Richard Wagner,

Transcription

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2 Richard Wagner, Copyright 2013 The Boston Wagner Society Inc.

3 Contents The Boston Wagner Society Turns Ten! 2 Mitchell Hampton Talks About Wagner 5 Words from Maestro Jeffrey Brody 6 The Ten Seasons 8 Board Members & Volunteers 17 Members Speak 18 1

4 The Boston Wagner Society Turns Ten! W hen I became a Wagner aficionada 22 years ago and joined the Wagner Society of New York, I mentioned to Harry Wagner, editor of Wagner Notes (and the spouse of the New York society s President, Nathalie Wagner), that the Big Apple was too far for me to travel for events on a regular basis. His response? Start a Wagner society in Boston! Starting a Wagner society in Boston was an impossibly remote solution to this predicament, as I had a two-year-old daughter to care for, plus my work as a book editor. Twelve years passed. One day, as I was editing a book on Wagner, I complained to my friend (and soprano) Andrea Matthews that I had no one to talk to about my passion. I had friends who loved classical music, including opera, but not Wagner. Andrea s solution? Start a Wagner society in Boston. This time I listened. On September 20, 2003, I handed out flyers (see page 3) to the audience of a six-hour Wagner marathon concert at First [and Second] Church organized by Richard Conrad, artistic director of the Bostonians. Carleton Gebhardt, who is now Treasurer and Bayreuth Coordinator, happened to be there. The flyer read: Calling All Wagnerites: A New Boston Wagner Society. Three people joined. Then two more. The news spread slowly by word of mouth. New members kept trickling in. I thought we would be lucky if we eventually reached a membership of 30. But the Society kept growing and growing. I published our first newsletter in the fall of 2003 (see page 4). Our first event took place in January 2004, a presentation by designer and stage director William Fregosi. In February I organized an introductory brunch at the Beacon Hill Bistro on Charles Street. News of a new Wagner society and the brunch appeared in the Beacon Hill Times. Several people came. Edward Pinkus and Ralph Menapace volunteered there and then to serve as Secretary and Treasurer respectively. Now we could take the necessary steps toward becoming an official non-profit organization. In the spring of 2004, my daughter, Sasha, who had just turned 15, designed our logo and Web site. We still use these. In May 2004 we held our first concert, with international singers Roy Stevens (tenor) and Annalisa Winberg (soprano) and pianist Jeffrey Brody. Meanwhile, we found a lawyer who helped us incorporate and earn non-profit status. Many members made donations to cover the hefty fee that the IRS required. In June 2004 we officially became The Boston Wagner Society, Inc. The following August, we celebrated with a party on the roof deck of our condominium building on Beacon Hill. Soon after, Maestro Brody became our Music Advisor and has been with us ever since. His knowledge of Wagner s music is astonishing. He knows every note, every nook and cranny of this composer s vast 2

5 oeuvre. I can ask him any question, and he will have the answer. He has been a huge asset for our Society. Our marvelous singers have also contributed greatly. Soprano Joanna Porackova, Contralto Marion Dry, and Heldentenor Alan Schneider have been our stalwart artists for several years now. We owe a big thanks to all of these local musicians. I remember Joanna coming to our rescue to save our September 10, 2006, concert. We had scheduled a recital of excerpts from Tristan und Isolde at St. Paul s Church in Brookline. We had a wonderful Isolde ( Joanna) and a wonderful Tristan (George Gray). Three weeks before the concert, George fell off a tree and broke a rib. We all know that one cannot sing with a broken rib, and certainly not Wagner! So I asked Joanna if she would perform a solo recital, and she graciously agreed. She sang Leonore, Elektra, Isolde, and Brünnhilde. And it was a wonderful concert. People on the sidewalk who heard Joanna sing walked into the church. Joanna has sung for us in many other concerts, and it has always been a great pleasure to work with her. I have also very much enjoyed working with Marion Dry, who is a Boston treasure and a terrific contralto, and Alan Schneider, who has a beautiful clarion tone and accurate pronunciation. In 2008 Maestro Rainer Armbrust, who had been assistant conductor at the Bayreuth Festival (and who recently taught the music of Tannhäuser to the entire orchestra and all of the singers in Bogotá, Colombia, for the first Wagnerian performance there), became our program advisor and regaled us with concerts and presentations. We are immensely grateful to him for his association with our Society. Calling All Wagnerites! A New Boston Wagner Society Dear Fellow Wagnerite, You are invited to join a newly forming Boston Wagner Society, a first for our city. The Boston Wagner Society will hold gatherings to enjoy and learn about Richard Wagner s highly innovative and enchanting music and librettos, publish a newsletter at regular intervals, and promote the performance of Wagner s operas in Boston (a rare occasion). To share our excitement for this artist, learn more about the Boston Wagner Society, or join our group, please us at boston-wagner@trovar.com. A familiarity with Wagner s music is not essential. Creative ideas, suggestions, and contributions to the newsletter are welcome. Come One, Come All! We thank Richard Conrad, founder and artistic director of the Bostonians, and his artists for their support in this new venture. The Boston Wagner Society s first flyer, September 20, 2003 In 2009 we were delighted to win a grant from the City of Boston. Over the last decade, our Society has grown, reaching a total of 130 members. Our members hail from many U.S. states and foreign countries, primarily the East Coast of the United States and Europe. Some have been with us since the beginning, and others are still surprised to discover that there is a Wagner society in Boston. To this day, I hear comments from new members who say: I didn t know 3

6 there was a Wagner society in Boston. Where have you been all these years? We have been right here, working hard to bring you stimulating events and thrilling concerts. Our newsletter, now designed by board member Susan Robertson, receives many accolades. And as the Society keeps growing, we can offer members ever more interesting events and famous speakers and singers. It s all so gratifying! It s also very gratifying for me to get to know so many wonderful people who The Boston Wagner Society s first issue of Wagneriana, page 1 share my passion. I cherish all our members, board members, volunteers, and artists. Of course, we couldn t have done all of this without your support. Your membership and donations are absolutely vital to this venture. The talents and work of our present and past board members and volunteers are equally important. We are fortunate to have so many resources and creative people in our city. We received tremendous help and advice, especially in the beginning, from Dr. William O. Cord, a founding member and treasurer of the Wagner Society of Northern California, who has since passed away. And Nathalie Wagner, President of the Wagner Society of New York, has been an invaluable ally and resource all these years. We are always in close touch with the New York society and often share speakers. I am immensely grateful to her and to Cord. William Smith, President of the Wagner Society of America (Chicago), is also a good colleague and friend. And last, I couldn t have devoted so much time and energy to our Society without the huge help, support, and encouragement that my husband, Paul Geffen, has given me. Due to his great love for music, he encouraged me to work fewer hours as a freelance book editor and devote them to the Boston Wagner Society instead. In addition, when I felt overwhelmed by the sheer amount of work, he urged me to keep going and volunteered to help with various tasks, whether newsletter mailings, solving technical problems, or giving advice. To him I owe very special thanks. Dalia Geffen, President and Founder 4

7 First interview from the December 2003 January 2004 issue of Wagneriana (vol. 1, no. 2) Boston composer and pianist Mitchell Hampton talked about Wagner s music, which absolutely affected his own compositions. His works (a piano concerto, clarinet concertos for Richard Stoltzman, a symphony, and a string quartet) are available on four CDs. Q. How do you, personally, feel about Wagner s music? A. It was among the first pieces I heard. I was six or seven when I listened to the Tannhäuser and Lohengrin Preludes on a compilation conducted by Eugene Ormandy. It was fabulous. I listened to it all the time. As a student at the New England Conservatory, I studied the Tristan Prelude. Q. How do Wagner s operas relate to those of his contemporaries? A. Oh, God, they re so different. Both Verdi and Wagner are passionately romantic and concerned with love, but in Wagner there is something otherworldly and transcendent, almost like Rossetti s pre-raphaelite paintings. Q. What is the significance of Wagner s operas in the history of Western music? This is revolutionary music. A. Before Wagner, operas were more one-dimensional. Wagner inserted an element of almost proto-freudian insight, a depth psychology. His music shows more about the human psyche than other composers music up to his time. The reason his works are so long is that he put forth a theory of the world about personality, sexuality, and love, as in Tristan und Isolde. He used ancient Mitchell Hampton Talks About Wagner myths, which by nature are one-dimensional, and through the music, arias, and harmonic progressions added to them a profound ambiguity. If you compare Schubert with Wagner, you see a quantitative difference; there is a greater degree of complexity in Wagner s music. In Tristan und Isolde, for example, Wagner pushed the tonal system to its point of highest expressivity. I can t overstate Wagner s influence on music, the history of cinema, and American jazz. The bebop revolution of the 1950s owes a lot to Wagner, as well as the concept of chromatic music that s highly tonal. Wagner lives on in Schönberg. Verklärte Nacht sounds like Parsifal. Q. Does this mean that Wagner invented a new kind of music? A. No. His music is still an extension of the tradition, but Wagner took a giant step in the history of music. Dalia Geffen 5

8 Words from Maestro Jeffrey Brody Every once in a while, one has a fateful encounter, one in which more often than not the import of it is either unknown or not immediately recognized. Writing this note while hearing the thunderous reception and the truly massive and vociferous amounts of booing and whistling of the new Bayreuth Ring as staged by Frank Castorf, I ponder the significance and influence of Richard Wagner on my own life. I remember discovering Wagner when I was twelve years old, and I saw, quite by chance, on my parents black-andwhite television a performance of Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops. They played Siegfried s Rhine Journey. I do not remember much about that performance. Considering that even in those days the Pops was still the BSO minus the first-desk players, it must have been of some quality, despite Fiedler s weird stick technique. He conducted everything, no matter what, in a big circle. I wondered if the players were watching him. Nevertheless, I was smitten. I had no idea that here was the composer who would prove to be the lodestar of my life. I immediately set out to read all I could about him. These were the days when the Solti Ring was coming out for the first time on vinyl. (Remember vinyl?) Many summers I washed my neighbors cars in order to save money for the 1952 Knappertsbusch Meistersinger, as well as each of the four Ring operas. Another person who played a most significant part in my life was my teacher Julius Chaloff. From the age of 13 until 30, I studied piano, harmony, analysis, counterpoint, and composition with him. He was like a second father to me. Everything musical I learned from him. What a plus it was to discover that he and I had a great mutual devotion to Wagner. Many were the times when he recounted attending all the Wagner operas in Berlin when he was a student of Ignaz Friedman and Hugo Kaun from 1910 to I still have in my library all his red-leather-bound original editions of the Wagner operas in pristine condition, with the annotation Berlin I remember doing extremely detailed harmonic analyses of Tristan, Siegfried, and Parsifal under his watchful, strict eye. And so this composer, Richard Wagner, has proven to be the single most important influence on me, especially in terms of composition. (What composer is not influenced by Wagner one way or another?) Along the way, I have had the experience of reclining on the composer s death-sofa, which at that time was in the deserted Haus Triebschen in Switzerland. I have had the chance to work with some of the world s greatest Wagner singers, including Leonie Rysanek. (Such history there!) I also met Friedelind Wagner (Wagner s granddaughter) at Wheelock College in 1967 where she was on a tour promoting her Bayreuth Festival Master Classes. She graciously autographed my miniature orchestra score of Meistersinger, and to this day I have the syllabus of her classes. 6

9 At long last I made it to Bayreuth, first in a snowy February in The theater was shut but the offices were open. The staff kindly provided a private tour to this awestruck American. I sat in the original conductor s chair in the pit. (It s still used today, as evidenced by the video of the 2013 opening night of Der fliegende Holländer.) I was on the stage, even though the iron fire curtain was down. I played the Tristan Prelude from memory on an upright piano in the pit. I was in 11th heaven. In 1976 I saw the first year of the Chéreau Ring twice and Wolfgang Wagner s Parsifal and August Everding s Tristan three times each. Most momentous of all, I was fortunate to spend a few precious hours with Winifred one on one, having tea in the exact same room where she had answered filmmaker Hans-Jürgen s Syberberg s questions the previous year. (I asked the same questions, I knew what the answers would be, but it really did not matter. Being in her presence was like being in an awful German history and Wagner family history.) She was kind enough to lend me a beautiful leather-bound score of one of Siegfried Wagner s operas. When I returned the volume to her, I said nothing about how the book made a resounding thwack when I opened it, for what was clearly the very first time since Carrying my Wagner activity down to the present, my good friend the opera impresario and singer Richard Conrad asked me to play for as many singers as possible in his six-hour Wagner marathon on September 20, The Boston Wagner Society, a hitherto unknown and new group, had placed some flyers there. I signed on as a member. And in the ensuing years I have enjoyed not only a great relation with both Dalia and Paul Geffen, but also the pleasure of arranging and performing our concerts, writing reviews, and even giving a few presentations of my own. It s been a fantastic and rewarding ten years with the BWS. I hope and pray there will be many more indeed. And so, I can say the influence of one composer (assisted by my teacher) has brought me into many other circles and events down to the very present. However disparate these may seem, however much by chance they may occur, they all come down to the influence of Richard Wagner. Jeffrey Brody, the Music Advisor of the Boston Wagner Society, is a composer, pianist, coach, and conductor. His most recent opera, The Picture of Dorian Gray, was performed by Longwood Opera in

10 The Ten Seasons January 10, 2004: Richard Wagner and the Post-Modern Production, talk by designer and stage director William Fregosi; Park House, First and Second Church (now First Church of Boston), Boston April 23, 2004: Icelandic Sources of Der Ring des Nibelungen, talk and book signing by Dr. Árni Björnsson; Union Club, Boston From left to right: Pianist Jeffrey Brody, Soprano Annalisa Winberg, and Heldentenor Roy Stevens beaming after the May 23, 2004, birthday recital May 23, 2004: First birthday concert, with Heldentenor Roy Stevens, Soprano Annalisa Winberg, and Pianist Jeffrey Brody, excerpts from Tannhäuser, Parsifal, Tristan und Isolde, Die Walküre, Siegfried, and Götterdämmerung; First and Second Church, Boston (see photo) August 14, 2004: Incorporation party, roof deck on Beacon Hill home of Paul and Dalia Geffen October 24, 2004: Yes, the Stars Have Brought Us Together: Richard Wagner and King Ludwig II, talk and demonstration by Dr. Oswald Bauer, secretary general of the Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts and chair at Ludwig-Maximilians University and the Academy of Visual Arts in Music; Hill House, Boston December 4, 2004: How Elsa Showed Wagner the Way to Siegfried: The Influence of Lohengrin on the Ring Cycle, talk by independent scholar Paul Heise; Hill House, Boston February 12, 2005: Screening of 1912 silent film The Life of Richard Wagner, with lecture by Dr. Paul Fryer, early-film specialist at the Rose Bruford College, London, and a new score by Barry Seaman; Boston Public Library, Copley Square May 21, 2005: Birthday concert, with Soprano Ellen Chickering, Contralto Marion Dry, Bass-Baritone Winfield Ford, and Pianist Jeffrey Brody, excerpts from Der fliegende Holländer, Das Rheingold, Siegfried, Götterdämmerung, Tristan und Isolde, and Parsifal; First and Second Church, Boston June 26, 2005: Lieder by Korngold and Wagner and an excerpt from Die Walküre, with Mezzo-Soprano Janice Edwards and Pianist Jeffrey Brody, plus a screening of the 1956 biopic Magic Fire; home of Dalia and Paul Geffen, Boston (see photos) 8

11 October 10, 2005: Ghosting for the Stars, talk by Donald Arthur, retired singer, actor, and coauthor of biographies of Hans Hotter, Astrid Varnay, and James King; Union Club, Boston November 5, 2005: With Shuddering Delight: Brahms s Tristan Syndrome, presentation by musicologist Dr. Ira Braus, with Brahms lieder by Mezzo-Soprano D Anna Fortunato; Wellesley Free Library December 4, 2005: Never Before: The Life and First New York Career of Astrid Varnay, documentary presented by Donald Collup, with never released excerpts; Wellesley Free Library (see photo) Clockwise: Arnold Garrison, Karl Wee, Andrea Matthews, Barbara Petery, Charlotte Wolfe, Audrey Lewis, Margit Smith, Erika Reitshamer, Barbara Donnellan, Robert Reed, and Carleton Gebhardt at the BWS s June 26, 2005, event at the home of Paul and Dalia Geffen (photo by Peter Bates) March 26, 2006: Concert with Contralto Marion Dry and Pianist Jeffrey Brody, lieder by Richard and Siegfried Wagner, excerpts from Das Rheingold and Götterdämmerung, and Elgar s Sea Pictures; First Church of Boston (see photo) Pianist Jeffrey Brody and Mezzo-Soprano Janice Edwards during the applause following the June 26, 2005, concert (photo by Peter Bates) February 25, 2006: Coming to Terms with History: Wagner, Nietzsche, and the Ring, talk by Professor Simon Williams; Union Club, Boston Presenter Donald Collup and President Dalia Geffen at the Wellesley Free Library on December 4,

12 April 21, 2007: Birgit Nilsson: The Swedish Soprano Who Tamed Wagner, talk and presentation by Erika Reitshamer, board member of the New England Opera Club; Boston Public Library, West End branch Pianist Jeffrey Brody and Contralto Marion Dry at the March 26, 2006, recital (photo by Dalia Geffen) September 10, 2006: Four Great Heroines of German Opera: Leonore, Isolde, Elektra, and Brünnhilde, solo recital by Soprano Joanna Porackova, with Pianist Jeffrey Brody and Speaker William Fregosi; excerpts from Fidelio, Tristan und Isolde, Elektra, and Götterdämmerung; St. Paul s Episcopal Church, Brookline October 23, 2006: Hans Hotter: An Operatic Giant, audiovisual presentation by Donald Arthur, editor and translator of Hans Hotter: Memoirs; Newton Free Library May 30, 2007: How Ludwig Feuerbach Influenced Richard Wagner s Parsifal, talk and presentation by independent scholar Paul Heise; Wellesley Free Library June 23, 2007: Classical Cooks: A Gastrohistory, talk and book signing by musicologist Dr. Ira Braus, with sample dishes cooked by Dalia Geffen; home of Paul and Dalia Geffen, Boston September 9, 2007: A Reading of Das Rheingold in English, led by designer and stage director William Fregosi; Hill House, Boston January 18, 2007: Richard Wagner s Midsummer Night s Dream: Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, talk and presentation by Dr. Yvonne Nilges; Wellesley Free Library Web Master Thomas Kwei with Contralto Marion Dry, at the fifth-anniversary celebration, September 20,

13 November 3, 2007: A Rather Unknown Wagnerian World: Siegfried Wagner and His Operas, talk and audiovisual presentation by Peter Pachl, biographer of Siegfried Wagner, stage director, and vice-president of the Siegfried Wagner Society; Boston Public Library, West End branch November 18, 2007: The Confessions of Winifred Wagner, a 1975 film by Hans- Jürgen Syberberg, presented by Music Advisor Jeffrey Brody, who personally interviewed Winifred Wagner in 1976; home of Paul and Dalia Geffen January 19, 2008: Love Banned and Unbanned: Wagner s Das Liebesverbot, talk and audiovisual presentation by Erika Reitshamer, then vice president of the Boston Wagner Society; Waltham Public Library February 23, 2008: The Importance of Ernest Newman, talk by Professor Hans Rudolf Vaget about Wagner s great English biographer and three of his German admirers: Thomas Mann, Theodor Adorno, and Franz Beidler; Wellesley Free Library April 19, 2008: Wagner, Buddhism, and Parsifal, talk and book signing by Paul Schofield, author of The Redeemer Reborn: Parsifal as the Fifth Opera of Wagner s Ring; Boston Public Library, Copley Square From left to right: Abigail Hansen, Hosts David Friend and Margaret Shepherd, and Professor Thomas Hansen at the BWS s fifth anniversary, September 20, 2008 (photo by Thomas Kwei) Maestro Rainer Armbrust sings Ludwig Thuille s Urschlamm-Idyll, with Maestro Jeffrey Brody at the piano, January 23, 2009 (photo by Thomas Kwei) 11

14 excerpts from Das Rheingold and Götterdämmerung, piano pieces, and Wesendonk Lieder; home of Margaret Shepherd and David Friend, Boston (see photo) Pianist Lloyd Arriola and Soprano Julia Rolwing at the Wagner and Strauss concert, May 23, 2009 (photo by Thomas Kwei) September 20, 2008: The Boston Wagner Society s Fifth-Anniversary Celebration, an all-wagner concert with Soprano Joanna Porackova, Contralto Marion Dry, and Pianist Jeffrey Brody; October 18, 2008: Wagner and Architecture: The Total Artwork Then and Now, talk and visual illustrations by William Berger, commentator on Metropolitan Opera Radio; Boston Public Library, Copley Square November 15, 2008: Wagner s Beguiling Tristan und Isolde and Its Misunderstood Aspects, talk and audio presentation by Professor Robert Bailey; Boston Public Library, Copley Square January 23, 2009: Reminiscences of Bayreuth, piano with four hands with Maestro Rainer Armbrust and Music Advisor Jeffrey Brody, song by Rainer Armbrust; Wagner, Liszt, Fauré, Thuille, and Chabrier; home of Margaret Shepherd and David Friend, Boston (see photo) February 22, 2009: Richard Wagner s Sources for His Ring des Nibelungen, talk with audiovisual illustrations by then Vice President Erika Reitshamer; Hunneman Hall, Public Library of Brookline April 26, 2009: The Two Rings: J. R. R. Tolkien s The Lord of the Rings and Richard Wagner s The Ring of the Nibelung, an audiovisual presentation by Professor Edward R. Haymes; Boston Public Library, Copley Square Pianist Jeffrey Brody, Heldentenor Alan Schneider, Soprano Joanna Porackova, and Mezzo-Soprano Rachel Selan during a performance of Act 2 of Tristan und Isolde on May 21, 2010 (photo by Thomas Kwei) 12

15 May 23, 2009: Birthday concert: Wagner and Strauss, excerpts from Tannhäuser and Die Walküre, Strauss lieder, including the Four Last Songs, and Liszt piano transcriptions, with Soprano Julia Rolwing and Pianist Lloyd Arriola; Pickman Hall, Longy School of Music, Cambridge October 31, 2009: Wagner Outside the Ring, lecture and book signing by Dr. John Louis DiGaetani; Boston Public Library, Copley Square From left to right: Soprano Joanna Porackova, Maestro Rainer Armbrust, President Dalia Geffen, and Heldentenor Alan Schneider at a Parsifal lecture and concert, February 12, 2011 (photo by Philip McAlary) January 9, 2010: Tristan and Ecstasy: Perspectives on Isolde s Transfiguration, talk with musical samples by Professor Hans Rudolf Vaget; Boston Public Library, Copley Square March 20, 2010: The Unknown Wagner, talk and rare audio recordings by M. J. Albacete; Boston Public Library, Copley Square May 21, 2010: Birthday concert: Exquisite Love Duets & Solos, excerpts from Rienzi, Lohengrin, Siegfried, and Tristan und Isolde, with Heldentenor Alan Schneider, Sopranos Joanna Porackova and Andrea Matthews, Mezzo-Soprano Rachel Selan, and Pianist Jeffrey Brody; Pickman Hall, Longy School of Music, Cambridge (see photo) Met Opera Radio Host Margaret Juntwait with BWS member Anneliese Henderson, September 24, 2011 (photo by Paul Geffen) Soprano Jane Eaglen with WGBH Host Ron Della Chiesa, in a Q&A, October 16, 2012 (photo by Thomas Kwei) 13

16 November 13, 2010: From Bayreuth to Hollywood: Richard Wagner and the Art of Cinema, lecture-demonstration by filmmaker and writer Hilan Warshaw, with rare film footage; Hunneman Hall, Public Library of Brookline February 12, 2011: Parsifal, lecture and concert, with Maestro Rainer Armbrust, Heldentenor Alan Schneider, and Soprano Joanna Porackova; College Club, Boston (see photo) Maestro Asher Fisch speaking about the Wagner-Liszt connection on September 29, 2012 (photo by Thomas Kwei) October 16, 2010: Richard Wagner: Self-Promotion and the Making of a Brand, talk, visual illustrations, and book signing by Professor Nicholas Vazsonyi; Hill House, Boston February 27, 2011: Tribute to Hildegard Behrens, an audiovisual presentation by then Vice President Erika Reitshamer; Hunneman Hall, Public Library of Brookline March 27, 2011: Creators of Worlds: The Influence of Richard Wagner on Gustav Mahler and Other Musicians, Wesendonk and Rückert Lieder, with Maestro Jeffrey Brody and Soprano Andrea Matthews; College Club, Boston May 1, 2011: Wagner and the Italian Renaissance, lecture with illustrations by Professor Hans Rudolf Vaget; College Club, Boston President Dalia Geffen with Jay Hunter Morris, at the May 6, 2013, Q&A (photo by Paul Geffen) September 24, 2011: The Met on the Other Side of the Camera and the Microphone, talk by Margaret Juntwait, host of Metropolitan Opera s radio broadcasts and announcer for SiriusXM, with a quiz and prizes; College Club, Boston (see photo) 14

17 October 30, 2011: From Bayreuth to Hollywood: Richard Wagner and the Art of Cinema, lecture-demonstration by filmmaker and writer Hilan Warshaw, with rare film footage; Hunneman Hall, Public Library of Brookline; by popular request, a repeat of the November 13, 2010, event with added footage February 17, 2012: Screening of Luchino Visconti s 1972 film Ludwig, presented by Music Advisor Jeffrey Brody; home of Paul and Dalia Geffen Soprano Joanna Porackova at the May 11, 2013, Ring Cycle Highlights concert (photo by Paul Geffen) April 22, 2012: The Unknown Wagner-Humperdinck Collaboration: The Premiere (since 1882) of Humperdinck s Musical Contribution to Parsifal, lecture-demonstration by Music Advisor Jeffrey Brody; College Club, Boston September 23, 2012: Those Ill-Mannered Girls: Brünnhilde and the Valkyries, lecture and demonstration by Cori Ellison, dramaturg and Metropolitan Opera panelist; Hunneman Hall, Public Library of Brookline Heldentenor Alan Schneider at the May 11, 2013, Ring Cycle Highlights concert (photo by Paul Geffen) September 29, 2012: The Wagner-Liszt Connection, talk and demonstration by Maestro Asher Fisch, with a concert of Liszt s piano transcriptions of Wagner s operas; Killian Hall, MIT, Cambridge (see photo) Bass-Baritone Greer Grimsley at the May 11, 2013, Ring Cycle Highlights concert (photo by Paul Geffen) 15

18 October 16, 2012: Q&A with Soprano Jane Eaglen, moderated by WGBH Host Ron Della Chiesa; College Club, Boston (see photo) April 13, 2013: Jon Vickers: A Man and His Music, documentary and presentation by Vickers s biographer Jeannie Williams; Hunneman Hall, Public Library of Brookline May 6, 2013: Q&A with Heldentenor Jay Hunter Morris, moderated by WGBH Host Ron Della Chiesa; College Club, Boston (see photo) May 11, 2013: Ring Cycle Highlights, bicentennial concert with Bass-Baritone Greer Grimsley, Soprano Joanna Porackova, Contralto Marion Dry, Heldentenor Alan Schneider, and Pianist Jeffrey Brody, with a Q&A moderated by WGBH Host Ron Della Chiesa; Gordon Chapel, Old South Church, Boston (see photo) May 22, 2013: Birthday concert in collaboration with the St. Botolph Club and the Harvard Musical Association; excerpts from Tannhäuser, Das Rheingold, Götterdämmerung, Lohengrin, Parsifal, and Die Walküre, with Organist Harry Huff, Soprano Joanna Porackova, Contralto Marion Dry, Heldentenor Alan Schneider, and Pianist Jeffrey Brody; sanctuary, Old South Church, Boston Some of the many concerts and appearances sponsored by the Boston Wagner Society 16

19 Current Board Members Dalia Geffen: Founder and President, since 2003 Carleton Gebhardt: Treasurer, since 2009 Brian Reasoner: Secretary, since 2011 Fred Meyer: Trustee, since 2011 Susan Robertson: Trustee, since 2012 David J. Collins: Trustee, since 2013 Board Members & Volunteers Current Volunteers Jeffrey Brody: Music Advisor, since 2004 Carleton Gebhardt: Bayreuth Coordinator, since 2004 Paul Geffen: Technical Coordinator, since 2004 Thomas Kwei: Web Master, since 2006 Rainer Armbrust: Program Advisor, since 2008 Susan Robertson: Graphic Designer, since 2010 Donald Rosenthal: Advisory Committee and Associate Editor of Wagneriana, since 2012 Holly Clarke-McAlary: Advisory Committee, since 2012 Program Advisor Rainer Armbrust, volunteer since 2008 Past Board Members Edward Pinkus: Secretary, Ralph Menapace: Treasurer, Robert Reed: Treasurer, Past Volunteers Karl Wee: Web Master, Peter Bates: Vice President, Linda Barlow: Program Coordinator, Erika Reitshamer: Vice President, Eric Larivee: Program Coordinator, Fernando Gargano: Membership Coordinator, Honorary Members Rainer Armbrust Jeffrey Brody Marion Dry Asher Fisch Joanna Porackova Alan Schneider Benjamin Zander President and Founder Dalia Geffen 17

20 been educational, interesting, and exciting. Looking forward to many more to come. Members Speak You do a wonderful job, and I am impressed with your depth and energy. Katharine Boden, member since 2012 All I can say is that Wagner has been an important part of my life (and my marriage!), and finding other people who have the same passion for Wagner is a joy. We were happy to host the fifth anniversary for the Society at our house, and it was great to meet the musicians and the other members. David Friend, member since 2005 Congratulations, Dalia! You have been doing a great job. We should all be very grateful for your hard work. Hope you will continue to be our maximum leader for at least another 10 years. Your programs have Thomas Kwei, Web Master, member since 2006 My wife and I joined the Wagner society this year. We have been amazed by the dedication and hard work of the Geffens; their constant communication with members is fabulous, and they have prepared very good events that we have greatly enjoyed, and they have kept us informed of other Wagner-related music festivals everywhere. (We went to the Wagner celebrations in Newport.) We are all very privileged to have such selfless and active leadership. We deeply appreciate the efforts of the Geffens on behalf of the Wagner society. Anthony Hernandez and Miriam Fuentes, members since 2013 The Society has brought to Boston a number of varied and highly interesting programs of authors, musicians, and commentators that we would not have had but for the tireless and ongoing efforts of the staff, especially Dalia Geffen. One program that still sticks in my mind is a film program by [Hilan] Warshaw, which made me run out and watch several movies. Also the lecture that brought together Wagner and Tolkien s Lord of the Rings. I also very much appreciate the numerous alerts to web-based material, especially videos. And the newsletter gets read immediately! Please keep it up! Renata Cathou, member since 2009 BWS Secretary Brian Reasoner with Eva Wagner-Pasquier at the 2010 Bayreuth Festival (photo by Sarah Mason) I was about 14 years old when, having finished listening to G[ilbert] & S[ullivan] operettas, I came across an LP recording 18

21 of Wagner s Das Rheingold in the library. As a young adolescent, the cover really caught my attention. I knew nothing about Wagner s operas. I was hooked and the rest is history. I have waited a long time, and thanks to Dalia, we finally have a local Wagner society in Boston! David J. Collins, board member, member since 2004 As an artist, I have appreciated not only the opportunity that the Boston Wagner Society has provided for me to sing this great repertoire but to also deepen my level of understanding of the composer, the character development, and musicality presented in the lecture series offered and the information in the newsletter. I have greatly appreciated the kind support of Dalia Geffen by recommending me to other musical professionals. We artists have always needed this kind of support. Having sung in a number of venues internationally, I can also say that I and other performing artists have appreciated the professional environment that Dalia Geffen has provided for us so that we may perform to the best of our ability. I would also like to acknowledge Jeffrey Brody for his musical support and in-depth understanding of the works of Wagner that he shares with enthusiasm and heart. The Boston Wagner Society is a treasure to Boston! Donald Rosenthal, associate editor of Wagneriana and art historian, member of the BWS Advisory Committee world (in spite of our small size). Over our next ten years, let s all pitch in to help Dalia, our founder and president. She s an Energizer Bunny; but she can t do everything alone. She needs and deserves the help and support of all our members. We ve grown too big to continue to make Dalia have to do almost everything to run this now-powerful organization. Please volunteer to help her out. If you enjoy Wagner half as much as I do, you re bound to find that meaningful and fun. Fred Meyer, member since 2005 Joanna Porackova, dramatic soprano and mezzo-soprano, honorary member since 2006 Message from Board Member Fred Meyer I m proud to be associated with one of the best-regarded Wagner societies in the Board members Fred Meyer and David J. Collins 19

22 We invite everyone to become a member of the Boston Wagner Society, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Our mission is to enhance the enjoyment and knowledge of Richard Wagner s profound and enchanting operas. Beginners and seasoned operagoers are equally welcome. Our annual dues are low: $40 for a single membership, $60 for a dual membership, and $25 for students. As a member, you will receive numerous benefits: discounted ticket prices to our performances and other organizations performances, mostly free lectures and presentations, tickets to the Bayreuth Festival when they become available, notifications of Wagnerian events all over the world, and a free subscription to our much-praised journal/newsletter, Wagneriana. To become a member, please visit our Web site. Contact Information info@bostonwagnersociety.org See us on the Web: and on Facebook and Twitter Editor: Dalia Geffen Associate Editor: Donald Rosenthal Designer: Susan Robertson Volunteers for This Booklet Proofreaders: Paul Geffen and Holly Clarke-MacAlary Advisory committee for this booklet: Holly Clarke-McAlary, David J. Collins, Paul Geffen, Susan Robertson, and Donald Rosenthal 20

23 Do I alone hear who hears those gentle wondrous strains of music, joyously sounding, telling of things, reconciling, sounding from him, piercing through me, rising upward, echoes fondly ringing around me? Ever clearer, wafting around me, are they waves of gentle breezes? Are they clouds of gladdening perfumes? As they swell and murmur around me, shall I breathe them, shall I listen? Shall I sip them, plunge beneath them, breathing my last amid their fragrance? In the billowy surge, in the ocean of sound, in the world spirit's infinite all, to drown now, descending void of thought highest bliss! Isolde s final words in Wagner s astounding opera Tristan und Isolde

24 The Boston Wagner Society