Wagner's Valhalla

Started by Greta, April 07, 2007, 08:09:57 PM

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Haffner

Quote from: Sergeant Rock on July 14, 2008, 03:52:21 PM
It's tough, even when one is retired, to find the three or four or more hours needed to give these works the attention they deserve. Webern is more user friendly  ;D

Sarge




I'm very lucky; with my schedule of students I have plenty of time to enjoy, study, and venerate my Wagner collection.

Haffner

Quote from: marvinbrown on July 15, 2008, 05:40:14 AM
   7) Capriccio (I didn't know I had a recording of this opera  :o until I went "digging"  ;D into my collection)

  marvin
 


Love that opera. I have the Sawallisch/EMI, but am hoping for this one:

marvinbrown

#742
  Wagner fans I came across this and just had to post it:

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcfaC4yhUvs

  Fast forward to 2:14 minutes sit back and enjoy......I love it.... it's deliciously amusing!  I hope you find it as intriguing as I did.


  Edit:  Sorry stop at minute 4:24!

  marvin

Wendell_E

Quote from: marvinbrown on September 18, 2008, 12:57:30 PM
Edit:  Sorry stop at minute 4:24!


Or don't.  I liked the Wagner bit, but what follows is BLEEPin' hilarious!
"Never argue with an idiot. They will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience." ― Mark Twain

PSmith08

Quote from: Wendell_E on September 18, 2008, 03:42:23 PM
Or don't.  I liked the Wagner bit, but what follows is BLEEPin' hilarious!

Right. I ended up watching the whole program. There's no such thing as a bad time with Stephen Fry.

Anne

I watched the whole program also.  Thanks, Marv!

J.Z. Herrenberg

Stephen Fry - brilliant chap. Great link, Marvin.

Btw - did anybody notice that the guy singing Wolfram's 'aria' about the evening star (O du mein holder Abendstern) from the Third Act of Tannhäuser was doing so not in German, but in Italian, Spanish??
Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything. -- Plato

Wendell_E

#747
Quote from: Jezetha on September 19, 2008, 11:33:56 PM
Btw - did anybody notice that the guy singing Wolfram's 'aria' about the evening star (O du mein holder Abendstern) from the Third Act of Tannhäuser was doing so not in German, but in Italian, Spanish??

Ummm.  It's in English.  He sings "Star of eve, your tender beam".  I did some googling, and the next line in the translation, which you can't hear that well on the video, is "Falls on my spirit's troubled dream".
"Never argue with an idiot. They will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience." ― Mark Twain

J.Z. Herrenberg

Quote from: Wendell_E on September 20, 2008, 03:29:38 AM
Ummm.  It's in English.  He sings "Star of Eve, your tender beam".  I did some googling, and the next line in the translation, which you can't hear that well on the video, is "Falls on my spirit's troubled dream".

English!! I couldn't hear it. I didn't listen very closely... ;D :-[
Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything. -- Plato

marvinbrown

#749

Wendell_E, Jezetha, Anne, PSmith08 I am glad you enjoyed it!  I have not been contributing much lately as I am so busy with work, my relationship, life etc. but when I saw this clip and especially the part on Wagner I thought.....you must post this for others to see :D!!


  PS: I can't make out the language of that aria either...but it does not sound English  ??? ?? 
 
  marvin 

marvinbrown

#750
  Wagner fans! Where are you?  What? No one has posted here in over a month??  :(  Have we abandoned this very fine composer?  Have we lost all appetite for his operas??  A few weeks ago on the SkyArts channel I was lucky enough to catch the 3rd Act of this production of Tristan und Isolde:

 

  From what I saw it proved to be a rather dark, sombre production of this opera. What you see on the cover (excluding the blue sea)  is the set design for Act 3. Kollo had aged, I felt he was a bit too old appearancewise to be Tristan but he delivered vocally nontheless. Jones was good as Isolde, passionate and attractive.  I can not comment further as I have only seen Act 3. I would have liked to see Acts 1 and 2 but I can not find a recording of this opera anywhere  >:(amazon.co.uk lists it as currently unavailable  >:( >:(!

  so did anyone else watch a Wagnerian opera recently? If yes,  what did you see?

  marvin 

Haffner

#751
Quote from: marvinbrown on October 21, 2008, 07:36:19 AM
  Wagner fans! Where are you?  What? No one has posted here in over a month??  :(  Have we abandoned this very fine composer?  Have we lost all appetite for his operas??  A few weeks ago on the SkyArts channel I was lucky enough to catch the 3rd Act of this production of Tristan und Isolde:

 

  From what I saw it proved to be a rather dark, sombre production of this opera. What you see on the cover (excluding the blue sea)  is the set design for Act 3. Kollo had aged, I felt he was a bit too old appearancewise to be Tristan but he delivered vocally nontheless. Jones was good as Isolde, passionate and attractive.  I can not comment further as I have only seen Act 3. I would have liked to see Acts 1 and 2 but I can not find a recording of this opera anywhere  >:(amazon.co.uk lists it as currently unavailable  >:( >:(!

  so did anyone else watch a Wagnerian opera recently? If yes,  what did you see?

  marvin 


I listen to Wagner every day. Today Solti's Gotterdammerung, Act III. Also the Barenboim Tristan und Isolde dvd, Act III.

I think I've heard that dvd on a live broadcast radio performance. Very good.

Wendell_E

Quote from: AndyD. on October 21, 2008, 01:22:19 PM
I listen to Wagner every day.

Are you sure that's healthy?   ;D

I listened to Hollreiser's EMI recording of Rienzi yesterday.
"Never argue with an idiot. They will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience." ― Mark Twain

Tsaraslondon

\"A beautiful voice is not enough.\" Maria Callas

Brünnhilde forever

I am watching Wagner right now! It's a 1966 production of Lohengrin with Gösta Winbergh and Karita Mattila. Somehow I have my doubt about the date listed because it would make Mattila now in her sixties. Somebody taped it from a web cast with James Conlon conducting the Robert Carsen direction.

You are asking what am I doing sitting in my study posting at GMG with Lohengrin on the projection set in the music room? For one, this it not one of my favorite Wagner works, and second the production is almost black and white with a bright blue sky adding the only colour. Maybe it will improve when the shining knight adds some life to the drab set.

marvinbrown

#755
Quote from: AndyD. on October 21, 2008, 01:22:19 PM

Also the Barenboim Tristan und Isolde dvd, Act III.

I think I've heard that dvd on a live broadcast radio performance. Very good.

  Which Barenboim Andy  8)? , I have the one with Kollo, Meier (Johanna) at Bayreuth.  You know the one with the rather strange ending.

Quote from: Wendell_E on October 21, 2008, 01:53:11 PM
Are you sure that's healthy?   ;D

I listened to Hollreiser's EMI recording of Rienzi yesterday.

  I have that same recording although it has been a while since I gave it a spin.  I really do wish they would stage that opera and release it on DVD, all to the dismay of Wagner I am sure (he hated its neverending popularity).

 

Quote from: Brünnhilde forever on October 21, 2008, 02:24:35 PM
I am watching Wagner right now! It's a 1966 production of Lohengrin with Gösta Winbergh and Karita Mattila. Somehow I have my doubt about the date listed because it would make Mattila now in her sixties. Somebody taped it from a web cast with James Conlon conducting the Robert Carsen direction.

You are asking what am I doing sitting in my study posting at GMG with Lohengrin on the projection set in the music room? For one, this it not one of my favorite Wagner works, and second the production is almost black and white with a bright blue sky adding the only colour. Maybe it will improve when the shining knight adds some life to the drab set.

  Black and white ?? I don't think I like the sound of that.  But I do agree with you that Lohengrin always remains my least favorite of Wagner's opera.  Sure it has some fine moments, especially the dark moments involving Ortrud summoning the Gods (Wotan et al.) for revenge against Lohengrin and that ever popular "Here Comes the Bride" tune. However I find that it has a fair amount of oh what's the expression I am looking for "dead wood".  It doesn't flow as well as Wagner's other operas. I must be in the minority here but I much prefer Tannhauser to Lohengrin. 

and finally.....
Quote from: Tsaraslondon on October 21, 2008, 02:06:32 PM
Where do you find the time?

  we make time Tsaraslondon, on top of my career, my relationship, my friendships, all time consumming mind you I have to "squeeze" Wagner in otherwise I'd go insane  ;D!

  marvin

Haffner

#756
Quote from: Tsaraslondon on October 21, 2008, 02:06:32 PM
Where do you find the time?


a) I work out of my home.
b) I have a very tolerant fiancee, whom is an opera fan as well (she's weird, she loves Der Fliegende Hollander best...still a great one).


My "Wagner Experience" has been on of the most positive experiences of my life. Wagner's use of psychological archetypes helps me learn things about myself and the things/events and people in my life. It also helps to go deeper and deeper in to the works, listening to at least pieces of them alot.

Haffner

Quote from: marvinbrown on October 21, 2008, 02:42:50 PM
  Which Barenboim Andy  8)? , I have the one with Kollo, Meier (Johanna) at Bayreuth.  You know the one with the rather strange ending.

That's the one, Marvin. I actually thought that ending was very sad and beautiful in a way. But I also spin the HvK alot.

I didn't like the second act in the Barenboin/Kollo dvd. I thought the pacing was at times sluggish.


   
Quote from: marvinbrown on October 21, 2008, 02:42:50 PMwe make time Tsaraslondon, on top of my career, my relationship, my friendships, all time consumming mind you I have to "squeeze" Wagner in otherwise I'd go insane  ;D!

  marvin

JA!

ChamberNut

Marvin,

No worries, I've been listening to a lot of Wagner recently too.  Lately, Die Walkure and Siegfried.

Since May of this year, I've listened to Wagner more than any other composer, and that's not a sentence I thought I'd ever write.   ;D

Haffner

Quote from: ChamberNut on October 21, 2008, 05:20:31 PM
Marvin,

No worries, I've been listening to a lot of Wagner recently too.  Lately, Die Walkure and Siegfried.

Since May of this year, I've listened to Wagner more than any other composer, and that's not a sentence I thought I'd ever write.   ;D


It's been the same for me in 2008. Although I've spun a whole bunch of latter-era Anton Bruckner this year (there's not a huge amount of difference between the two now, is there), Wagner has been my primary listening by far.

Wagner, and Metal.

But I guess there isn't too terribly much of a difference between the above variables, really.