Wagner Society in NSW Inc
The ‘Kangaroo Valley’ Ring

John Studdert

A group of friends, including a number of members and potential members, congregated at Society member Jane Mathews’ Kangaroo Valley house for an Easter Wagner festival.

In line with tradition participants were free to choose whether they wished to watch or listen over the four day occasion. As it turned out two thirds of the group opted for DVD presentations on the big screen, while the remaining third chose to listen on CD. (I feel that the proximity of the nibbles platter and the drinks trolley perhaps had some bearing on some decision to listen rather than watch.)

The organisation for this event was almost on par with Bayreuth itself. While Bayreuth starting times were adhered to the intervals were truncated to facilitate a more relaxed gathering for the main meal at the end of each opera (this condensing of breaks did not, however, interfere with pre-opera and other interval refreshments!)

Jane’s munificence and organisational skills facilitated a musical extravaganza that is almost on par with the Wagner festivals themselves. My yardstick for such events is enjoyment of the operas combined with the occasional shiver-down-the-spine mingled with great social interaction, undertaken within a framework of excellent food and wine. The ‘Kangaroo Valley’ Ring met all these criteria. The seats were also considerably more comfortable than the Festspielhaus.

Those of us who watched the DVDs were treated with: Rheingold – Karajan (Conductor and Director); Walkure – Copenhagen Ring; Siegfried – Kupfer/Barenboim; and Gotterdammerung – Kirchner/Rosalie/Levine. It must be said that decisions about which DVD to watch were made after passionate discussions and many votes.

The custodians of the nibbles platter and drinks trolley had a rich experience as follows:

Jane always ‘bookends’ the CD presentations with Solti, particularly given that the Solti Ring was voted the greatest recording of the 20th century in a recent BBC vote.

On Easter Monday the assembled throng dispersed. Some of us are privileged to repeat the Wagner experience later this year: Julie and Terry, Siegfried in Washington and the New York Ring in May; Dennis and John, the third Bayreuth Ring plus, Parsifal, Tristan, and Mastersinger in August; Donald and Stephen, the first Bayreuth Ring plus Parsifal, Tristan, and Mastersinger in July; and Jane, The Vienna Ring in May, the first Bayreuth Ring plus Parsifal and Tristan in July plus two other Gotterdammerungs.

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