Wagner Operas Podcast

Wagner Operas Podcast episodes:

• 11.04.2023

  The Dutchman at Santa Fe with Francis and Julia

  In this podcast my good friends Francis and Julia Creighton discuss their insights into the Santa Fe Opera The Flying Dutchman., which they saw this past summer. Francis and Julia discuss the production, as well as the incredible theater, one of...

  
• 07.12.2023

  An A.I. Summer at Bayreuth

  This summer the Bayreuth Festival will present a new production of PARSIFAL that will use Augmented Reality glasses. It promises to be a landmark production in the history of Bayreuth.

  
• 05.29.2023

  The Wagner That Blooms in the Spring

  In this podcast I am joined by my good friend, Francis Creighton, as we explore the custom of presenting Wagner at the MET during Spring time, which coincides with the 2023 new production of Lohengrin from the Metropolitan Opera. ...

  
• 05.20.2023

  A Lohengrin for the Ages

  This Lohengrin is one of the great recordings of the 1930's from the Bayreuth Festival. It features Franz Völker and Maria Müller, two of the leading singers of the time, in excerpts from this opera. Many consider Völker to be...

  
• 04.02.2019

  An Afternoon Walküre at the MET

    The Metropolitan Opera is currently presenting Wagner's Ring, and the return of the Robert Lapage controversial production. Last Saturday I attended a performance of Die Walküre, and the mechanical problems that plagued this staging during the first season...

  
• 07.30.2018

  The Bayreuth Festival 2018

  It’s that time of the year, when that midsummer classic the Bayreuth Festival begins once again. I will be attending this yearly ritual, and ahead of me will be performances of The Flying Dutchman, Parsifal, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, and...

  
• 04.08.2018

  Herrmann and Wagner

  In this podcast, we explore the link between the musical score of Alfred Hitchcock’s masterpiece Vertigo, written by composer Bernard Herrmann, and the music of Richard Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde. The 1959 film, whose themes center on obsession, and the...

  
• 02.18.2018

  Parsifal at the Metropolitan Opera - 2018

  When Parsifal is playing in town at the Metropolitan Opera it is a not-to-be-missed event.  Luckily this year, I get to see it twice.  My first visit was yesterday at the Saturday matinee.  I was joined by my good friends...

  
• 02.15.2018

  A Trip to Bayreuth in 1905

  A guidebook to the city of Bayreuth, written at the turn of the century, got me thinking: I wonder what a trip to Bayreuth would have been like in those days. In this video podcast we will take a trip...

  
• 12.17.2017

  Wagner's Christmas

  The Christmas season does not usually bring to mind the music of Richard Wagner, but it should, for on Christmas morning, in the year 1870, Cosima, the composer's wife, woke from her slumbers to a new composition written by her...

  
• 10.29.2017

  Halloween with the Flying Dutchman

  The Flying Dutchman (Der fliegende Holländer) is Richard Wagner’s answer to Halloween.  The story of a ghostly sea captain who is doomed to sail the seven seas for eternity is the perfect opera to enjoy during this spooky festive season. 

  
• 09.09.2017

  Todesverkündigung

  My favorite moment in the Ring of the Nibelung occurs in the second act of Die Walküre.  Brünnhilde visits Siegmund to tell him that he will die in battle and that she will take him to Valhalla.  This is the...

  
• 09.01.2017

  Bayreuth Summer Artists

  My journey to Bayreuth this summer was filled with so many great performers by a host of very talented singing actors.  Thinking about the month of August and the great performances I saw and heard, I started wondering what some...

  
• 08.24.2017

  A Tribute to Tannhäuser

  After so many years of doing these podcasts I realized that I had never done a program dedicated exclusively to one of my favorite Wagner operas, Tannhäuser.  So here is an audio show highlighting some of the great moments from...

  
• 08.21.2017

  The Silenced Voices of Bayreuth

  Currently at the Bayreuth Festival there is an exhibit called “Silenced Voices.”  It is a tribute to the many singers, artists, and musicians who, during the Third Reich, were banned from the festival because they were Jewish.  In this podcast...

  
• 08.18.2017

  Vincent and Francis visit Bayreuth

  During these uncertain days, when the whole world seems to be enveloped by confusion, war, and hate, Vincent and his guest Francis visit the Festspielhaus at Bayreuth and speak about their admiration for Katharina Wagner’s production of Tristan und Isolde,...

  
• 08.05.2017

  Wieland Wagner: One Hundred Years

  This year we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Wieland Wagner, the composer's grandson, who in 1951 revolutionized the staging of his grandfather's work when he reopened the Bayreuth Festival after World War II with an astonishing production...

  
• 07.28.2017

  Bayreuth 2017 Opening Night

  The Bayreuth Festival opened this week with a new production of Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Wagner's only comedy.  Barrie Kosky, the director of this production has focused on the antisemitism aspect of Wagner's work.  The results make for a very...

  
• 07.22.2017

  René Pape at the Festspielhaus

  It’s been seven years since my last podcast. During that time many wonderful things happened including a visit to Bayreuth in 2012. Now, this summer, I am very lucky to have a chance to go back to the Green Hill....

  
• 08.08.2010

  Bayreuth 2010: Of Rats and Men and Lohengrin

  No stranger to controversy these days The Bayreuth Festival opened at the end of July with a new production of Lohengrin directed by one of the best-known Regietheater directors, Hans Neuenfels. His tongue-in-cheek take on Richard Wagner's most romantic opera...

  
• 07.30.2007

  Bayreuth 2007: Katharina's Meistersinger

  The Bayreuth Festival opened with a much anticipated production of Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg directed by Katharina Wagner, daughter of Wolfgang Wagner. As the heir apparent to the family business, Katharina's new production shows that the Festival wants to continue...

  
• 06.15.2007

  Toscanini at Salzburg: The 1936 Meistersinger

  Arturo Toscanini was the most sought-after conductor in the 1930's. He became the first Italian to conduct at Bayreuth, and would have continued performing there had the Third Reich not come to power in Germany. He left Bayreuth in protest...

  
• 03.09.2007

  Richard Wagner: Before the Operas

  Richard Wagner composed his Symphony in C Major at the age of nineteen. It is clearly the work of a young man influenced by the towering figure and musical innovations of Ludwig van Beethoven. The symphony was given its premiere...

  
• 11.10.2006

  Adrianne Pieczonka & Ben Heppner in Concert

  For many opera lovers around the world, Canadian soprano Adrianne Pieczonka became a household word this summer after her critically praised performance as Sieglinde at this year's Bayreuth Festival. In this podcast, recorded from the Ballroom of Rideau Hall...

  
• 09.18.2006

  In Memoriam: Astrid Varnay (1918-2006)

  On September of this year, soprano Astrid Varnay died in Munich, Germany. She was one of the great Wagnerian sopranos of our times, and one of the artists chosen by Wieland Wagner to re-open the Bayreuth Festival in 1951....

  
• 08.16.2006

  Bayreuth Festival 2006: Götterdämmerung

  This performance of Götterdämmerung brings to a close the new production of the Der Ring des Nibelungen at the Bayreuth Festival. One of the shining stars of the last evening was Hans-Peter König who, in the role of Hagen, is...

  
• 08.08.2006

  Bayreuth Festival 2006: Siegfried

  One of the delights of the past two Bayreuth Festivals was listening to tenor Stephen Gould mesmerize audiences with his impressive performances of Tannhäuser. This summer he is making the crowds at the "Green Hill" go wild once again, this...

  
• 08.04.2006

  Bayreuth Festival 2006: Die Walküre

   At this year's Bayreuth Festival, one thing is certain: the new production of the Ring is receiving standing ovations thanks to the vision of director Tankred Dorst, the incredible conducting of Christian Thielemann, who leaves no doubt that he is...

  
• 07.29.2006

  Bayreuth Festival 2006: Das Rheingold

  The highlight of this year's Bayreuth Festival is the new production of Der Ring des Nibelungen, staged by director Tankred Dorst, and conducted by Christian Thielemann. This new production of Das Rheingold, the prelude to Wagner's "Ring," premiered on July...

  
• 07.02.2006

  The Golden Age of Wagnerian Opera at the MET

  Most critics will agree that the richest period of Wagnerian singing in The United States took place during the 1940's, and '50's at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. This podcast pays homage to the incredible talent of those...

  
• 06.21.2006

  Bayreuth 2006 Opening Night: A Preview

  The Bayreuth Festival will open this year on July 25 with a performance of Der fliegende Holländer, Wagner's first "mature" opera. This production is a controversial modern, Freudian staging of the work that has been greeted with boos year after...

  
• 06.04.2006

  The 2005 Bayreuth Tristan und Isolde

  In contrast to the first "complete" recording ever made at the Bayreuth Festival in 1928, which was the subject of our two previous podcasts, we now offer excerpts from the latest Tristan und Isolde from the Festspielhaus. This modern dress...

  
• 05.21.2006

  The 1928 Bayreuth Tristan und Isolde (Part 2)

  In our second and last podcast in this series celebrating the historic recording of the 1928 Bayreuth production of Wagner's Tristan und Isolde, we take a look at the Act II Love Duet and the last act of this work....

  
• 05.15.2006

  The 1928 Bayreuth Tristan und Isolde (Part 1)

  This podcast presents excerpts from the 1928 recording of Wagner's Tristan und Isolde. Technical difficulties during this period of recorded history prevented British Columbia Records from capturing the audio during an actual performance. Instead, the three acts were recorded between...

  
• 05.07.2006

  The Italian Wagnerians

  For many years, Italian was a second language to Wagner's operas, as scores of Italian singers performed the composer's music in their native tongue. Based on his Italian performances, tenor Giuseppe Borgatti became the first Italian heldentenor to be invited...

  
• 04.27.2006

  Performance Practices in PARSIFAL (Part 3)

  In the conclusion of this three-part series, we look back at the work of American baritone Clarence Whitehill, who excelled in Wagnerian roles around the world, and first performed at the Bayreuth Festival in 1904. The program also features the...

  
• 04.22.2006

  Performance Practices in PARSIFAL (Part 2)

  The second part of the show brings us past the Bayreuth Nazi Era, and all the way up to the 1951 re-opening of the Festival after the war. This podcast features a recording from the early 1920's where the original...

  
• 04.17.2006

  Performance Practices in PARSIFAL (Part 1)

  In our premiere Podcast, we will explore the various ways in which Wagner's last opera, Parsifal, has been performed since it first saw the light of day at the Bayreuth Festival of 1882. In this program we will focus on...