The Bayreuth Festival opened with a much anticipated production of Die Meistersinger von Nàƒrnberg directed by Katharina Wagner, daughter of Wolfgang Wagner. As the heir apparent to the family business, Katharina`s new production shows that the Festival...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Bayreuth Festival 2006: GàƒÂ¶tterdàƒÂ¤mmerung
This performance of Gàƒtterdàƒmmerung 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 Kàƒnig who, in the role of Hagen, is positively chilling in...
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 Tannhàƒuser. This summer he is making the crowds at the "Green Hill" go wild once again, this time with...
Bayreuth Festival 2006: Die WalkàƒÂ¼re
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...
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...
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...
Bayreuth 2006 Opening Night: A Preview
The Bayreuth Festival will open this year on July 25 with a performance of Der fliegende Hollàƒnder, Wagner`s first "mature" opera. This production is a controversial modern, Freudian staging of the work that has been greeted with boos year after year...
The 2005 Bayreuth Tristan und Isolde
In contrast to the first "complete" recording ever made at the Bayreuth Festival in 1928, which was the subject of our two previous podcasts, we now offer excerpts from the latest Tristan und Isolde from the Festspielhaus. This modern dress production...
The 1928 Bayreuth Tristan und Isolde (Part 2)
In our second and last podcast in this series celebrating the historic recording of the 1928 Bayreuth production of Wagner`s Tristan und Isolde, we take a look at the Act II Love Duet and the last act of this work. Although Act III was the most heavily...
The 1928 Bayreuth Tristan und Isolde (Part 1)
This podcast presents excerpts from the 1928 recording of Wagner`s Tristan und Isolde. Technical difficulties during this period of recorded history prevented British Columbia Records from capturing the audio during an actual performance. Instead, the...
The Italian Wagnerians
For many years, Italian was a second language to Wagner`s operas, as scores of Italian singers performed the composer`s music in their native tongue instead of in the original German. Based on his Italian performances, tenor Giuseppe Borgatti became the...
Performance Practices in PARSIFAL (Part 3)
In the conclusion of this three-part series, we look back at the work of American baritone Clarence Whitehill, who excelled in Wagnerian roles around the world, and first performed at the Bayreuth Festival in 1904. The program also features the work of...
Performance Practices in PARSIFAL (Part 2)
The second part of the show brings us past the Bayreuth Nazi Era, and all the way up to the 1951 re-opening of the Festival after the war. This podcast features a recording from the early 1920`s where the original Bayreuth Parsifal bells can be heard...
Performance Practices in PARSIFAL (Part 1)
In our premiere Podcast, we will explore the various ways in which Wagner`s last opera, Parsifal, has been performed since it first saw the light of day at the Bayreuth Festival of 1882. In this program we will focus on the way that conductors have...
You Found Us! -- Welcome!
After almost two years online, Wagneroperas.com is adding a new dimension to the website: podcasting! In a few short days this site`s first podcast will hit the air. We are very excited to be able to bring you a fascinating program about Wagner`s...
