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Path: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu!dreaderd!not-for-mail Message-ID: <music/wagner/general-faq_1083581613@rtfm.mit.edu> Expires: 14 Jun 2004 10:53:33 GMT X-Last-Updated: 2004/05/02 Organization: none Followup-To: humanities.music.composers.wagner Subject: [humanities.music.composers.wagner] Wagner General FAQ From: mimirswell@hotmail.com (Derrick Everett) Newsgroups: humanities.music.composers.wagner,news.answers,humanities.answers Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.EDU Originator: faqserv@penguin-lust.MIT.EDU Date: 03 May 2004 10:55:37 GMT Lines: 1899 NNTP-Posting-Host: penguin-lust.mit.edu X-Trace: 1083581737 senator-bedfellow.mit.edu 564 18.181.0.29 Xref: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu humanities.music.composers.wagner:21771 news.answers:270799 humanities.answers:759 Archive-name: music/wagner/general-faq Disclaimer: Approval for *.answers is based on form, not content. Last-modified: 2 May 2004 17:20:00 GMT Posting-Frequency: monthly Summary: General FAQ concerning composer Richard Wagner (1813-83). Information about the hmcw newsgroup and posting guidelines. URL: http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/wagnerfaq.htm Version: 2.16 ------------------------------ Subject: General FAQ for humanities.music.composers.wagner The list of frequently asked questions (and their answers) for the news- group humanities.music.composers.wagner (hmcw), with pointers to other sources of information. This version supersedes all previous versions. The current plain-text version of this FAQ can be found in the FAQ archive at < http://www.faqs.org/faqs/music/wagner/general-faq/ >. The bibliographical supplement to this FAQ ("Wagner Books FAQ") can be found at < http://www.home.no/derrick/booksfaq.htm >. Table of Contents I. Welcome to humanities.music.composers.wagner! A. Charter B. How should I read and contribute to this newsgroup? C. How do I read this FAQ? II. Who was Richard Wagner? A. Wagner's life, work and ideas * B. Wagner's political and racial ideas C. Wagner's philosophy and spirituality D. Biographical references E. Musical works F. Prose and poetry * G. Abandoned operas III. Frequently asked questions A. How can I get tickets to the Bayreuth Festival? B. Where can I obtain the Ring Disc? * C. Was Wagner a personal friend of Adolf Hitler? D. Wasn't Wagner anti-Semitic? E. Why does Siegmund sing the renunciation motif as he draws the sword from the tree? F. Why didn't Alberich use his ring to escape when he was captured by Wotan and Loge? G. Why is Valhall set on fire at the end of the 'Ring' cycle? H. Why didn't Wagner kill off Alberich? I. Who are the Wagner family and how are they related to each other? J. Does anybody know the title of the helicopter tune in 'Apocalypse Now'? K. What about Wagner's women? L. What is the name of the mortal woman who is mother to Siegmund and Sieglinde? * M. Which recording of the 'Ring'/ 'Dutchman'/ 'Lohengrin'/ 'Tristan'/ 'Parsifal' should I get as my first version? N. How can I get inside the Palazzo Vendramin in Venice? O. What is the difference between the 'Liebestod' and 'Isolde's Transfiguration'? P. When can I applaud at a performance of 'Parsifal'? Q. What new productions are planned for the Bayreuth Festival? R. Who were the Herodias and Gundryggia referred to in 'Parsifal'? S. Was Beckmesser based on Eduard Hanslick? IV. Where can I find more information? A. Offline sources i. What books should every Wagner fan have on their bookshelves? ii. Wagner's writings iii. Wagner's musical compositions iv. Diaries of Richard and Cosima Wagner v. Letters to and from Richard Wagner vi. Wagner-related periodicals vii. Sources for Wagner's texts viii. The Bayreuth Festival B. On-line sources i. A few good, general online sites about Richard Wagner ii. Web sites, synopses and online discographies iii. Web sites related to the Bayreuth Festival iv. Wagner Societies v. On-line libretti and scores vi. Related newsgroups and message boards vii. Museums V. Acknowledgements and Copyright ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: I. Welcome to humanities.music.composers.wagner! Welcome to humanities.music.composers.wagner! In this newsgroup we discuss Richard Wagner, his life, works and influence. Steve Milne started this group back in December 1995. His charter for the newsgroup provides general guidelines for the scope of discussions here. The humanities.* placement of the group is intended to reflect the academic orientation of much of the discussion. ------------------------------ Subject: A. Charter for humanities.music.composers.wagner The newsgroup humanities.music.composers.wagner is intended to provide a forum for mature discussion of all aspects of Richard Wagner. Subjects discussed in the newsgroup might include (but are not limited to): * The music dramas, their meanings and contemporary relevance. * Recordings of Wagner's music. Recommendations of recordings. News of forthcoming releases. * Discussions about performances of Wagner's work - both reviews of current opera productions and information about forthcoming productions. * Discussions about the history of the Bayreuth Festival, along with information about ticket availability, strategies for procuring tickets for the festival. * Debates about Wagner's artistic and theoretical ideas * Wagner's contemporaries their influence on Wagner and vice-versa * Wagner's influence on art and the theatre. ------------------------------ Subject: B. How should I read and contribute to this newsgroup? i. If you haven't already done so, now is as good a time as any to read the guide to net etiquette (or "netiquette") regularly posted to the news- group news.announce.newusers. There is an HTML version of the guide at < http://www.faqs.org/faqs/usenet/emily-postnews/part1/ > ii. If you are new to Usenet, then you should read the rules for posting regularly posted both to news.announce.newusers and to news.answers. You can find an HTML version of the posting rules at < http://www.faqs.org/faqs/usenet/posting-rules/part1/ > iii. DO NOT POST IN UPPER CASE. Submissions in a single case (all upper or all lower) are difficult to read. iv. Do not flame. A "flame" is an angry post. Sometimes you will find angry posts in follow-up to your own. The temptation may then be to make an angry post in response. Think first. Just because somebody calls you a bad name, doesn't mean you have to respond in kind. Just because someone disagrees with you, it does not mean that he or she is a moron. v. It is advisable to lurk for a few days (or even weeks) without posting, before you post a message. vi. Keep your postings to Wagner-related topics. vii. We may have discussed the topic before - check the Dejanews archive < http://groups.google.com/advanced_group_search > to see if past threads might hold the answers to your questions. Before asking a "basic" question, please read the latest "frequently asked questions" posting. viii. Specific questions are more likely to get useful answers than are general ones. For general information, you should try to obtain reference books from the lists provided in the Wagner Books FAQ (see introduction). ix. Avoid crossposting - ensure that your article is posted only to news- groups where its content is appropriate. Don't spam. Spammers will be reported to their ISPs. If you don't already know about spamming, then you should read the SPAM FAQ: < http://www.uiuc.edu/ph/www/tskirvin/faqs/spam.html >. x. Do not post binaries (pictures, sound files, etc.) to this newsgroup. Not everyone can handle those relatively large files and binaries in non- binary groups have been known to get those newsgroups removed from some ISP's. Instead put them on a web page or post them to an alt.binaries.* group and post a notice to their location on this group. xi. Do not post in HTML or any other format that uses styles. Some news- readers can only handle plain text. xii. The language of the hmcw newsgroup is English. Posting in other languages is discouraged. xiii. Many of the postings to the hmcw group will contain quotes in German and will occasionally quote in other European languages. It is therefore recommended that you set the options in your newsreader for 8-bit characters, Western European encoding and the ISO Latin 1 character set (ISO-8859-1). xiv. Keep line lengths to less than 80 columns. 72 is suggested, to allow for indentation of quoted text in replies. xv. When replying to a posting do not quote more of the original than is necessary. It is seldom necessary to quote a whole message. Some posting software automatically quotes the whole message when you respond but you should delete the portions of the message that are not relevant to your response. Use ellipses ("..."). Do not quote .signatures. Do not leave the entire earlier posting at the end of your own posting. xvi. If you are not familiar with logic but want to make a convincing case, then you should read the following introduction to logic and fallacies: < http://www.infidels.org/news/atheism/logic.html >. xvii. You will find that keeping your sense of humour will help you to get the most out of any newsgroup. ------------------------------ Subject: C. How do I read this FAQ? Each question/section begins with 'Subject:' on a line of its own. If you have a suitably equipped newsreader then you can automatically skip to the next 'Subject:' heading, e.g. "trn" will display the start of the section when you press ^G (control-G). Recently updated or new questions are marked with a * at the beginning of the line in the table of contents. ------------------------------ Subject: II. Who was Richard Wagner? This section provides only general background information. To find out more about Richard Wagner (RW), you could consult one of the many biographies; see subsection C below. There is a chronological table of RW's life and works at < http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/wagnerlife.htm >. ------------------------------ Subject: A. Wagner's life, work and ideas Richard Wagner (1813-1883) started out as a conductor and composer of operas, but he soon reacted against the 'whole clinking, twinkling, glittering, glistening show, Grand Opera!' Wagner (RW) concluded that what was wrong with the operas of the early 19th century was that drama had become nothing more than an excuse for the performance of music. He intended to reverse this, and to create 'music-dramas' (not a term introduced by RW but one that has often been applied to his later dramas) in which music would serve the purposes of drama. Therefore ideally the orchestra would be invisible and the action on stage would be 'deeds of music made visible'. In order to achieve a closer unity between poetry and music, RW became one of the first operatic composers to write their own texts. RW is perhaps best known for his cycle, 'The Nibelung's Ring', a massive work that took him almost 27 years to write. During the composition of this work, RW realized that there was no stage in Europe suitable for the 'Ring'. He set about raising money to build his own 'Festival Theater' in the small German town of Bayreuth. Although the first festival was a financial disaster, the Bayreuth Festival, which was the begetter of the whole festival idea, survives to this day. In addition to his talent for musical composition on the largest of scales, RW was a man of the theatre. His theories, innovations and experiments had a profound effect on the staging of opera and attitudes to opera everywhere. "A man with a genius for many arts has brought those arts, in his own work, more intimately into union than they have ever before been brought; and he has delighted the world with this combination of arts as few men of special genius have ever delighted the world with their work in any of these arts." (Arthur Symons, 1905) ------------------------------ Subject: B. Wagner's political and racial ideas Wagner tends to generate rather fierce, lively and often bad-tempered debate between 'Wagnerites' and 'Anti-Wagnerites', not least where his political and racial ideas are concerned. Dieter Borchmeyer has written: "The merest glance at writings on Wagner, including the most recent ones on the composer's life and works, is enough to convince the most casual reader that he or she has wandered into a madhouse. Even serious scholars take leave of their senses when writing about Wagner and start to rant. There are transcendental Wagnerians with their heads in the clouds, phallo-Wagnerians whose sights are set somewhat lower, meekly feminist 'WagnΘriennes' and brashly political 'Wagnerianer' -- and in every case there are their polemical opposite numbers, busily condemning and unmasking Wagner in the name of the very same values and on the strength of the very same evidence, their desire to unmask Wagner driving them to the very brink of scientific and psychological flagell- antism and persuading them to see a causal link between 'Parsifal' and Auschwitz." (From the preface to 'Drama and the World of Richard Wagner', Princeton, 2003). Wagner was Hitler's favorite composer; this coupled with his own anti- Semitism (as expressed most clearly in his essay, 'Judaism in Music', concerning which see below under 'Frequently asked questions') has made RW a controversial figure even today. His music is still widely boycotted in Israel; although a recent performance of the 'Siegfried Idyll' by the Rishon Lezion SO attracted, among a large audience, only one protester. It needs to be added that RW never advocated violence against the Jews, nor against any racial or ethnic minority. During RW's early career, he associated with radicals and revolutionaries (such as the anarchist Bakunin, whom some people regard as the model for Siegfried). For his part in the Dresden Uprising of 1849, from which he made a narrow escape, RW was outlawed in most of Germany and he went into exile in Switzerland. In his later career, under the sponsorship of the King of Bavaria, RW became more conservative (although he never renounced his utopian socialism) and nationalistic. He was particularly negative about the French, especially after the failure of his opera 'TannhΣuser' at the Paris Opera in 1861 (hence RW's 'A Capitulation' of 1870, in which he obviously enjoys the idea of the besieged Parisians eating rats). According to RW (in 'German Art and German Policy', 1867) the Germans were capable of developing a culture superior to the civilisation of the despised French -- a culture in which German art, not least Wagner's art, would occupy centre stage. ------------------------------ Subject: C. Wagner's philosophy and spirituality Wagner's study of philosophy and spirituality gave his music-dramas a depth and universality that sets them apart from most other works for the musical theatre. Although RW lost interest in institutional religion during his teens, he developed a lasting interest both in mysticism (both in western mystics such as the Dominican Meister Eckhart, and in eastern ones such as the Sufi poet Hafiz) and in that part of philosophy closest to theology. He dedicated his essay, 'The Art-Work of the Future' (1849) to Ludwig Feuerbach, the philosopher and author of 'The Essence of Christianity'. Commentators have seen the influences of Feuerbach's philosophy of religion and of Hegel's philosophy of history in the 'Ring'. Five years later, a friend introduced him to the writings of another philosopher, Arthur Schopenhauer, whose 'The World as Will and Representation' he read four times in less than a year. This book not only revealed to RW the meaning of his own 'Ring' poems, but led him to write new texts (notably 'Tristan und Isolde') that deal with human existence in terms of this philosophy. Infected by Schopenhauer's interest in Indian religions, RW began to study books on this subject recommended by Schopenhauer. These studies led him to begin a work that he never completed, the Buddhist drama 'Die Sieger', and to another which he did, 'Parsifal'. ------------------------------ Subject: D. Biographical sources It is sometimes claimed (inaccurately) that more books have been written about RW than anyone who has ever lived, with the exceptions of Jesus Christ and Napoleon Buonaparte. In fact there have been thousands of books and articles published about RW and his works, ranging from the scholarly to the totally wacko. A selection of the biographies of Richard and Cosima Wagner can be found in the Wagner Books FAQ, Section II. ------------------------------ Subject: E. Musical works The complete catalogue of Wagner's musical works is the 'Wagner-Werk- Verzeichnis'. It lists 113 works, although it is reasonably certain that no music was written for a handful of them. Here is a shorter list of the major works among them, grouped by category, with the dates of their completion and of their first performance: * Completed Operas and Music Dramas T= date of completion of text (with the exception of any small changes made later), M= date of completion of music, P= date and location of first performance. _'Die Feen'_ (The Fairies), grand romantic opera, WWV 32. This work is in a mixture of German and Italian styles. T: February 1833. M: Spring 1834. P: 29 June 1888, Munich. _'Das Liebesverbot, oder Die Novize von Palermo'_ (Forbidden Love), grand comic opera, WWV 38. This German comedy was completed in 1836 and performed only once - the second performance had to be abandoned before the curtain rose and the bankruptcy of the opera company prevented any further performances that season. The music is clearly influenced by Bellini, as well as by Donizetti, Rossini, Marschner and Auber. T: December 1835. M: March 1836, revised Spring 1840. P: 29 March 1836, Magdeburg. _'Rienzi, der Letzte der Tribunen'_ (Rienzi, Last of the Tribunes), grand tragic opera, WWV 49. This was Wagner's attempt to create a French Grand Opera in imitation of Meyerbeer. Wagner also acknowledged the influence of HalΘvy. T: early 1840. M: September 1840. P: 20 October 1842, Dresden. _'Der fliegende HollΣnder'_ (The Flying Dutchman), romantic opera, WWV 63. This is the first work in the 'Bayreuth canon', i.e. the works that are regularly staged at the Bayreuth Festival. It is a German opera on supernatural themes, showing the influences both of Weber and of Marschner (in particular, of his 'Der Vampyr'). T: May 1841. M: October 1841. P: 2 January 1843, Dresden. _'TannhΣuser und der SΣngerkrieg auf Wartburg'_ (TannhΣuser and the Song Contest on the Wartburg), grand romantic opera, WWV 70. Completed in 1845, but substantially revised at least three times: * Version 1. T: April 1843. M: October 1845. P: 19 October 1845, Dresden. * Version 2. T: Spring 1847. M: May 1847, revised September 1851, not published until June 1860. P: 1 August 1847. * Version 3. T: March 1861. M: March 1861. P: 13 March 1861, Paris. * Version 4. T: September 1861, revised Spring 1865. M: Autumn 1861. P: 1 August 1867, Munich. _'Lohengrin'_ , romantic opera, WWV 75. After completing this opera in 1848, Wagner became mixed up in politics, with the consequence that he had to leave Germany. As an exile, he was unable to arrange for it to be performed or to supervise the first performance, conducted by Franz Liszt. T: November 1845. M: April 1848. P: 28 August 1850, Weimar. _'Der Ring des Nibelungen'_ (The Nibelung's Ring), a 'stage festival play', WWV 86. Wagner's original intention, which was shared by a number of other composers at the time, was to write an opera based on the 'Nibelungenlied', to be called 'Siegfried's Tod' (The Death of Siegfried). Wagner actually got as far as writing the music for the first two scenes before he abandoned it, in favour of a cycle of four dramas. Once the text of all four had been completed (except for revisions later), Wagner composed the music to the first and shortest of the dramas in his cycle. _'Das Rheingold'_ (The Rhine Gold), preliminary evening of the 'Ring' cycle, WWV 86a. T: November 1852. M: September 1854. P: 22 September 1869, Munich. _'Die Walkⁿre'_ (The Valkyrie), first day of the 'Ring' cycle, WWV 86b. T: July 1852. M: March 1856. P: 26 June 1870, Munich. _'Siegfried'_ (originally 'Der junge Siegfried'), second day of the 'Ring' cycle, WWV 86c, was well under way before Wagner, despairing of ever getting this hugely expensive project staged, put it on hold. Wagner needed to find something more practical, if not profitable. He would not finish the music until 1871, and staging would have to wait until after a new theatre had been built for the 'Ring'. T: December 1852 (but then substantial changes during composition). M: February 1871. P: 16 August 1876, Bayreuth. _'Tristan und Isolde'_ , WWV 90, was intended to be a small, practical opera that Wagner could get staged. Interrupted by a marital crisis, it was completed in Venice and Paris in 1859. After King Ludwig put the resources of the Munich Court Theatre at Wagner's disposal, his revolutionary work was staged there in 1865. 'Tristan-fever' has continued to this day. T: September 1857. M: August 1859. P: 10 June 1865, Munich. _'Die Meistersinger von Nⁿrnberg'_ (The Mastersingers of Nuremburg), WWV 96. For the first time since 'Das Liebesverbot', Wagner returned to comedy (again of a rather heavy, Germanic kind). T: January 1862, revised January 1867. M: October 1867. P: 21 June 1868, Munich. _'G÷tterdΣmmerung'_ (The Twilight of the Gods, or Night Falls on the Gods), third day of the 'Ring' cycle, WWV 86d. The 1848 text of what had been 'Siegfrieds Tod' was substantially rewritten in 1852 and revised in 1856. It then gathered dust until Wagner had returned to and completed 'Siegfried', when he was able to compose the music for the final part of his cycle. T: December 1852 (revised May 1856 and 1872). M: November 1874. P: 17 August 1876, Bayreuth. _'Parsifal'_ , sacred stage festival play (Bⁿhnenweihfestspiel), WWV 111. Inspired, according to 'Mein Leben', on and by Good Friday 1857, this drama too had a long gestation. A detailed prose draft was written in August 1865, but the libretto was not completed until 1877. After it was first performed in Bayreuth in 1882, the Wagner family lawyers ensured that it was not staged anywhere else for the next twenty years. The Metropolitan Opera in New York was the first to defy Bayreuth, by staging this drama in 1903. T: April 1877. M: January 1882. P: 26 July 1882, Bayreuth. * Orchestral Works The young Wagner had ambitions as a symphonist. His first attempt was the Symphony in C of 1832 (WWV 29) an imitation of Beethoven. Although there were a few false starts, Wagner never completed another symphony. Despite the dismal failure of his youthful 'Drum-beat Overture' (WWV 10) in 1830, he persevered in composing overtures; the best example being the 'Faust Overture' (originally intended as the first movement of a symphony) in d minor (WWV 59) of 1840/1855. He also wrote a few marches, including one for the American Centennial (Grosser Festmarsch, WWV 110), written in 1876. Two other orchestral works are noteworthy: the Funeral Music (Trauermusik, WWV 73), for the return of Weber's ashes to Dresden, is for an enormous wind band. The 'Siegfried Idyll' (WWV 103) which at one time bore the title 'Symphony', and which is for an orchestra of 13 players, Ernest Newman believed had begun life as a string quartet. It was first performed as a birthday surprise for Cosima in 1870. * Choral Works Wagner composed a variety of choral music, of which the following pieces are the most noteworthy. 'Das Liebesmahl der Apostel' (The Love Feast of the Apostles, WWV 69) is a biblical scene for choir, first performed by massed choral societies in Dresden in 1843. It is a strikingly original work, despite its hurried composition. 'An Webers Grabe' (WWV 72) is another piece composed for the return of Weber's ashes to Dresden. It was performed at the reburial ceremony on 15 December 1844. * Vocal Works The young Wagner composed several arias for insertion into operas by other composers, including a bass aria for Bellini's 'Norma' (WWV 52). He also composed a number of songs for solo voice and piano, including (during his miserable existence in Paris) a setting of Heine's 'The Two Grenadiers' (WWV 60). The most important of his songs are the 'Five Songs for a Female Voice' (WWV 91), to texts of Mathilde Wesendonck (1857-58). These songs are closely connected to (or studies for) 'Tristan und Isolde'. * Piano Works Wagner's piano music mainly consists of small pieces, such as the 'Albumblatt fⁿr Frau Betty Schott' of 1875 (WWV 108), or the 'Ankunft bei den schwarzen SchwΣnen' (Arrival of the Black Swans) of 1861 (WWV 95). Three more substantial works were composed in 1831-32: the Fantasia in f# minor (WWV 22), Sonata in B flat (Wagner's official 'opus one', WWV 21) and the 'Grosse Sonate' in A major (WWV 26). In 1853 Wagner composed another piano sonata, in A flat: 'Eine Sonate fⁿr das Album von Frau MW' (WWV 85), which some consider to be the most important of these piano works. Wagner also made a number of piano arrangements during his Paris years, of which the most substantial is the four-hands version -- it could even be called a rewriting of -- the 'Grande fantasie sur la Romanesca' by Henri Herz (WWV 62c, 1841). ------------------------------ Subject: F. Prose and poetry Besides his activity as a composer and a librettist Wagner wrote an astonishing number of books, articles and poems: the list published in the "Wagner Handbook" contains about 240 titles. There are a number of minor writings that are not included in that list, however, so the total is probably over 300. The literary spectrum ranges from aesthetic theory to political speeches. ------------------------------ Subject: G. Abandoned operas In addition to works that were published during his lifetime, Wagner's output included sketches and drafts for stage works that were never completed. His first attempt at writing opera, at the age of 17, was soon abandoned and neither text nor music from his "pastoral opera", based on a play by Goethe, 'Die Laune des Verliebten', has survived. His next operatic project was 'Die Hochzeit', WWV 31, from which three numbers have survived, although he destroyed the libretto. Shortly after completing 'Das Liebesverbot' (see above), he attempted to write a grand historical opera, 'Die hohe Braut oder Bianca und Giuseppe', WWV 40. He completed only the libretto, which among other influences showed that of Schiller and which he allowed his friend Jan Bedrich Kittl to set to music. Kittl took such liberties with the book, however, in particular diluting the revolutionary content of the work and making much of the plot confused and unmotivated, that Wagner asked that his name be removed from it. The libretto that appears in volume 11 of Wagner's collected works is the one rewritten by Kittl; it is unclear how much of Wagner's text remains in it, although a comparison with his prose draft shows that Kittl made significant changes. At about the same time, Wagner drafted a comedy based on a tale from the Arabian Nights: 'Die glⁿckliche BΣrenfamilie', WWV 49. Unfortunately he abandoned the project after sketching the first three numbers. Later unrealised opera projects included 'The Mines at Falun' (Die Bergwerke zu Falun) WWV 67, 'Friedrich Barbarossa' WWV 76, 'Wayland the Smith' (Wieland der Schmied) WWV 82 and 'The Victors' (Die Sieger) WWV 89. Only for the last of these did Wagner sketch any music; see Osthoff, 1983. ------------------------------ Subject: III. Frequently asked questions The answers given below have been compiled from responses given to similar questions when they have been posted in the newsgroup. These answers do not necessarily reflect the views of the editor. ------------------------------ Subject: A. How can I get tickets to the Bayreuth Festival? 1. You can try writing, in English, German or French, to the box office of the Bayreuth Festival, not later than the middle of September, at the following address: BAYREUTHER FESTSPIELE Kartenbⁿro Postfach 10 02 62 D-95402 Bayreuth Germany Ask for a booking form. When this arrives, you will need to complete it and send it back, to arrive not later than the closing date (which seems to get moved earlier almost every year; last year it was October 15th). Now for the bad news. You won't get tickets. All you get is a 'negative' registered in the box office computer-system. You have to repeat this process each year until you have enough 'negatives' to qualify for tickets. Currently the waiting list seems to be about 8 years. The reason for this is very simple. In any season there are no more than 60,000 tickets available. Some of these are allocated to the Wagner Societies or to other organizations, and a few go to tour operators. The remainder are sold via the box office, which gets about 600,000 ticket applications each year. If you are not concerned about attending particular performances, or about particular parts of the house, you can write "EGAL" across the appropriate column. In other words, "I'll take anything". You might also improve your odds, by asking for older rather than newer productions. Do not rely on getting an order form automatically each year. Make a note in your diary to write in July. 2. You can join your local Wagner Society (see the list of home pages below). Each society gets a small allocation of tickets, probably in proportion to their paid-up membership. These are then allocated, usually by a ballot for which only members can apply. Apparently non-European Wagner Societies are allocated more tickets in proportion to their membership, than are European Wagner Societies. 3. If that also fails, the last thing you can do is come to Bayreuth and queue in front of the box office from early in the morning (with your evening wear in a bag, just in case) until just before the performance (when, sometimes, returned tickets appear as if by a miracle). 4. After giving up at the box office, you can sit in front of the Festspielhaus, in your best evening wear, holding up a sign that says "Suche Karte" and with a sad look on your face. Do not give up even after the performance has begun; sometimes patrons leave during one of the intervals and give their tickets to some of the pathetic creatures sitting on the pavement. At least you get to see the last act. 5. If money is no problem, buy a package tour that includes travel, hotel and a ticket. There are various opera-travel specialists who advertise in magazines such as 'Opera'. Call them and ask about Bayreuth packages. Try 'Carlson Wagonlit' or 'Thomas Cook'. 6. If you are wealthy, buy a ticket on the black market. WARNING! In recent years the attitude of the Festival management has hardened not only towards the "scalpers" who trade in black-market tickets but also those who buy such tickets. A "scalper" is anyone who asks more for a ticket than its face value. The Festival management regard such tickets as void and invalid. There have been instances of individuals with black-market tickets being forcibly ejected from the Festspielhaus and in at least one case dragged from their seats. It is reported that offenders are advised to leave Bayreuth immediately and not to return. So if you use a black-market ticket, you must be prepared to be black-listed for life. 7. If you are really wealthy, join the Friends of Bayreuth. At present the initial fee is DM 900, followed by an annual subscription of DM 450. Friends are usually allocated a limited number of tickets every second year. 8. If you are a writing person, then get a newspaper or a magazine to send you as their correspondent. You will have to write something for them, of course. ------------------------------ Subject: B. Where can I obtain the Ring Disc? The Ring Disc is available for $80 via paypal directly from the web site < www.ringdisc.com >. It contains the entire Solti-conducted 'Ring' in compressed but tolerable mono sound, linked to the score and libretto with translation. Requires a Pentium PC. ------------------------------ Subject: C. Was Wagner a personal friend of Adolf Hitler? Adolf Hitler was born after Richard Wagner died. Hitler was without doubt a great admirer of RW. Opinions differ on whether there was any kind of direct influence. The fundamental problem of the Hitler-Wagner link is that no-one has ever been able to satisfactorily explain or understand Hitler. This would imply that no definitive understanding of his relationship with RW is available at present. Sources that suggest that RW was an important influence on Hitler include Hermann Rauschning ('GesprΣche mit Hitler', 1940; 'Hitler Speaks', 1939) and August Kubizek ('Adolf Hitler, mein Jugendfreund', 1955; 'Young Hitler, the Story of Our Friendship', 1953). * Hermann Rauschning's 'Hitler Speaks' The widely-held belief that Wagner was an important influence on Hitler has been formed by the association of these two figures in the media and popular literature. Popular (i.e. non-scholarly) discussion of Hitler's relationship with Wagner ultimately relies on a single source: Hermann Rauschning's 'Hitler Speaks'. With the exception of a speech given by Hitler at the unveiling of a memorial to Wagner on the 50th anniversary of the composer's death, Hitler rarely mentioned Wagner in public. In that speech Hitler spoke of Wagner only as an artist; he said nothing to suggest that Wagner had been an ideological influence on him. Records and recollections of Hitler's private conversations reveal that he often spoke with enthusiasm about Wagner's music but never made any reference to Wagner's political ideas. So Rauschning's book is the only source that presents Hitler acknowledging Wagner as an ideological influence. In the early 1930s Hermann Rauschning was the leader of the Nazi party in Danzig. He fell out with Gauleiter Albert Forster over economic issues and had to resign under pressure from Hitler. Rauschning then left the Nazi party and Germany for the United States, where he reinvented himself as a Christian conservative, claimed to have been a close personal friend of Hitler, and wrote (almost certainly with the assistance of a Hungarian-American journalist called Emery Reeves) his book. For accounts of the origins of Rauschning's 'Conversations' see: 'Why Hitler: The Genesis of the Nazi Reich' by S.W. Mitcham Jr. (Praeger, Westport and London, 1996), p. 137; and '1933: The Legality of Hitler's Rise to Power' by H.W. Koch, in 'Aspects of the Third Reich' (St. Martin's Press, New York, 1985), p. 39. As was often the case with defectors of later decades, Rauschning tried to satisfy the curiosity of his new masters even when his information was very limited; and like other defectors, he exaggerated his own importance and the extent of his high-level contacts. In recent years it has been shown that passages in his book were compiled, by Rauschning and his ghost-writer, from Hitler's speeches or other identifiable sources (such as the writings of Nietzsche!); and so not recalled from "conversations with Hitler". It has been established that Rauschning only met Hitler on about four occasions, at Nazi party functions, where their conversations consisted of small-talk. The balance of probability is that those sections of the book that were not copied from already published sources, were invented by Rauschning and Reeves. "The research of the Swiss educator Wolfgang HΣnel has made it clear that the 'Conversations' were mostly free inventions." ('Encyclopedia of the Third Reich', ed Christian Zentner and Friedemann Bedⁿrftig, tr. Amy Hackert, MacMillan Publishing, 1991, volume 2, page 757). HΣnel's research, published in 1983, put the last nails in the coffin of Rauschning's reputation. In his acclaimed biography of Hitler, Ian Kershaw wrote: "I have on no single occasion cited Hermann Rauschning's 'Hitler Speaks', a work now regarded to have so little authenticity that it is best to disregard it altogether." The leading German historian Hans Mommsen has written: "The authenticity of RauschningÆs book, moreover, is no longer accepted today". ('From Weimar to Auschwitz: Essays in German History', Hans Mommsen, tr. Philip O'Connor, Oxford University Press, 1991, note 67.) Except by a few writers who have drawn heavily on Rauschning for inspiration (notably Robert Gutman and Joachim K÷hler). They have been reluctant to acknowledge their discredited source, which is only obvious to readers who are familiar with the relevant passages in Rauschning's book. Those who cling to the belief that Wagner was Hitler's ideological forerunner and therefore (as their only support) to the authenticity of Rauschning's 'Conversations' point to other historians, lawyers and journalists who have accepted Rauschning's account without question. Although this was common up to about 1975, Rauschning then became regarded with increasing scepticism and his book eventually discredited by the research summarised above, which revealed that the book was a worthless hoax. * August Kubizek's 'Young Hitler' Kubizek's recollections of his boyhood friend are a different matter, although also here there are grounds for suspicion that material has been elaborated if not invented. This book has long been popular with Hitler's apologists and sympathisers, for its unusually rose-coloured portrait of the Fⁿhrer as a young man. The Hitler described in 'Young Hitler' is no vicious madman, hardly even an anti-Semite, but rather an intelligent aesthete and visionary, a patriot who showed unusual leadership qualities from a young age. Kubizek's 'Young Hitler' made three significant contributions to the myth of Hitler's inspiration by Wagner: 1. He claimed that Hitler read at least some of Wagner's essays; 2. He claimed that Hitler made an attempt to write an opera based on Wagner's draft for 'Wayland the Smith'; and 3. The story that Hitler attended a performance of 'Rienzi' with Kubizek, that after that performance Hitler decided to become the leader of a revitalised Germany, and that when Kubizek met Hitler again in 1938 and reminded him of that night, Hitler supposedly replied, "In that hour it began." In his recent book 'Hitler and the Power of Aesthetics' (Overlook, Woodstock and New York, 2003), Frederic Spotts is sceptical concerning Kubizek's claim that the young Hitler read Wagner's prose writings and letters. Even more so concerning Joachim Fest's claim (1973) that Wagner's prose was Hitler's favourite reading matter. "There is no corroborative evidence for either of these claims. Hitler never ascribed any of his views to Wagner, not in 'Mein Kampf', his speeches, articles or recorded private conversations... Indeed, there is no evidence that Hitler ever read Wagner's collected writings, much less that they were 'his favourite reading'. The origin of the myth is probably Kubizek's book, where the youthful Hitler was said to have read every biography, letter, essay, diary and other scrap by and about his hero that he could lay his hands on. But Kubizek himself contradicted that story in his wartime 'Reminiscences', which he later expanded into the more marketable, post-war book 'Young Hitler'." A comparison of the two books is instructive. They were written for different audiences: 'Reminiscences' in 1944-45 for the Nazi faithful and the more polished 'Young Hitler' for a post-war readership. The evidence of the 'Reminiscences' is that young Hitler had been impressed by a performance of Wagner's 'Rienzi', and that Kubizek and Hitler wandered round the "dark, cold and foggy streets of Linz" after the show, and that it was a "memorable night". But Kubizek did not say, as he would do later in 'Young Hitler', that on that night Hitler had declared an intention to unite Germany. Or that, when Kubizek met Hitler again in 1939 and reminded him of that night in Linz, Hitler had said, "In that hour it began"; perhaps because those passages were written by Kubizek's ghost-writer? Apart from being popular with neo-Nazis, Kubizek's 'Young Hitler' has been a key resource for those who have portrayed Wagner as a proto-Nazi and as a source of Nazi ideology, such as Paul Rose, Marc Weiner and Joachim K÷hler. ------------------------------ Subject: D. Wasn't Wagner anti-Semitic? Wagner was an anti-Semite from, at the latest, 1850, when he wrote 'Judaism in Music' (Das Judenthum in der Musik). This essay was first published anonymously in the 'Neue Zeitschrift fⁿr Musik' in two instalments in September that year. RW took as his starting point earlier articles in which Theodor Uhlig had attacked Meyerbeer's 'Les Huguenots'. RW reprinted his article practically unchanged in 1869, thereby provoking demonstrations at the first performances of 'Die Meistersinger'. It includes the following assertions (page references are to Wm Ashton Ellis' English translation of the Prose Works, which follows the 1869 revision): 1. Jews are hateful (passim) 2. Judaism is rotten at the core; a religion of hatred (PW3 p90-1) 3. Jewish composers are comparable to worms feeding on the body of art (PW3 p99) 4. Jews are hostile to European civilisation (PW3 p84-5) 5. The Jew rules the world through money (PW3 p81) 6. The cultured Jew is "the most heartless of all human beings" (PW3 p87) 7. The Jews should, like Ahasuerus, "go under" (PW3 p100) RW, however, did not explicitly advocate anything like extermination; and in his private life had close Jewish friends who appear to have regarded him with considerable affection. Nonetheless, his second wife Cosima held strongly anti-Semitic views. After RW's death, Bayreuth became a focal point for anti-Semitic and right-wing individuals, encouraged by Cosima. This culminated in the marriage of her daughter Eva to the right-wing ideologue, Houston Stewart Chamberlain, who saw world history in terms of conflict between races. The son of Richard and Cosima, Siegfried, was more balanced, ruling out racial exclusivity at Bayreuth, but he died in 1930. His English-born widow Winifred developed a close friendship with Hitler when he was still a young unknown, and was largely responsible for Bayreuth's Nazi links. A good starting point for reading about RW's anti-Semitism is the book by Jacob Katz, 'The Darker Side of Genius'. A number of recent books have taken a fresh look at this subject, including: * 'Wagner: Race and Revolution' by Paul Lawrence Rose, who presented a view in which racial and anti-Semitic ideas were the driving force behind Wagner's creativity, even in 'Der fliegende HollΣnder'. Many Wagner scholars vehemently oppose this view, in particular harshly criticising Rose's scholarship; see for example Stewart Spencer's review ('Wagner', January 1995, pages 46-48). * 'Wagner and the Anti-Semitic Imagination' by Marc Weiner, is a study of Wagner's anti-Semitism that has been met with hostility by many Wagnerians, although other Wagnerians, including the author of this FAQ and also Anthony Arblaster in his review ('Wagner', January 1996, pages 44-47), think that Weiner sheds light on some dark corners of Wagner's character. These two books refer to earlier articles by Hartmut Zelinsky which ignited a heated controversy in Germany. Zelinsky interpreted RW as a proto-Nazi, and attempted to demonstrate that racial and anti-Semitic schemes lay beneath the surface of RW's music-dramas. Hartmut Zelinsky's published writings include: * In 'Musik-Konzepte 5: Richard Wagner: wie antisemitisch darf ein Kⁿnstler sein?', ed. H-K. Metger and R. Riehn. Article entitled: 'Die Feuerkur des Richard Wagner oder die neue Religion der Erl÷sung durch Vernichtung', Munich 1978. * 'Richard Wagner: ein deutsches Thema: Eine Dokumentation zur Wirkungsgeschichte Richard Wagners 1876-1976', Frankfurt am Main 1976, Vienna 1983. * In 'Parsifal: Texte, Materialen, Kommentare', ed. A. Csampai and D. Holland. Articles entitled: 'Richard Wagners letzte Karte', 'Der verschwiegene Gehalt des Parsifal'. Hamburg 1984. Although himself a critic of Zelinsky, Barry Millington has presented arguments for an anti-Semitic theme in 'Die Meistersinger von Nⁿrnberg'. The relevant articles are: * 'Nuremberg Trial: Is There Anti-Semitism in Die Meistersinger?', in 'Cambridge Opera Journal', volume iii, 1991. Reprinted in 'The Wagner Compendium', London 1992 and in 'Wagner in Performance', New Haven 1992. * 'Richard Wagner's Anti-Semitism', in the 'Musical Times', December 1996. Reprinted in 'Wagner', May 1997, vol. 18 no.2. Other sources that discuss Wagner's anti-Semitism include 'Aspects of Wagner' by Bryan Magee (who has also written an interesting article on the subject, included as an appendix to his 'Wagner and Philosophy'), 'Richard Wagner: the Terrible Man and his Truthful Art' by M. Owen Lee, and Dieter Borchmeyer in chapter 5 of the 'Wagner Handbook', in an appendix to his 'Richard Wagner: Theory and Theatre' and, at greater length, in his recent book on this subject (proceedings of a seminar held in Bayreuth). Hmcw participant Simon Weil has written a study, 'Wagner and the Jews'. It can be found online at < http://members.aol.com/wagnerbuch/intro.htm >. ------------------------------ Subject: E. Why does Siegmund sing the renunciation motif as he draws the sword from the tree? Several explanations have been offered. The simplest explanation is that the leitmotiven are not as closely tied to non-musical ideas as many people have thought; in other words the reason for Wagner using this melody at this point could be purely musical. Other explanations try to find a link between Alberich's renunciation of love, and later appearances of this motif: Fricka's condemnation of Wotan's treatment of Freia, Siegmund's drawing of the sword, Wotan's farewell to Brⁿnnhilde and her refusal to yield the ring. The occurrence in 'Die Walkⁿre' act one has been regarded as problematic, for example by Cooke in his book 'I Saw the World End'. It was suggested that this is an example of dramatic irony: the sword-redemption is an ironic moment, not only because of events in the immediate future, but because for the first time, on a human level, Wagner reveals and celebrates the protagonistic force (love) that will overcome worldly and godly power. Discussion of what this motif might signify usually results in alternative names being suggested for a motif that von Wolzogen called, 'Renunciation'. The names suggested by participants in hmcw have included 'Acceptance of Destiny', and 'Power of Love'. Another suggestion was that since Siegmund's words are "Holiest Love's Deepest Distress", Wagner is attempting to draw our attention not to Siegmund's distress, but rather to the more far reaching distress of love itself, as it is threatened by the loveless machinations of Alberich. Monte Stone, an occasional participant in hmcw, has included commentary on this motif on his 'Ring-disc' (see B above). Stone notes that in one of Wagner's drafts for 'Das Rheingold', he appears to refer to this motif as 'Love-Curse' (Liebesfluch), which is the name used by Darcy in his book about this drama. Stone observes that Alberich goes beyond the renunciation of love -- Alberich curses love itself. Later, "during Siegmund's passionate affirmation of love, we are reminded of the curse under which love labors, and we are given a brief but grim foreshadowing of the fate in store for these lovers". ------------------------------ Subject: F. Why didn't Alberich use his ring to escape when he was captured by Wotan and Loge? Perhaps because, from the moment Alberich's caught, his hands are tied, so he cannot reach the ring, as he seems to need to. Only when he agrees to the ransom, and sends his command to the Nibelungs, is he allowed to get at it again. So that, one guesses, would be the time to use its power. In productions by Scottish Opera and ENO, among others, Alberich was thoroughly trussed up as Wagner intended, with only one hand freed to wield the ring, and Wotan had his spearpoint at Alberich's throat throughout. Or, for the same reason it couldn't protect Brunnhilde in 'G÷tterdΣmmerung', Act I. The ring never had that kind of power. Deryck Cooke's, in 'I Saw the World End', asserts that the Ring was only good for finding wealth, i.e. gold. Alberich uses it for that purpose in 'Das Rheingold', and that is the reason Wotan wants it so badly. The power of the ring isn't a direct, blow-them-away kind of power, although obviously it can help him create such things. It cannot destroy rope or chains, or make them come loose. Finally, it might be that the ring does not have any power, except over those who fear it. Therefore it does not have any effect on the disguised Siegfried, who never learned (or has forgotten that he had learned) fear. If Brⁿnnhilde had been a little smarter, she would have realised from this that her captor was Siegfried in disguise. ------------------------------ Subject: G. Why is Valhall set on fire at the end of the 'Ring' cycle? Wagner said that Wotan had ended up by willing his own destruction. Wotan loses part of himself, a part that continues to live in his daughter Brⁿnnhilde. She learns, and teaches Wotan, that love wins over power, in the end. Not only is Valhall destroyed, but the Earth is purified by fire and water. Perhaps Valhall burns for the same reason Manderly burns in 'Rebecca' and Atlanta burns in 'Gone with the Wind': to symbolize the end of the old and the beginning of the new. ------------------------------ Subject: H. Why didn't Wagner kill off Alberich? Some argue that Alberich *is* killed in the final apocalypse, we just don't get to see it on stage. In a recent production in Stuttgart, Alberich was killed on stage. But it has become fashionable in many recent performances to speculate that Alberich *is* the only survivor, and that he is plotting to steal the gold yet again...in other words, the stealing of the gold is a sort of 'eternal recurrence' in which events are doomed to repeat themselves throughout eternity. In the Barenboim/Kupfer 'Ring', before the music starts, the curtain opens on a full stage, and Alberich is lying on the stage in the forefront. The other characters soundlessly depart, then the music begins, and when it is time for Alberich to enter the scene, he simply stands up rather than entering from offstage. When we reach the conclusion of 'G÷tterdΣmmerung', Alberich arrives on stage just as the gold is returned to the Rhinemaidens, and then he ends up in the exact same spot where he is at the beginning. Presumably the figures on stage at the beginning of 'Das Rheingold' were the participants in some earlier 'Ring' cycle. In other words, Alberich is the linking element between an infinite series of dramas in which Alberich fights to obtain the gold. The Chicago 'Ring' also used this idea, as the last image on stage is of Alberich and a group of Nibelungs under his control manipulating some sort of ring-shaped device. ------------------------------ Subject: I. Who are the Wagner family and how are they related to each other? The following members of the Wagner family often are mentioned in the newsgroup: i. Wolfgang Wagner (b. 1919) is the present head of the family and chief administrator of the Bayreuth Festival. Wolfgang and his brother Wieland were the prime movers in the revival of the Festival after WW2 and in the development of the "New Bayreuth" style of production that was first presented at the 1951 Festival. The English edition of his autobiography 'Acts' appeared in 1994. ii. Wieland Wagner (1917-1966) has been widely regarded as one of the most gifted directors in the history of the theatre. Inspired by the theories of Adolphe Appia, Wieland designed and produced minimalist stagings of his grandfather's works in Bayreuth and elsewhere. These productions emphasised the epic and universal in the Wagner dramas and explored the texts from a viewpoint of depth psychology. See Penelope Turing's book 'New Bayreuth' (1969). iii. Nike Wagner (b. 1945) is a daughter of Wieland Wagner and Gertrud Reissiger. Nike has been openly critical of Wolfgang Wagner and of the current administration of the Bayreuth Festival. Her latest book has appeared in English translation as 'The Wagners: The Dramas of a Musical Dynasty' (2001). iv. Eva Wagner-Pasquier (b. 1945) is the daughter of Wolfgang Wagner and his first wife Ellen Drexel. Eva has been named to succeed her father as chief administrator of the Bayreuth Festival by its Board of Directors. v. Gottfried Wagner (b. 1947) is the estranged son of Wolfgang Wagner and Ellen Drexel. Over recent years Gottfried has moved from a position in which he criticised Richard Wagner's life and works, the achievements of his own family and the Bayreuth Festival as it exists, to a position of active hostility. His autobiography has appeared under various titles including 'He who does not howl with the wolf' (1998). Adolf Hitler was known to the young Wolfgang Wagner as "Uncle Wolf". vi. Katharina Wagner (b. 1978) is the daughter of Wolfgang and Gudrun Wagner. She will make her debut as opera producer in September 2002 with "Der fliegende HollΣnder" at Mainfrankentheater in Wⁿrzburg. There is a fairly complete family tree showing the descendants of Richard and Cosima Wagner on the Web < http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/wagtree.gif > (produced by Joseph Erbacher). ------------------------------ Subject: J. Does anybody know the title of the helicopter tune in 'Apocalypse Now'? The 'Ride of the Valkyries' (Der Ritt der Walkⁿren) from the music-drama, 'The Valkyrie' (Die Walkⁿre). It is played at the start of the third act. ------------------------------ Subject: K. What about Wagner's women? RW's posthumous reputation as a womaniser is not justified by what is known of his liaisons. Wagner's more significant, intimate relationships with members of the female sex involved: i. Wilhelmine (Minna) Wagner nΘe Planer (1809-1866) RW's biographers are critical of his treatment of Minna, perhaps more so than the facts support. The young Wagner married a woman who was in no way suitable for him, given that her intellect and interests were no match for Richard's own. She had been seduced at the age of 15, and had a daughter, Nathalie, who was always passed off as her little sister. It was later discovered that Minna would not be able to have any more children, and the Wagners considered adopting a child. Within a few weeks of their wedding in 1836, Minna ran off with another man. Richard accepted her back, and she stuck by him during the turbulence and hardship of their years in Riga, London, Paris and Dresden. Finally she followed him into exile in Switzerland, where their marriage was wrecked on the rocks of 'Tristan und Isolde'. Richard, to his credit, continued to support Minna financially (or at least, his creditors did so!) until her death; although at one time he considered seeking a divorce. ii. Jessie Laussot nΘe Taylor (1829-1905) The musical, English-born wife of a Bordeaux wine merchant. Richard and Jessie had a brief but passionate affair there in 1850, but plans to elope to Greece were prevented by the intervention of her husband. Jessie left him soon after and moved to Florence, where she lived with and later married the essayist Karl Hillebrand. Jessie was also a friend to Liszt, von Bⁿlow and Julie Ritter, mother of Karl Ritter and a benefactor of Wagner; before the Bordeaux affair, Jessie and Julie had plans to set up a fund for Wagner's financial support. iii. Mathilde Wesendonck nΘe Luckemeyer (1828-1902) Poet and author. Richard and Mathilde exchanged voluminous correspondence over more than a decade. Otto and Mathilde Wesendonck helped the Wagners financially and provided a home for them, in the form of 'Der Asyl', a cottage in the grounds of their Zurich mansion. RW's friendship for Mathilde developed into love, and she became the muse to the poet as he wrote the text and music of 'Tristan und Isolde'. Eventually, Minna could tolerate the intimacy of Mathilde and her husband no longer; there was a crisis, after which Richard left Zurich for Venice, where he resumed work on his music-drama in relative calm. iv. Friederike Meyer (?-?) Actress, sister of Frau Meyer-Dustmann of the Vienna Opera. It seems that Friederike had a brief affair with Wagner in 1862, after he had separated from Minna. As a result of the affair, Wagner had difficulties in getting 'Tristan und Isolde' staged at the Vienna Opera. v. Mathilde Maier (1833-1910) Mathilde seems to have been a sweet-natured young woman, whose heart went out to the unhappy composer she met at Schott's house in Mainz in 1862. It is almost certain that Wagner considered marrying her; he might even have proposed. Unlike some of Wagner's other women, she is mentioned in his autobiography. vi. Cosima von Bⁿlow nΘe Liszt (1837-1930) Cosima was the illegitimate daughter of the Hungarian composer Franz Liszt and the French aristocrat, the Countess Marie d'Agoult. As a result of this parentage, no doubt, she became an ardent German nationalist. She married the composer and pianist Hans von Bⁿlow, and it was as the Baroness von Bⁿlow that she first met RW; the occasion was a visit to Zurich, during which Wagner read the poem of his 'Tristan und Isolde' to a small gathering that included Minna, Cosima and Mathilde. Later, with her marriage under strain, she began an affair with Wagner. Their conduct scandalised the Munich public. Wagner had told King Ludwig that he and Cosima were just good friends, but this relationship was put to a test when Malwida Schnorr von Carolsfeld (the first Isolde) revealed to Ludwig that Cosima was Richard's mistress. The only person who seems to have taken the whole affair calmly was Hans, who remained a faithful friend and supporter to the Wagners for the rest of his life. After the death of Minna Wagner and the completion of divorce proceedings, Cosima and Richard were able to marry. Cosima remained at Wagner's side for the rest of his life. Apart from running the Wagner household, Cosima acted as her husband's secretary. She also recorded Richard's life in deeds and words, in the diary entries that she made almost every day. They were inseparable in life and in death. On 13 February 1883, Richard died in Cosima's arms; she then held onto his body for the next 24 hours. After the funeral, Cosima began to take charge of the Bayreuth Festival, which remained under her administration and artistic control until a series of strokes incapacitated her in December 1906. After her death in 1930, Cosima was buried beside Richard in the garden of Haus Wahnfried. vii. Judith MendΦs Gautier (1845-1917) French novelist and writer on music, who first visited the Wagners at 'Tribschen' in 1869. Judith had an affair with Wagner during the 1876 Festival, but how far it went is uncertain. At that time she was separated from her husband Catulle MendΦs, but had arrived in Bayreuth with Louis Benedictus. Wagner was infatuated with her during his last years, although she was relatively cool to him. They kept up a secret correspondence during the late 1870's; Judith's letters being sent to Wagner's barber. Eventually Cosima put a stop to it, and burned a number of her letters. Judith also helped Wagner with the procurement of the silks, satins and rose-water that he needed for his work-room at 'Wahnfried', while he wrote 'Parsifal'. Judith translated the libretto into French. viii. Carrie Pringle (?-?) English soprano, one of the 1882 flowermaidens. It was the announcement of an impending visit by Carrie to Wagner in Venice, that is thought to have prompted the argument between Cosima and Richard that precipitated his fatal heart- attack. Only two days earlier, he had told Cosima that he had dreamt about Schr÷der-Devrient (the first Adriano, Senta and Venus): "All my women are now passing before my eyes". ------------------------------ Subject: L. What is the name of the mortal woman who is mother to Siegmund and Sieglinde? Mrs. WΣlse is not named. Fricka refers to the mother of Siegmund and Sieglinde as a she-wolf: "jetzt dem Wurfe der W÷lfin wirfst du zu Fⁿssen dein Weib?" (Walkⁿre act 2) Here Wagner is mixing his main Siegmund source, the Volsungasaga, with the story of the W÷lfings. (Siegmund to Hunding: "Ein W÷lfing kⁿndet dir das, den als W÷lfing mancher wohl kennt", Walkⁿre act 1). The main sources for this clan were the saga of Dietrich von Bern (Thikdrek af Berns Saga) and the Hugdietrich-Wolfdietrich poems. Returning to Volsungasaga, however, we read that Sigmund and his sister were twins, among the children (ten boys, of whom Sigmund was the eldest, and one daughter, Signy) of Volsung and his wife, Hlj≤d. Interestingly, Hjl≤d was not a "mortal woman", but the daughter of Hrimnir the giant. It is possible that Hjl≤d was the daughter of Hrimnir who was described as one of Odin's wishmaidens, earlier in the saga. Volsung is the third of his line, his grandfather Sigi being "reportedly" the son of Odin. So both Sigmund's mother and father had connections with Odin. But that's all in one of Wagner's sources for the 'Ring', not in the 'Ring' poems themselves. Strictly speaking, Mrs. WΣlse does not have a name. If you want to give her a name, then Hlj≤d (huh-l-y÷d) is as good as any. This Old Norse name translates as "howling", which seems singularly appropriate for a she-wolf! ------------------------------ Subject: M. Which recording of the 'Ring'/ 'Dutchman'/ 'Lohengrin'/ 'Tristan' / 'Parsifal' should I get as my first version? It is extremely difficult to answer these questions. Firstly, because responses to recordings (and for that matter, to performances) vary greatly. Secondly, because there is no *definitive* recording of any of Wagner's stage works. It is possible to give some suggestions, however, based on the following assumptions: i. A beginner usually wants a recording in excellent sound, therefore we should first consider modern, stereo, possibly digital recordings. The beginner might wish to explore historical recordings later on, but not first. ii. A beginner would prefer to avoid recordings with distracting stage sounds or audience noise. Therefore many live recordings can be ruled out. iii. All listeners prefer great singers over good singers, and would prefer not to listen to recordings with less good singers. iv. If one begins with a recording that employs either unusually fast or unusually slow tempi, all subsequent recordings heard will sound either too slow or too fast in relation to one's first impression of the work. v. A beginner might not want to spend too much money, so we should consider recordings that might be available at a discount. Unfortunately this mitigates against recommending the very latest recordings. vi. It would also be helpful if the first recording was packaged with a libretto, which the cheapest recordings usually lack. Taking both the above and newsgroup discussions into consideration, the editor of this FAQ makes so bold as to suggest the following as first recordings. * _Der Ring des Nibelungen_, studio recording, DECCA/London, 1964. Conductor: Sir Georg Solti. Vienna State Opera Chorus and Vienna Philharmonic. With Hans Hotter (R,S), George London (W), Birgit Nilsson, James King, RΘgine Crespin and Wolfgang Windgassen. Some consider the _G÷tterdΣmmerung_ of this cycle to be not only the best Wagner recording ever, but the best recording of the 20th century. The Penguin Opera Guide comments, "There is not a single weak link in the cast". Recently reissued after remastering. See the Wagner Books FAQ for books by John Culshaw, the producer of this recording. A beginner might also find useful the CD set, 'An Introduction to Der Ring des Nibelungen', in which Deryck Cooke introduces the leitmotives of this work, using musical examples from the Solti/Culshaw recording. * _Dutchman_, studio recording, Naxos, 1992. Conductor: Pinchas Steinberg. ORF Symphony Orchestra, Budapest Radio Chorus. With Alfred Muff, Ingrid Haubold, Erich Knodt and Peter Seiffert. A cheap and cheerful recording with libretto but no translation. Alternative also currently at budget price: Dorati on Decca/London, 1962, with London, Rysanek, Tozzi and Liebl, no libretto. * _Lohengrin_, studio recording, EMI, 1964. Conductor: Rudolf Kempe. Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Vienna State Opera Chorus. The Swan Knight is Jess Thomas. Also with Elisabeth Grⁿmmer, Dietrich Fischer- Dieskau, Christa Ludwig (in a much-admired interpretation of Ortrud), Gottlob Frick and Otto Wiener. There are some imperfections in sound quality. Reissued on 3 CDs (and therefore usually cheaper than sets with 4 CDs). Alternative: Kubelik. * _Tristan und Isolde_, live recording, DGG, 1966. Conductor: Karl B÷hm. Chorus and Orchestra of the Bayreuth Festival. Recorded in RW's Festival Theatre. With Wolfgang Windgassen and Birgit Nilsson in the title roles. Also with Christa Ludwig, Eberhard Waechter and Martti Talvela. Although the tempi are a little faster than usual (which allows each act to fit on a single CD) and the orchestral playing is not always perfect, this is widely regarded as one of the best 'Tristan' recordings. There is no audience noise and very little stage noise. Recently reissued after remastering. For alternatives, see the new discography by J. Brown. * _Parsifal_, studio recording, Teldec, 1991. Conductor: Daniel Barenboim. Berlin State Opera Chorus and the Berlin Philharmonic. Parsifal is Siegfried Jerusalem, Kundry is Waltraud Meier, Gurnemanz is Matthias H÷lle. Amfortas is JosΘ van Dam. Alternatively, the 1980 Bavarian Radio studio recording conducted by Rafael Kubelik. Parsifal is James King, Kundry is Yvonne Minton, Gurnemanz is Kurt Moll, Amfortas is Bernd Weikl. For other alternatives, see the online discography of complete recordings at < http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/discogra.htm >. ------------------------------ Subject: N. How can I get inside the Palazzo Vendramin in Venice? Richard Wagner and his family moved into the Palazzo Vendramin-Calergi on the Grand Canal on 18 September 1882. It was there that Wagner died on 13 February 1883. Palazzo Vendramin now houses the local Casino. Wagnerians visiting Venice who wish to visit the "Wagner rooms" must make an appointment in advance. The following are the visiting arrangements at present. They might be changed at any time without notice. You can only visit the rooms on Saturday at 10 a.m. precisely, if and only if you have made an appointment prior to noon the Friday before. To do this you must telephone (+39) (41) 52-32-544 and speak (in Italian) to Signora Pugliese. Note! You will not be admitted if you turn up on Saturday without an appointment, nor will you be admitted if you arrive later than 10 a.m. There is no information about visiting the Wagner rooms at the main door of the Palazzo at the "calle larga Vendramin"; but outside the main door there is a small sign with an arrow showing the way to the "staff entrance". This is two minutes (one block) away at the "calle Vendramin". At the staff entrance there should be a porter to assist visitors. ------------------------------ Subject: O. What is the difference between the 'Liebestod' and 'Isolde's Transfiguration'? The ending of 'Tristan und Isolde' is often, wrongly, called the 'Liebestod' (Love-death). Wagner himself referred to it as 'Isolde's Transfiguration' and he applied the term 'Liebestod' not to the end of the drama, but to the prelude to the first act. See Wagner's letter to Weissheimer of 5 October 1862, in which he proposed to make a concert-piece from the 'Liebestod' followed by the 'Transfiguration'. ------------------------------ Subject: P. When can I applaud at a performance of 'Parsifal'? When 'Parsifal' was first performed at Bayreuth in 1882 there was some confusion about when to applaud. At the end of the second act there was much applause and shouting, at which Wagner got up in his box and called out to the audience that he had asked for no curtain calls until the end of the performance. At the end there was silence until Wagner got up and said that he had not meant that they could not applaud, after which there was enthusiastic applause and confused curtain calls. By the second performance various accounts of what he had said were circulating. Many thought that Wagner had asked for no applause until the end of each performance and therefore the first two acts were received in silence (except for Wagner himself shouting "bravo" at the departing Magic Maidens, for which he was hissed). At the third and subsequent performances there was no applause at the end of the first act but applause after the second and third acts. This became a Bayreuth tradition that continues to this day. Wagner gave the custom his approval, saying that applause was not appropriate after the quiet ending of the first act, but the claim that it was his idea is untrue. The tradition of not applauding at the end of the first act of 'Parsifal' is a Bayreuth Festival tradition. Therefore it does not apply in ordinary opera houses. Sometimes, in some houses, there is a note in the programme asking for no applause at the end of the first act; but in the absence of any such request it is entirely up to each member of the audience whether to applaud at the end of the first or subsequent acts. Please do not hiss or "shush" those who choose to applaud. Above all, please do not follow Wagner's example and shout "bravo" at the end of the scene with the Flower Maidens! ------------------------------ Subject: Q. What new productions are planned for the Bayreuth Festival? The following productions have been announced: 2004 Parsifal Conductor: Pierre Boulez Production: Christoph Schlingensief Stage design: Thomas Goerge and Daniel Angermayr Costumes: Tabea Braun. 2005 Tristan und Isolde Conductor: Eiji Oue Production: Christoph Marthaler Stage design and costumes: Anna Viebrock. 2006 Der Ring des Nibelungen Conductor: Christian Thielemann; Production: Lars von Trier; Stage design: Karl Juliusson. Existing productions are phased out as new ones are introduced. ------------------------------ Subject: R. Who were the Herodias and Gundryggia referred to in 'Parsifal'? At the beginning of the second act of 'Parsifal' the sorcerer Klingsor conjures Kundry out of her death-like sleep, recalling that she has been both Herodias and Gundryggia. This is a reference to earlier lives in Kundry's cycle of existence. The historical Herodias was the wife of the tetrarch Philip and later of his brother Herod Antipas. She is mentioned in the New Testament as the cause of the death of John the Baptist. Herodias and her daughter became the subject of several poetic and dramatic treatments during the nineteenth century, including Heine's poem "Atta Troll", Flaubert's novella "Herodias" and later Wilde's play "Salome". Herodias was infamous for her incestuous marriage and her contempt for religion, as Wagner knew from reading Renan's "Life of Jesus". Although she belonged to the ruling family of Judea, Herodias was neither Jewish by race or by religion. The name Gundryggia most likely was invented by Wagner. It is a play on the name of Gunn, one of the favourite valkyries of Odin (=Wotan). The connection between Herodias and Gunn is that in different versions of the same folk tradition, they ride with the Wild Hunt. In Germanic folk legend Herodias became identified with Frau Holda, who was variously equated to the goddesses Diana or Venus. The identification with Diana was recalled by Heine in his "Atta Troll". ------------------------------ Subject: S. Was Beckmesser based on Eduard Hanslick? The simple answer to this question is "no". Hanslick was not known to Wagner when he wrote his first Prose Draft of "Die Meistersinger" in July 1845. The character who in the libretto (of 1862) would be given the name of Sextus Beckmesser is a caricature of music-critics in general and it is beyond doubt that one of the music-critics whom Wagner had in mind when he wrote the libretto was Eduard Hanslick. It is widely believed, however, that Beckmesser was a caricature of Hanslick alone. There are two reasons for this widespread but erroneous belief. The first of them is that, in the second Prose Draft of October- November 1861, Wagner gave the name Veit Hanslich to the Marker and Town Clerk. This was a private joke of which he soon tired, however, and in the poem or libretto written in January 1862 he gave this character the name of Beckmesser. The second reason is Wagner's account of a reading of his poem in Vienna in November 1862 ("My Life" pages 703-4). According to this autobiographical account, Wagner believed that Hanslick was in some discomfort at this reading and friends of Wagner who were present got the impression (according to Wagner; his account is not corroborated) that Hanslick had seen himself as Wagner's target. In late 1846 there appeared in the "Allgemeine Wiener Musikzeitung" a number of references to Richard Wagner by a young music critic, Eduard Hanslick. The young man hailed Wagner as "the greatest living dramatic talent". He sent Wagner his enthusiastic review of "TannhΣuser", for which Wagner thanked him in a long letter of 1 January 1847. This was the beginning of a friendship that eventually collapsed under the weight of differences of opinion about musical aesthetics. Hanslick became increasingly critical of Wagner, who began to regard the critic if not as an enemy at least as no longer a friend. Hence the joking renaming of the Marker as "Veit Hanslich" in the second Prose Draft of "Die Meistersinger". On closer examination there is no reason to believe that Hanslick saw the poem of "Die Meistersinger" (in which the character was called Beckmesser, of course) as a personal attack. Indeed there is nothing to indicate that he knew about "Veit Hanslich". Not even in the account of the Viennese incident in Hanslick's memoirs (see Spencer's compilation, "Wagner Remembered", pages 135-138). His supposed reaction to the poem is a myth of Wagner's invention. The myth has been given a new lease of life by Barry Millington, who has argued that Beckmesser is an anti-Semitic caricature. The reason for Wagner to introduce the anti-Semitic references that Millington has ingeniously decoded is, we are told, that Beckmesser is a caricature of Hanslick, whom Wagner believed to be of Jewish descent. Those who wish to read more about this complicated theory are referred to the articles listed under the answer to Question D above. ------------------------------ Subject: IV. Where can I find more information? ------------------------------ Subject: A. Offline sources The following sources of information can be found in libraries and bookstores. ------------------------------ Subject: i. What books should every Wagner fan have on their bookshelves? We suggest the following: * At least one of the biographies, such as Millington's (in one volume) or Newman's (in four volumes). None of Wagner's biographers are infallible. Both Millington and Newman have their particular angles and prejudices. * 'Wagner Nights' (UK title) or 'The Wagner Operas' (US title) by Ernest Newman. Useful for information on the sources, text and music of the canonical works, but of limited assistance in understanding them. * Of Wagner's own writings, his 'Opera and Drama' (Oper und Drama) of 1851 -- online in German at < http://www.gutenberg.aol.de/wagner/operdram/operdram.htm > -- and 'The Art-Work of the Future' (Das Kunstwerk der Zukunft) of 1849 -- online in English at < http://users.belgacom.net/wagnerlibrary/prose/wagartfut.htm >. * Either Schopenhauer's 'The World as Will and Representation' (Die Welt als Wille und Vorstellung), or any introductory text on Schopenhauer's philosophy (such as Michael Tanner's 54 page 'Schopenhauer' in the series 'The Great Philosophers' from Phoenix Paperbacks). ------------------------------ Subject: ii. Wagner's writings There have been two major editions of Wagner's writings, in German, as follows: * 'Gesammelte Schriften und Dichtungen', 10 volumes, Leipzig 1871-83. The first edition of Collected Writings, prepared under RW's direct super- vision. * 'SΣmtliche Schriften und Dichtungen', 16 volumes, Leipzig 1911-1916. Currently it is the most complete edition of Wagner's prose and poetry. The nearest thing to a complete edition available in English is 'Richard Wagner's Prose Works' in 8 volumes. For details, see the Wagner Books FAQ. English translations of some of Wagner's shorter prose works, together with letters and articles by Wagner and his close associates, can be found online at the 'Wagner Library': < http://users.belgacom.net/wagnerlibrary/ >, an ongoing project of Patrick Swinkels. ------------------------------ Subject: iii. Wagner's musical compositions The critical edition of Wagner's musical and dramatic works is: * 'SΣmtliche Werke', 31 volumes, Mainz 1970-. Editor: Dr. Egon Voss. The planned content of this at present incomplete edition is as follows: Vol. I: Die Feen Vol. II: Das Liebesverbot Vol. III: Rienzi Vol. IV: Der fliegende HollΣnder Vol. V: TannhΣuser (1845-1860) Vol. VI: TannhΣuser (1861-1875) Vol. VII: Lohengrin Vol. VIII: Tristan und Isolde Vol. IX: Die Meistersinger von Nⁿrnberg Vol. X: Das Rheingold Vol. XI: Die Walkⁿre Vol. XII: Siegfried Vol. XIII: G÷tterdΣmmerung Vol. XIV: Parsifal Vol. XV: Unfinished stage works and insertion numbers Vol. XVI: Choral works Vol. XVII: Songs with piano accompaniment Vol. XVIII: Orchestral works Vol. XIX: Keyboard works Vol. XX: Arrangements Vol. XXI: Supplement (diverse) Vol. XXII: Text and documents: Die Feen, Das Liebesverbot Vol. XXIII: Text and documents: Rienzi Vol. XXIV: Text and documents: Der fliegende HollΣnder Vol. XXV: Text and documents: TannhΣuser Vol. XXVI: Text and documents: Lohengrin Vol. XXVII: Text and documents: Tristan und Isolde Vol. XXVIII: Text and documents: Die Meistersinger von Nⁿrnberg Vol. XXIX: Text and documents: Der Ring des Nibelungen Vol. XXX: Text and documents: Parsifal Vol. XXXI: Stage works without music For books about Wagner's works, see the Wagner Books FAQ, section IV. ------------------------------ Subject: iv. Diaries of Richard and Cosima Wagner The publication of diaries by Cosima Wagner, that had long been suppressed by the Wagner family, has greatly increased our knowledge of Richard and Cosima Wagner and their life together. Also Richard's own diaries/ notebooks are of interest. The Wagner diaries are the following: * 'Die Rote Brieftasche' in 'SΣmtliche Briefe', ed. G. Strobel and W. Wolf, 1967. Wagner's Red Pocketbook, containing his autobiographical notes for the years 1835 to 1839. Notes from later years were included in the 'Brown Book' as the 'Annals'. * 'Das Braune Buch: Tagebuchaufzeichnungen, 1865 bis 1882', ed. Joachim Bergfeld, 1975. Wagner's diary and notebook, which he used at various times between 1865 and 1882. English translation by George Bird, 1980, as 'The Brown Book'. * 'Cosima Wagner: Die Tagebⁿcher' 1869-1883, 2 vols. hardback, 4 vols. paperback. Edited by Martin Gregor-Dellin and Dietrich Mack, 1976-77. English translation in 2 volumes by Geoffrey Skelton, 1978-1980; out of print, but a condensed version is available in one volume. Details of English editions of the above are given in the Wagner Books FAQ. ------------------------------ Subject: v. Letters to and from Richard Wagner RW was an active correspondent, often writing several letters a day. It has been estimated that he wrote over 10,000 letters during his lifetime. Unfortunately, Cosima Wagner destroyed many unpublished letters, including the originals of Richard's letters to Mathilde Wesendonck, Nietzsche's letters to Cosima, Peter Cornelius' letters to Richard, and all of the correspondence with Hans von Bⁿlow in the period preceding and immediately after their divorce. In 1909 she even burned many of Richard's letters to herself. Wagner himself destroyed letters from Judith Gautier. Many of Wagner's letters have been published, usually in a separate volume for each correspondent; for example, the letters between RW and Mathilde Wesendonck (an important resource for students of 'Tristan', 'Die Sieger' and 'Parsifal') were published in Berlin, 1904, with an English translation (by Ellis) of them published in London, in 1905. Also important is the collection of correspondence between RW and his patron, King Ludwig II of Bavaria, 5 vols., edited by Otto Stroebel and published 1936-39, Karlsruhe. In 1967, work began on a complete edition of the existing letters in their original languages. At that time, the editors anticipated an edition of fifteen volumes, but in the introduction to volume 6, they revised their estimate to 30 volumes, containing between 7000 and 7500 letters. The project is now being led by Dr. Werner Breig. More than 500 letters in English translation have been edited by Stewart Spencer and Barry Millington. ------------------------------ Subject: vi. Wagner-related periodicals There are few periodicals dedicated to Wagner studies. One of them is, appropriately, entitled 'Wagner'. It is published three times each year by the Wagner Society of the UK. Most Wagner Societies also publish their own newsletter; that of the UK Society has the title, 'Wagner News'. ------------------------------ Subject: vii. Sources for Wagner's texts To save space in this FAQ, information about Wagner's sources has been moved to a new document: < http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/srcdocs.htm >. ------------------------------ Subject: viii. The Bayreuth Festival A good general history of the Festival can be found in Frederick Spott's book, 'Bayreuth: A History of the Wagner Festival', Yale 1994. The atmosphere of 19th century Bayreuth was captured in Colette's novel 'Claudine and Annie' (Claudine s'en va), which is included in 'The Claudine Novels', Penguin USA, 1995. Other books about the history of the Bayreuth Festival and productions of Wagner's stage works at the Festival, can be found in Section VII of the Wagner Books FAQ. ------------------------------ Subject: B. On-line sources ------------------------------ Subject: i. A few good, general Web sites about Richard Wagner * Richard Wagner Archive < http://users.utu.fi/hansalmi/wagner.spml > Hannu Salmi's web site is a comprehensive source of information about RW and his works. In English and German. * Richard Wagner Web Site < http://www.trell.org/wagner > Kristian Evensen's web site contains some fascinating articles. In English, German and Norwegian. * Operas and music dramas < http://gla.ecoledoc.lip6.fr/~sarnikow/wagner/ > Gilles Sarnikowski's web site includes a short biography of RW, notes on the operas and music-dramas, and a discography. In English and French. ------------------------------ Subject: ii. Web sites, synopses and online discographies * There is a general discography of Wagner's operas and dramas (by Jonas Ericsson) at: < http://www20.brinkster.com/joentertainment/wagner_discography/welcome.htm > * Geoffrey Riggs has a web site called 'The Collectors Guide to Opera Recordings and Videos' which provides recommendations for eleven of Wagner's operas and dramas: < http://www.geocities.com/Vienna/7023/index.html > Other sources: * 'Tristan und Isolde' < http://unchance.net/Liebestod/ > * 'Ring' < http://allenbdunningmd.com/RingThemes.htm > * 'Parsifal' < http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/index.htm > * There are synopses for several of Wagner's stage works at < http://www.metopera.org/synopses/ > * For other links, see under Composers - W in the Coordination Opera Resource Pages at < http://www.operabase.com/corpus/ >. ------------------------------ Subject: iii. Web sites related to the Bayreuth Festival * Homepage of the Bayreuth Festival at < http://www.bayreuther-festspiele.de/fshome_dt.html > This is the official homepage with up-to-date information about the Festival; with booking information, performance dates and casts. * Bayreuth Festival News at < http://www.festspiele.de/ > A lively site maintained by a Bayreuth-based newspaper. * Bayreuth casts 1876-2001 can be found at < http://www.wagnermania.com/bayreuth/ > ------------------------------ Subject: iv. Wagner Societies A number of Wagner Societies (each affiliated to the international Richard-Wagner-Verband) have their own Web pages, including the following: * Finnish Wagner Society - < http://www.utu.fi/~hansalmi/sws/sws.html > * Richard-Wagner-Verband Berlin - < http://www.wagnerverband-berlin.de/ > * Richard-Wagner-Verband Frankfurt - < http://www.richard-wagner-verband.de/frankfurt.html > * Richard-Wagner-Verband Hannover - < http://www.richard-wagner-verband-hannover.de/ > * Richard-Wagner-Verband Mⁿnster - < http://www.richard-wagner-verband.de/muenster.html > * Netherlands Wagner Society - < http://huizen.dds.nl/~riwagner/ > * Wagner Society in New South Wales - < http://www.wagner-nsw.org.au/ > * Wagner Society of New York - < http://www.wagnersocietyny.com/ > * Wagner Society of New Zealand - < http://www.wagnersociety.org.nz/ > * Wagner Society of Northern California - < http://www.wagnersf.org/ > * Polish Wagner Society - Towarzystwo Wagnerowskie < http://free.art.pl/tw/ > * Wagner Society of Scotland - < http://www.wagnerscotland.net/ > * Richard Wagner Society of South Australia - < http://users.senet.com.au/~wagner/ > * Swedish Wagner Society - < http://home1.swipnet.se/~w-13826/sws/index.html > * Swiss Wagner Society - < http://www.desmeisterswerk.ch/srwg.htm > * Toronto Wagner Society - < http://richard_wagner.tripod.com/ > * Wagner Society of the United Kingdom - < http://www.gnomus.flyer.co.uk/index.html > * Wagner Society of the Upper Midwest - < http://www.wagnertc.org/ > * Richard Wagner Society of Washington, DC - < http://www.wagner-dc.org/ > * Richard-Wagner-Verband Wⁿrzburg - < http://www.wagnerverband.de/ > ------------------------------ Subject: v. On-line libretti and scores For libretti (poems), see under the heading 'Richard Wagner' at < http://php.indiana.edu/~lneff/libretti.html > Or at Opera Glass < http://opera.stanford.edu/opera/index.html#libretti > There are a few of Wagner's libretti (poems) at the German Gutenberg Project < http://www.gutenberg2000.de/autoren/wagner.htm >. There are shareware editions of the 'Ring' libretti with Jameson's English translation at < http://home.earthlink.net/~markdlew/shw/Ring.htm >. The following vocal scores can be accessed through the Web: Der fliegende HollΣnder: < http://www.dlib.indiana.edu/variations/scores/bhq6743/index.html > Das Rheingold: < http://www.dlib.indiana.edu/variations/scores/bhr5451/index.html > Die Walkⁿre: < http://www.dlib.indiana.edu/variations/scores/bhr9607/index.html > G÷tterdΣmmerung: < http://www.dlib.indiana.edu/variations/scores/bhr1272/index.html > Tristan und Isolde: < http://www.dlib.indiana.edu/variations/scores/bhr3456/index.html > ------------------------------ Subject: vi. Related newsgroups and message boards Wagner-related postings often appear in rec.music.opera; but be warned that this newsgroup is notorious for flames, abuse and cat-fights. To read r.m.o. requires a strong stomach and to post there one needs a thick skin. ------------------------------ Subject: vii. Museums Richard Wagner Museum at Haus Wahnfried, Bayreuth, Germany: < http://www.wahnfried.de/ > Richard Wagner Museum at Triebschen, Luzern, Switzerland: < http://www.kulturluzern.ch/wagner-museum/ > ------------------------------ Subject: V. Acknowledgements and Copyright This FAQ was created by and is maintained by Derrick Everett (mimirswell @hotmail.com). The editor would like to thank the following individuals who have helped and contributed to this document: Joe Bernstein, Mike Scott Rohan and Simon Weil. Also many others who have made helpful comments and suggestions. This compilation copyright (C) 2000-2004 by Derrick Everett. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Permission is hereby granted for electronic distribution by non- commercial services such as internet, provided that it is posted in its entirety and includes this copyright statement. This document may not be distributed for financial gain. Any other use, or any commercial use of this document without permission is prohibited by law.