by Elizabeth Rivero
Happy Birthday, Richard Wagner!
Tag: Richard Wagner
Richard Wagner *V 22 1813 / The Life You Give
Vea biografía en español abajo Richard Wagner, born Wilhelm Richard Wagner, on May 22, 1813, in Leipzig, Germany, is the dramatic composer and theorist whose operas and music had a revolutionary influence on the course of Western music, either by extension of his discoveries or reaction against them. Among his major works are The Flying… Continue reading Richard Wagner *V 22 1813 / The Life You Give
“Parsifal” (Wagner) is completed on this day
The Poem Parzival, an epic poem, is one of the masterpieces of the Middle Ages, written between 1200 and 1210 in Middle High German by Wolfram von Eschenbach. This 16-book, 25,000-line poem is in part a religious allegory describing Parzival’s painful journey from utter ignorance and naïveté to spiritual awareness. The poem introduced the theme… Continue reading “Parsifal” (Wagner) is completed on this day
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (Wagner)
The plot tells of the young knight Walther von Stolzing, who courts the bourgeois Eva Pogner and - in order to obtain her father's permission to marry her - must write a song of praise in accordance with the rules of the Meistersinger. The fact that the two lovers, Eva and Walther, finally come together… Continue reading Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (Wagner)
Siegfried (Wagner) premiered VIII 16 1876
Siegfried - music drama in three acts(third of the four works which constitute the cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen)Music - Richard WagnerLibretto - Richard Wagner Premiere - August 16 1876, in Bayreuth FestspielhausLanguage - German Siegfried, Old Norse Sigurd, is a figure from the heroic literature of the ancient Germanic people. He appears in both… Continue reading Siegfried (Wagner) premiered VIII 16 1876
“Parsifal” (Wagner) premiered on July 26 1882
The Poem Parzival, an epic poem, is one of the masterpieces of the Middle Ages, written between 1200 and 1210 in Middle High German by Wolfram von Eschenbach. This 16-book, 25,000-line poem is in part a religious allegory describing Parzival’s painful journey from utter ignorance and naïveté to spiritual awareness. The poem introduced the theme… Continue reading “Parsifal” (Wagner) premiered on July 26 1882
The Valkyrie (Wagner) premiered today in 1870
Valkyrie, also spelled Walkyrie, Old Norse Valkyrja (“Chooser of the Slain”), in Norse mythology, any of a group of maidens who served the god Odin and were sent by him to the battlefields to choose the slain who were worthy of a place in Valhalla. These foreboders of war rode to the battlefield on horses,… Continue reading The Valkyrie (Wagner) premiered today in 1870
“Tristan and Isolde” (Richard Wagner), premiered today in 1865
Tristan and Isolde, Tristan also called Tristram or Tristrem, Isolde also called Iseult, Isolt, or Yseult, principal characters of a famous medieval love-romance, based on a Celtic legend (itself based on an actual Pictish king). Though the archetypal poem from which all extant forms of the legend are derived has not been preserved, a comparison… Continue reading “Tristan and Isolde” (Richard Wagner), premiered today in 1865
Under the Lemon Tree
Remembering the time in Phoenix
When I study with ears and palate
The Life You Give: Simon Estes *March 2 1938
One of just a few African-American male singers who has had a top-rank international operatic career, bass-baritone Simon Estes grew up in Iowa in a house without heat or indoor plumbing. He sang in church as a youth, but when he enrolled at the University of Iowa in the late '50s he had never heard… Continue reading The Life You Give: Simon Estes *March 2 1938
René Kollo, in Tannhäuser (1972)
Libretto: Richard Wagner Music: Richard Wagner World premiere: Court Opera, Dresden, 1845Premiere of revised version: Opéra, Paris, 1861René Kollo — Tannhäuser Helga Dernesch — ElisabethWolfgang Brendel — WolframChrista Ludwig — VenusGeorg SoltiVienna Philharmonic Join us, listening at 8:40pm EST, at the Opera, Blood and Tears Club, on Clubhouse. Started: 8:45 / Duration: 3:07 ACT I… Continue reading René Kollo, in Tannhäuser (1972)
Bayreuth Festspielhaus, Richard Wagner, and Opera History — in Celebration of the World Opera Day
The Bayreuth Festival Theatre, built by Richard Wagner
“Tannhäuser und der Sängerkrieg auf Wartburg” premieres 176 years ago in Dresden
“Tannhäuser” (“Tannhäuser and the Minnesingers' Contest at Wartburg”) the three act opera by Richard Wagner (music and libretto) premiered on October 19 1845, at the Königliches Hoftheater Dresden (Royal Court Theatre). Painting of Elisabeth praying for Tannhäuser, by Theodor Pixix (1831-1908)
“Das Rheingold”, by Richard Wagner, premiered on September 22 1869, at the National Theatre, Munich
“In the depths of the Rhine, the three Rhinemaidens guard the Rhinegold, a treasure of immeasurable value. The Nibelung dwarf Alberich is dazzled by the sight of it. The girls explain that whoever wins the gold and forges it into a ring will gain power over the world, but must first renounce love. Frustrated by… Continue reading “Das Rheingold”, by Richard Wagner, premiered on September 22 1869, at the National Theatre, Munich
Wagner & Cigar
~Notes from this book on Richard Wagner — Wagnerism / Art and Politics in the shadow of music, by Alex Ross ~Listening to Jessye Norman, Plácido Domingo, and Kurt Moll in “Parsifal”, by Wagner ~The Royal Salomones from Davidoff
Even a long cigar will not outlast a Wagner
Royal Salomones, Davidoff of Geneva, and Wagnerism, by Alex Ross Just finished listening to Parsifal, Richard Wagner’s last opera. The cigar I celebrated with — the Salomones Royal from Davidoff — lasted three hours. The opera goes for 4:30 hours. A long double pleasure.
“Parsifal” premiered on this day of 1882
ACT I Near the sanctuary of the Holy Grail, the old knight Gurnemanz and two sentries wake and perform their morning prayers, while other knights prepare a bath for their ailing ruler Amfortas, who suffers from an incurable wound. Suddenly, Kundry—a mysterious, ageless woman who serves as the Grail’s messenger—appears. She has brought medicine for… Continue reading “Parsifal” premiered on this day of 1882
The Valkyrie premiered this week in 1870
Amalie Materna as Brünnhilde (Bayreuth, 1876)
Earthly Paradise, the Art of Song Singing
On June 21 of 1868 was the world premiere of “Die Meistersänger von Nürnberg”. “The Song of Praise”, scene of The Meistersinger of Nuremberg, as used in 1889 for advertisement by the meat extract company Liebig. (Liebig picture series #135) Join us on Clubhouse to celebrate four hours in the mastery of song singing, as… Continue reading Earthly Paradise, the Art of Song Singing
Tristan and Isolde premiered June 10 1865
Ludwig and Malvina Schnorr von Carolsfeld as Tristan and Isolde, in the Premiere, conducted by Hans von Bülow (Wikipedia) To celebrate this masterpiece (156 years after it premiered), I will be sharing a couple of productions on Clubhouse — June 10 2021 at 1pm EST. https://www.clubhouse.com/join/opera-blood-and-te/ey3e6Z01/P0YNYdoX
Sila Blume 