13895 Wagner News 174 - Wagner Society of England

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men shouting at each other in Act I you just switch off. Siegfried has to sing lyrically as Mime also has to do for some of the time. I noticed that the orchestra pit has been much enlarged. It was first enlarged backwards for Rheingold in 2007 and to the front, at my instigation, in 2011. I really needed more strings: we now have six cellos and three double basses. In total we now have an orchestra of 66 (the Lessing Version). Philip Head has assembled the orchestra and done a wonderful job. Although you are now 65, I realize conductors never retire. Is this true of you? Do you have any unfulfilled aspirations? For many years I have tended to be an assistant who sometimes took over performances. Although WNO gave me a lot of conducting, I have rarely had my own show. I do assist still, but I am a conductor in my own right and feel I am really just beginning. Here at Longborough it has been my thing; I have been in charge of the music since 2000. This will be my first full Ring, having only ever conducted some of the individual operas. I love conducting Mozart and have done much of his work; in the spring of 2012 I conducted a revival of Figaro for WNO. Some Jánaček and more of the early 20th Century would be welcome as well as tackling some French repertoire. I assisted Boulez on Pelléas for WNO in 1992. (It is a piece I would love to conduct, not only because of its Parsifal links.) Massenet would be fun, especially Werther. We musicians are so lucky in that, whatever the political discussion about Wagner, we have access to the greatness of this man. There can be no dispute: he is one of the outstanding dramatic musical geniuses of all time. Yes, there were horrible things about him and his influence, but that cannot for one iota take away from the music, deeply rooted as it is in Beethoven who was a vital link in the way in which he builds his orchestra. Please tell us about your technique and approach in conducting Wagner. How influential was Reggie Goodall? What I learned from him was the need to study in depth, which I realize even more now than when I worked with him, and especially the quality of listening. Wagner has written the text so wonderfully that you can sing it rhythmically. One criticism I had of the English language performances of The Ring and Meistersinger was that they were too free with the rhythm. In German the rhythm dictates itself rather more than when doing it in EnglishI have always felt this sense of inner energetic spring; hence I may be a little faster than other conductors at times but I try to follow exactly what Wagner asks for. If Wagner wants a gradual change of tempo he may not want the audience to realize it. It is the altered mood and feeling that one becomes aware of. Italian conductors don’t usually understand that concept so well and tend to leap into it. Sometimes I just go through the score to remind myself of all the tempo markings. I check myself a lot with Furtwängler to see if I am on the right track. Similarly, the first Wagner I ever heard was Toscanini (who has been deeply influential to me) and the NBC Symphony with the Rhine Journey, the Prelude and Liebestod from Tristan and Parsifal excerpts. His Salzburg Meistersinger is just incredible, especially the sublime third act Prelude. He could sustain a slow tempo like nobody else. He was slower in Wagner than anybody when he wanted to be. I tried in my Glyndebourne performance in 2011 to sustain the high string passage like this, almost hovering in infinity. – 52 –
June 12th 2012 whilst rehearsing Götterdämmerung How are you coping with the challenge of putting on such a huge opera in a small venue? I feel we are coping rather well. The new challenge this year is the chorus in Act II. It will be small: just twelve men. They won’t just be a massed group but will be active dramatically in the proceedings. The complexity of The Ring is vast wherever you do it. Ours is only a slightly slimmed down version of the score. We have triple rather than quadruple wind and fewer strings than Wagner specified. However, with four double basses this year, ten first violins and nine seconds, we have a very good string section for the size of our space. We feel that the balance will not be a problem due to the pit being below stage, a la Bayreuth. Technically it is a big challenge as, unlike larger houses, we have nothing sophisticated on stage such as revolves, so imaginative planning is what we use to create the effect plus powerful lighting. We have a wonderful find in Mati Turi from Estonia who has already sung the young Siegfried in Holland; this will be his first Götterdämmerung Siegfried. Sadly, we won’t have him next year for the full cycle. We are having a great time working with Rachel and she is showing all the promise we have hoped and more! Anne Evans has been coaching Rachel and she will come to rehearsals as well as spending time in Leeds helping with their Ring. We started rehearsals on 21st May in London running until the end of June when I have the first orchestra rehearsals starting in Birmingham. We start in Longborough on 6th July. We have a good two months of rehearsals. It has needed careful planning by Alan Privett as not everyone is available all of the time. The whole process is essential; I need to be at most of the production rehearsals. I am not a conductor who swans in just in time for the orchestra rehearsals. I like to develop the work with singers, being deeply interested in the meaning and dramatic intention, I look for agreement with the director as seen from our differing perspectives. Our approaches complement each other. Is everything on track for next year’s Ring cycles? Yes, I am in the midst of a meeting discussing this: there will be three cycles starting in mid June. There will be a day between each opera and then three days off before the following cycle. The casting is nearly complete. Wagner lovers have some wonderful treats in store. We owe you and your fellow artistes a huge “thank you” for your dedication and effort in creating what will be a marvelous experience! Photo of Anthony Negus by Alan Wood – 53 –
Page 1 and 2: No: 206 July 2012
Page 3 and 4: EDITOR’S NOTE One of the contribu
Page 5 and 6: THE WAGNER SOCIETY WEBSITE Ken Suns
Page 7 and 8: The meeting moved on to consider th
Page 9 and 10: SPECIAL OFFER FOR WAGNER SOCIETY ME
Page 12 and 13: WAGNER’S DREAM OR WAGNER’S NIGH
Page 14 and 15: at his bedside. Judging from the pr
Page 16 and 17: PARSIFAL Á LA RUSSE OR THE CURIOUS
Page 18 and 19: PARSIFAL, EASTER 2012: A TOTAL IMME
Page 20 and 21: The contrast with the Vienna State
Page 22 and 23: WAGNER AT THE MET A multimedia pres
Page 24 and 25: A ROLLERCOASTER RIDE The Flying Dut
Page 26 and 27: With Daland’s return and the arri
Page 28 and 29: FORTHCOMING EVENTS 3rd October 2012
Page 30 and 31: DER RING DES NIBELUNGEN AT NEW YORK
Page 32 and 33: WAGNER SOCIETY BAYREUTH BURSARY 201
Page 34 and 35: WELSH NATIONAL OPERA TRISTAN UND IS
Page 36 and 37: DVD REVIEW: THE LÜBECK RING Chris
Page 38 and 39: Norns appear bearing the red rope w
Page 40 and 41: SUGGESTED BOOKING METHODS FOR BAYRE
Page 42 and 43: TRISTAN UND ISOLDE AT AACHEN AND BI
Page 44 and 45: It would have been good if Bosch ha
Page 46 and 47: Essential Wagner TURNS Roger Lee On
Page 48 and 49: Cover Story THE CANCELLED ISRAEL WA
Page 50 and 51: THE LONGBOROUGH RING:AN INTERVIEW W
Page 54 and 55: HEROISM AND VILLAINY IN OPERA, VERS
Page 56: FOR YOUR DIARY 3rd October 2012 Bar

13895 Wagner News 174 - Wagner Society of England

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