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It gives me great pleasure to present to you the Annual Report for
the past year particularly in this year that marks the 20th anniversary
of the founding of our Society. It is of great interest that of the
twenty or so Founding Members thirteen are still actively involved
including, Reg and Betty Maloney, Michael Bookallil, Clare and Margaret
Hennessy, Sue Kelly, Mr Dennis, Julie King, Bill and Margaret Suthers,
Hugh and Janet Wayland and Richard King.
The Society was established to "further the knowledge and appreciation
of the life and works of Richard Wagner in Australia". It is
clear that, in the intervening time, there has been a noticeable increase
in the knowledge and appreciation of all things Wagnerian and that
the number of performances of his works has grown greatly. While we
can't claim credit for this alone I do believe that as a Society and
as individuals committed to our aims we have played a significant
role.ä
In the past five years, for instance, we have seen two new Opera
Australia productions, Tannhäuser and Der fliegende Holländer,
The Ring Cycle in Adelaide and the ongoing Concert Ring performances
by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. Our Society has been a Sponsor of
all these productions.
There will be Wagner opera, Lohengrin, and a Wagner Concert
in Sydney next year and two States, NSW and South Australia, are investigating
the possibility of mounting Australian Ring Cycles in this decade
and again we will offer our support.
In conjunction with the Concert Siegfried last year we arranged
a very successful inaugural Australasian Wagner Seminar and lunch
prior to the performance when we welcomed over twenty members of the
New Zealand Wagner Association as well as members from other Australian
Societies. We maintain contact with New Zealand and hope that we can
repeat the success of that gathering in the near future.
A very important initiative that came to fruition during the year
was our venture onto the Internet and we are greatly indebted to Marc
Greyling, Dennis Mather, John Studdert and the members of the Website
Sub-committee, chaired by Terence Watson, for the enormous amounts
of time given so freely to establish and maintain our webpage. We
have had numerous Questions and comments from around the world and
our first membership application via the net: www.wagner-nsw.org.au.Our
regular meetings continue to provide a varied program, however it
is a matter of some concern that the numbers of members attending
appear to be dropping and if this continues it will have serious implications
for our budget. The Committee has had some preliminary discussion
about possible causes and remedies and we would welcome your comments
and suggestions.
We continue to have a strong relationship with the Goethe Institute
but were sad to farewell Countess Baudissin who has always been a
good friend of the Wagner Society and we shall miss her. We do though
welcome Dr Goll and thank him and his staff for their support and
assistance. We also maintain our contact with the Consulate General
of the Federal Republic of Germany and thank Dr Roever and his staff
for their continuing interest.
It has been again been our pleasure this year to assist The Opera
Foundation by providing a return airfare for the Bayreuth Scholar.
This year's winner is Michael Black, Acting Chorus Master for Opera
Australia, and we wish him every success.
The Committee has had a very productive year, clarifying several
policy areas as well as maintaining the smooth functioning of the
Society. We were sorry that Onofrio Ferrara resigned during the year,
but time constraints precluded his continued involvement.All members
of the Committee have given unstintingly of their time and expertise
and on your behalf I thank them. Olive Coonan as Honorary Treasurer,
continued to be the backbone of the Committee. She is always the first
to offer to undertake any task no matter how big or small it might
be and her perseverance through the debacle of the Götterdämmerung
tickets is to be commended. We hope we will receive the tickets today
and you will have them as soon as possible. Clare Hennessy has been
a great help as Vice President, and as Membership Secretary she has
also been kept busy as our numbers continue to grow and a gratifying
number of members renew.
Shirley Robertson is another Committee member who undertakes a larger
role providing our afternoon teas each month and there is no doubt
that they contribute significantly to the pleasure of our Sundays.
This is a major responsibility as everything we use has to be brought
to each meeting and then stored at Shirley's home till next time.
Terence Watson, besides doing the Program, has, with Roger Cruickshank,
been a tower of strength. They have involved themselves in many areas,
the Newsletter, the webpage and policy development to name a few.
Barry Walters has been an industrious Secretary and has made the
running of the Committee deceptively easy. He has handled the Bayreuth
ticket application in an exemplary fashion and this is no easy task.
Lastly but not least, Lindsay Knight has been an enthusiastic member
of the group whenever time permitted and we have welcomed his input.Although
not a member of the Committee, I must mention our tireless Newsletter
Editor , Barbara Brady, who has done an excellent job and keeps the
Newsletter full of information and news. I would also like to thank
Cameron Dyer for his assistance in providing that invaluable section
of the Newsletter 'The Raven's Reporting' which keeps us abreast of
forthcoming Wagner performances around the world.
Sadly we say goodbye to several wonderful people today. Olive Coonan,
Clare Hennessy, Barry Walters and Barbara Brady retire today and we
shall miss them all. They have served the Society well in many capacities.
They have given of themselves far beyond our expectations and each
leaves an indelible impression on the Society that is to its great
benefit. To each of them a heartfelt 'thank you'. We shall not forget
what you have done. I know that you will continue to be involved in
different ways for many more years.
Reg Maloney, after twenty years of service to the Society has resigned
as Public Officer. We will not forget his contribution and his enthusiasm
for Wagner and his works.
Joseph Ferfoglia has graciously agreed to continue as our Honorary
Auditor.
You will be interested to know that Antony Ernst's Ring lectures
are ready for publication. Ian and Barbara Brady have transcribed
each lecture and an Editorial Sub-Committee of Barbara McNulty, Barbara
Brady and Terence Watson has worked in consultation with Antony to
prepare the papers for printing. We thank them all for undertaking
what initially seemed an easy task but turned out to be a major undertaking.
We gratefully acknowledge the generosity of all those who make donations
to the Society. These donations are critical to out ability to maintain
our support and encouragement for the various Wagnerian concert and
opera performances that we all enjoy so much.
Lastly I want to thank all the members of the Society for their interest
and support especially those members who regularly attend meetings
and contribute actively to encouraging interest and understanding
in the life and work of Richard Wagner.
BARBARA McNULTY
23 July 2000
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