Society in February
1985, and although frail regularly came to our functions. Barbara
McNulty attended her funeral on behalf of members.
Wagner performances in Australia in 2003
Looking ahead, there are three major Wagner highlights in 2003. In
Perth in February, there were two performances of Götterdämmerung
which were the centrepiece of the 50th Perth International
Arts Festival. (My review is elsewhere in this issue.) In Sydney on
March 27 and 29, Edo de Waart will give his last Wagner concert as
chief conductor and artistic director of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra,
the "Ride of the Valkyries", and in July Simone Young will
conduct a re-staged Meistersinger at the Capitol Theatre, which will
be her farewell Wagner work as musical director of Opera Australia.
The Society has given donations to each of these events - $2,000
for the Perth Götterdämmerung, $2,000 for the SSO’s Wagner
gala, and $3,000 for OA’s Meistersinger.
2003 membership renewals and Society functions and theatre bookings
As a result of changes to our rules at our last AGM, in 2003 we are
changing our financial and membership year to a calendar year. As
part of that changeover, membership renewals in 2003 will be for 9
months only, from 1 April to 31 December 2003, and therefore the cost
of renewing your membership will be three quarters of the previous
annual membership fee.
Your 2003 membership renewal form is on the inside back cover of
this issue of the Newsletter. Please complete it and mail it with
your cheque or money order to the address shown on the form. You can
also use this form to book tickets for our annual Wagner Birthday
function on Friday 23 May, for our joint Meistersinger seminar with
the Art Gallery of NSW on Sunday 7 June, and for our seminar and group
booking for Meistersinger on Saturday 5 July; details are below.
We are going to use the inside back cover of the Newsletter more
and more for forms like this, instead of posting them separately to
each of you. We hope that this will reduce our administration costs
and allow us to use your membership fees and donations more effectively
in supporting the Society’s aims, with our donations to local Wagner
performances, our support of the Bayreuth Scholarship, and our regular
functions and seminars.
From 2004, memberships will be for a full calendar year.
Friday 23 May – commemorative dinner for Wagner’s birthday
In 2003 we commemorate both the 190th anniversary of Wagner’s birth
in Leipzig on 22 May 1813, and the 120th anniversary of his death
in Venice on 13 February 1883.
This year to commemorate his birth, we are having a dinner at the
Women’s Club on level 4, 179 Elizabeth Street, Sydney 2000 on Friday
23 May at 6pm for 6.30pm. Our guest speaker will be Bill Gillespie,
OAM, the general manager of the Australian Chamber Orchestra. Bill
was formerly the director of the West Australian Academy of Performing
Arts, and was Artistic Director of the 1998 Adelaide Ring. The cost
per place for a 3-course dinner plus wine is $66, and you can book
for this using the form on the inside back cover of this Newsletter.
Saturday 7 June - Meistersinger Seminar at the Art Gallery of
New South Wales
The Art Gallery of NSW and the Wagner Society are jointly organising a Meistersinger
seminar on Saturday 7 June. There will be four speakers, including
Antony Ernst and art historian Arthur Lawrence, whose talk is
entitled "Glories of Nuremberg through the rose-tinted spectacles
of German romanticism and the effect on Wagner". The seminar starts
in the Art Gallery theatre with registration and morning tea
at 10am, and finishes at 3.30pm.
The cost, including morning tea and lunch, is $50 for members and
$55 for non-members, and you can book using the form on the inside
back cover of this Newsletter. Further information will be available
closer to the date in the June Newsletter and on our website.
Saturday 5 July - Seminar and Theatre group for Meistersinger
We have reserved 60 A-reserve tickets to the performance of Meistersinger
on Saturday 5 July in the Capitol Theatre, starting at 4pm. These
tickets are $165 for members, which is a discount of $30 on the normal
full price.
Prior to the performance, we are organising a joint seminar in conjunction
with a theatre group from the Wagner Society of New Zealand, which
is attending the same performance. The group from New Zealand will
be led by that Society’s president, Professor Heath Lees, who will
be the main speaker at the seminar. Those of you who attended a similar
seminar prior to a performance of Tannhäuser in 1998 will remember
Professor Lees as very knowledgeable and fascinating presenter.
"The seminar will begin at 10am at the State Library in Macquarie
Street and finish at 2pm, giving ample time to get to the Capitol
Theatre by 4pm. The cost, including lunch, is $35, and you can book
using the form on the inside back cover of the Newsletter. Further
information on the venue and seminar program will be available closer
to the date in the June Newsletter and on our website."
Sponsorship of the Adelaide Ring in 2004
A number of roles in the 2004 Adelaide do not have sponsors. Currently,
we have agreed to donate $10,000 to sponsor Stuart Skelton in the
role of Siegmund, but we would like to be able to further support
the State Opera of South Australia by sponsoring another major artist.
If you are interested in helping us raise money for this, please consider
making an appropriate donation to the Society when you renew your
membership. Remember, all donations over $2 are tax deductible, and
are receipted and acknowledged in our Newsletter.
2003 promises to be an interesting year, although a sad one with
the double farewells of Simone Young and Edo de Waart. We will have
to wait and see whether their successors have the same passion and
commitment to Wagner and his music as Young and De Waart.
Roger Cruickshank
22 February 2003
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