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Dear Members
Recent Functions
2003 marks both the 190th anniversary of Wagner’s birth, and
the 120th anniversary of his death. Our inaugural function in February
was a talk by Professor Michael Ewans entitled "Wagner in Perspective
- 120 Years after the Master’s Death", which surveyed the
range of his contributions, the passionate views for and against which
he still arouses, and his continuing relevance. Professor Ewans is
an honorary life member of the Society, and his talk – which
itself aroused some passionate responses - will be published as an
occasional paper to mark this year’s importance for us. Professor
Ewans has just completed a book entitled "The Greeks in Opera",
and I’ll let you know when this is available.
To prepare for this year’s major Wagner event in Sydney, Opera
Australia’s production of "Die Meistersinger von Niirnberg",
at our March function we showed a DVD of Götz Friedrich’s production
for the Deutsche Oper Berlin, conducted by Rafael Fruhbeck de Burgos.
This was the first DVD we have shown using the Goethe Institut’s
new audiovisual equipment, and the increased clarity of the picture
and sound when compared with the videos we have shown
was astounding. In response to frequent requests, the DVD was shown
with English subtitles, which I found to be a mixed blessing. Sitting
at the back of the room I could hardly read them through all the heads
in front bobbing and weaving, and in the end I gave up trying. Our
thanks to Cecilia Segura, who provided the DVD.
The traditional Palm Sunday Parsifal meeting this year was a little
untraditional, with a talk by Antony Ernst in place of a video production.
While Antony demurred when I introduced him as "controversial",
his talk inspired some heated debate during our normally placid afternoon
tea. Antony discussed aspects of a number of possible interpretations,
including Kundry’s Jewish past as Herodias, the sin of mixed
blood (Kundry’s with Parsifal’s pure Aryan), Titurel as
God the Father (and his Nietzschean death), Amfortas as Christ, the
Redeemer redeemed. One member has responded to some of the issues
Antony discussed, and this may appear in a future issue of the Newsletter.
Future functions
We will not be having functions at the Goethe Institut in September
or November. In September, members are invited to attend a master
class to be given on Tuesday 9 September at the NSW Conservatorium
of Music by the renowned Wagnerian bass, Sir Donald McIntyre. Sir
Donald is a guest speaker at a Ring Cycle seminar in Adelaide on the
weekend of September 6 and 7, which has been organized by the State
Opera of South Australia as part of their preparation for the 2004
Adelaide Ring, and will be in Sydney after the seminar on his way
back to New Zealand. The master class will be open to the public,
and the cost will be $10 for Wagner Society members. More details
of the master class will be available in the Winter Newsletter which
will be mailed out in August.
On Sunday 16 November, we will hold our function at the premises
of Mr Denis Condon, 47 Station Street, Newtown. Mr Condon has an extensive
collection of pianos and rolls - Ampico, Duo-Art, Welte (red, green
and licensee) - and a Yamaha Disklavier. Some members will recall
a similar function held in 1994, when Mr Condon gave an introduction
to mechanical musical reproduction, and played piano rolls of works
by Wagner and his contemporaries. This is a unique resource loving
preserved, and I hope that you will make the most of this opportunity
to listen to these unique recorded performances.
Edo de Waart’s farewell Wagner performance
A theatre party from the Society attended the final Wagner performance
by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra under Edo de Waart. Entitled "Ride
of the Valkyries", the concert included the Siegfried Idyll
and a concert performance of the third Act of Die Walküre.
I exhausted my superlatives for the Perth Götterdämmerung performances
in February, and didn’t expect to have to dust them off again
this year, but I was very wrong. With Elizabeth Connell and Bruce
Martin (standing in at short notice), and the SSO in unusually fine
form, the performance was superb. I was a tourist to Sydney in the
80s when I first saw Martin’s Wotan in the Walküre with
Rita Hunter, which was the final stage of the ill-fated AO Ring, and
those memories came flooding back. I am looking forward to hearing
his Hans Sachs! For a concert performance, there were moments of real
emotion, for example when Elizabeth Connell looked tenderly into Bruce
Martin’s eyes and briefly took his hand, before he musically
kissed away her divinity. But the evening belonged to Edo de Waart,
who has in his 10 year tenure with the SSO brought quality Wagner
to a wide Australian audience. In this farewell performance, I was
almost willing to forgive him his love affair with off-stage microphones
and gimmickry, which I found so annoying in the past. Bruce Martin
didn’t need a microphone to sing "Steh, Brünnhild!"
off-stage, and we didn’t need the electronic sounds of thunder
either. I was overcome with such affection for de Waart by the end
of the performance that I almost willed him to annoy me one last time
by filling the Concert Hall with the soft glow of Loge’s fire
licking the insides of those great sails – and he didn’t!
We must wait and see whether his successor keeps Wagner in the SSO’s
repertoire and at the same intensity.
The strange case of Herr Wagner’s Steinway
2003 is the 150th anniversary year for Steinway pianos, and three
historical Steinways made a brief visit to Sydney, being displayed
in the foyer of the Angel Place Recital Hall on May 28 and 29. At
first we were told that one of these historical Steinways was currently
owned by the Wagner family and had been played by Richard Wagner in
the late 1870s, but this couldn’t be confirmed. The Steinway
people suggested that this piano be delivered to the birthday dinner
at the Women’s Club, but the dinner was held on the day the pianos
arrived in Sydney, and this dream arrangement did not eventuate.
Doctor Michael Bookalil
I regret to report that one of our foundation members, Doctor Michael
Bookalil, has passed away. Doctor Bookalil joined the Society on 26
October 1980, and was member number 2.
Membership renewals
A reminder to those of you who have not renewed that now is the time
to do so.
"Mark-up" on theatre bookings
When we organise theatre parties to concerts, we generally add a
small handling fee and donation to the Society, which is included
in the cost of tickets for members. In the past these amounts may
not have been clearly disclosed, and some members have asked why there
has been a discrepancy between the price we charge and the cost shown
on the tickets they receive. For example, members pay $165 for our
theatre party tickets to Meistersinger on 5 July. We will pay
Opera Australia $156 for each ticket, and the balance, $9, is a handling
fee / donation for the Society. In future, we will disclose the actual
ticket costs and associated fee / donation.
Roger Cruickshank 20 May 2003
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