Wagner-Depesche 1/2013

Welcome to the Wagner Year 2013 with the third issue of the Wagner-Depesche!

The year marking the 200^th anniversary of Richard Wagner’s birth has begun. In our third issue of the Wagner-Depesche, the cities of Bayreuth und Leipzig offer exciting insights into their commemorative activities and introduce more of the important organizers and participants.

As Richard Wagner’s place of birth, Leipzig will celebrate his 200^th birthday with the Richard Wagner Festival from May 16 – 26, 2013. Tribute will be paid to the city’s famous son with over 70 multi-faceted and high-profile events. Detailed information on all of this can be found in our program booklet (see “Noted in brief”). Be sure to secure tickets for the opera performances, concerts, theatrical projects, exhibits, film showings and readings! One highlight will be the dedication of the Richard Wagner memorial on the composer’s birthday.

Leipzig’s Wagner Festival serves as bridge between the two Wagner cities of Leipzig and Bayreuth. In cooperation with the Leipzig Opera, three of Wagner’s early works will be staged for the first time ever at the Bayreuth Festival. Bayreuth is also eagerly anticipating enjoying the concerts that will be given by world-class orchestras, such as the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, and the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden.

These and other highlights, important dates, and travel packages can be found here in our Wagner-Depesche. You can also download or print the PDF version of this newsletter from www.wagner-depesche.de and page through it at your leisure.

Dear readers and friends of Richard Wagner’s art,

The preparations made by many active supporters in the past several years are now finally bearing fruit. We are now on the home stretch: 2013 – the Richard Wagner Year – has begun.

Together with Bayreuth, the city of Leipzig will commemorate and celebrate this anniversary year in honor of the 200^th birthday of its famous son, Richard Wagner. To this end, both cities have put forth enormous efforts over the past years. I am particularly delighted that this has led to the first cooperative venture between Bayreuth and Leipzig and am especially excited to see what awaits us at both locations in 2013.

The climax of the anniversary year in Leipzig will be the Richard Wagner Festival from May 16– 26, 2013. An interesting, exciting and demanding program consisting of concerts, events, theater and cabaret, symposia and conferences, exhibits, cinematic screenings and excursions has been finalized over recent months and offers something interesting about Richard Wagner for all audiences. You can find out more at www.wagner-jubilaeum-2013.de.

For over four years now key leaders from Leipzig’s cultural scene, politics and the arts, media professionals, and active citizens on the board of trustees for the 2013 Richard Wagner Anniversary (Kuratorium Richard-Wagner-Jahr 2013) have demonstrated their commitment. I would like to take the opportunity here to express gratitude for these efforts, and I am certain that the city of Leipzig will prove itself worthy of its greatest son.

Sincerely,

Signature Wolf-Dietrich Rost

Wolf-Dietrich Rost MdL
Chief Executive, Richard Wagner Year 2013 Board of Trustees

Wolf-Dietrich Rost

Photo: CDU Sachsen

Dr. Sven Friedrich

Photo: Andreas Harbach

Villa Wahnfried

Haus Wahnfried
Photo: Bayreuth Marketing & Tourismus GmbH

Dear readers and friends of Richard Wagner’s music,

During 2013 Richard Wagner will be honored above all in Bayreuth, the epicenter of the Wagner world, with numerous events celebrating the occasion of his 200^th birthday anniversary. The Villa Wahnfried in Bayreuth will be undergoing structural restoration, construction of the extension to the Richard Wagner Museum begun. Visitors will not only be able to have a look at the construction site and visit the info-center on the future museum, but will also have the opportunity to learn about the structure’s appearance over time and its architectural history. The graves of Richard and Cosima Wagner in the villa’s garden will continue to be accessible.

At present, all the functional buildings on the Villa Wahnfried property that are not contemporaneous to Wagner’s time or listed for historical preservation are being torn down. In the spring, the excavation pit for the new building and the storage facility in the forecourt will be dug out. “Bayreuth under construction” – in the literal sense. Despite this, from July 27 through September 22, the German traveling exhibit, Götterdämmerung – King Ludwig II and his era, put together by the Centre of Bavarian History (Haus der Bayerischen Geschichte) will be displayed at Villa Wahnfried. In addition, during the Bayreuth Festival, the exhibit by the Buddenbrook House in Lubeck, Love without belief – Thomas Mann and Richard Wagner, can be viewed in the exhibit hall of Bayreuth’s new town hall. Both will be open daily from 10am to 5pm; entrance is free.

The project to renew the Richard Wagner Museum with the national archive and research center of the Richard Wagner Foundation is a great challenge and a significant contribution not only for the preservation, but also the long-term and sustained presentation of the life, work and impact of the great composer and theater-maker. As a cultural phenomenon on many levels, Richard Wagner is one of the most important and consequential figures of the modern era. Thus, with its unique collection documenting Richard Wagner’s life and work and its diverse program of events, the museum is intended to become a vital location for future visitors and all generations. I would be delighted to welcome you soon as a visitor!

Yours

Unterschrift Dr. Sven Friedrich

Dr. Sven Friedrich
Museum Director

In Villa Wahnfried – King Ludwig II as Wagner’s “guest” during the anniversary year

For Richard Wagner’s 200^th anniversary, the Richard Wagner Museum in Bayreuth is showing the touring exhibit, Götterdämmerung – King Ludwig II and his era. The fairy-tale king belonged to Wagner’s greatest admirers and was his most important patron. From July 25 through September 29, 2013, this exhibit presented by the Bavarian National Exhibition (Bayerische Landesausstellung) – one of the most successful cultural and historical exhibits of reunified Germany – can be seen in the composer’s former residence. As a result, the museum will be accessible to visitors during the anniversary summer – despite the ongoing remodeling, which will continue until 2014. In addition, the informational point, bau.schau.stelle, will provide information on the construction project, the history of the building, and future exhibits.

Further information:
www.wagnermuseum.de and www.bayreuth-tourismus.de

King Ludwig II and Richard Wagner at the Lohengrin festival on the Alpsee Postcard/photoengraving, around 1900

King Ludwig II and Richard Wagner at the Lohengrin festival on the Alpsee
Postcard/photoengraving, around 1900
© Haus der Bayerischen Geschichte, Augsburg

In the Margravial Opera House – World heritage information center and a glimpse of the royal box

Richard Wagner conducted Beethoven’s Ninth here in 1872. In 2012, UNESCO proclaimed the opera house of Margravine Wilhelmine to be a world heritage site. As of September, the building has been closed for extensive renovation in order to preserve it as an historical site for future generations. From May onward during the anniversary year, an interim world heritage center will be open to visitors in the foyer of the opera house. This exhibit will offer a fascinating view of the building’s architecture and its architect, Giuseppe Galli Bibiena. The highlight of the tour is the royal box, where visitors can look out into the lavish auditorium and down at the stage from the place where the margravial pair once attended the court opera.

Further information:
www.bayreuth-wilhelmine.de and www.bayreuth-tourismus.de

UNESCO World Heritage, Margravial Opera House, Auditorium

UNESCO World Heritage, Margravial Opera House, Auditorium
© Bayerische Schlösserverwaltung, Frahm

Richard Wagner Memorial

For a long time Leipzig has wanted to show homage to its greatest son with a memorial. On the anniversary of his 100^th birthday in 1913, the sculptor Max Klinger was to create a monument for him; however, only the still standing art nouveau pedestal was ever completed. Twenty years later, the sculptor Emil Hipp was commissioned to create a place of remembrance in the Richard-Wagner-Hain; this was never realized due to the later confusion caused by World War II. Only the landscaped park by Gustav Allinger was finished. The current design of Bayreuth’s green hill, known as the grüner Hügel, also originates from Allinger. On the 100^th anniversary of Wagner’s death in 1983, a bronze bust based on a model by Max Klinger was placed on the promenade next to the Schwanenteich.

On May 22, 2013 – Wagner’s 200^th birthday – a contemporary memorial designed by the internationally renowned sculptor Stephan Balkenhol will be dedicated. Balkenhol has chosen to use the existing pedestal by Max Klinger. Upon this, he has placed the young Wagner in a casual pose and allowed him to be overshadowed by a much larger silhouette of himself. With this image that is open to many interpretations, Leipzig honors its most important son and invites the observer to grapple with his work and achievement

Further information: www.wagner-denkmal.com

Proposed design for memorial

Montage: Alexander Achminow Werbung und Public Relation GmbH

The New Theater and the Leipzig Opera

In 1693 the first opera house in Leipzig was opened on the Brühl. After Venice and Hamburg, it is Europe’s third oldest civic music theater. As of 1868, the Neues Theater built on the Augustusplatz served to house both opera and theater. The first complete performance of Der Ring des Nibelungen outside of Bayreuth in 1878 at this venue reconciled Wagner with the Leipzig theater, which had refused to stage Die Feen, his very first opera. Beginning in 1882, all of his music dramas, except for Parsifal, were included in the repertoire. For the 125^th birthday of the musical genius in 1938, Wagner’s complete works were staged, including the early operas, Die Feen and Das Liebesverbot.

The original building was destroyed during World War II, and the first newly constructed theater in the GDR was built on the same site in 1956–60. On October 9, 1960, the house was festively opened with Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, staged by the opera director Joachim Herz (1924–2010). Herz also staged The Ring of 1973-76 which caused international sensation. Even now, the Leipzig Opera constantly has works by Wagner in its repertoire, above all during this anniversary year of 2013.

Further information: www.oper-leipzig.de

Neues Theater

Repro: Christoph Sandig

Oper Leipzig

Photo: LTM/Andreas Schmidt

Wednesday, February 13, 2013 /// Bayreuth Stadthalle

Trio Parnassus – Chamber music on the 130th anniversary of Richard Wagner’s death

A virtually perfect togetherness, an extraordinary sense of color and emotion, and an unprejudiced love of discovery. Not without reason were the two-time Echo prize winners voted as one of the leading contemporary piano trios by the British magazine Classic CD in 1999.

Tickets: € 29 / 19 /15 / 12 / 10

Tuesday, April 30, 2013 /// Richard-Wagner-Saal

Mahler Chamber Soloists

As prelude to the full orchestra concert on the following day in the Stadthalle, the Mahler Chamber Soloists can be experienced on this recital evening up close and in front of a small audience.

Tickets: € 16 / 10

Wednesday, May 1, 2013 /// Bayreuth Stadthalle

Mahler Chamber Orchestra

The renowned Mahler Chamber Orchestra will give a guest performance in Bayreuth with a program featuring Wagner and Schumann conducted by David Afkham, one of the most sought-after conductors of the new generation.

Tickets: € 45 / 35 / 25 / 15 / 10

Saturday, May 11, 2013 /// Bayreuth Stadthalle

Das Liebesmahl der Apostel and Opera Choruses by Wagner and his Contemporaries

Das Liebesmahl der Apostel, a biblical scene for male choir and large orchestra, the only spiritual work by Richard Wagner premiered in 1843 in the Dresden Frauenkirche shortly after he became the royal Saxon court Kapellmeister.

Tickets: € 54 / 45 / 32 / 20 / 14

Saturday, May 25, 2013 /// Das Zentrum, Europasaal

Rheingold-Feuerland

A Wagner revenant by Bernhard Glocksin and Simon Stockhausen

Tickets: € 25

Saturday, June 15, 2013 /// Bayreuth Oberfrankenhalle

Symphony Orchestra of the Bayerischer Rundfunk

Wagner and Dvořák are on the program. With Christianne Stotijn, one of the leading Dutch sopranos of her generation, and Andris Nelsons conducting, this concert evening belongs without a doubt to the highlights of the anniversary program.

Tickets: € 98 / 75 / 48 / 32 / 18

Sunday, June 23, 2013 /// Bayreuth Stadthalle

Bamberg Symphony Orchestra

The works of Richard Wagner have been in the repertoire of the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra since its founding in 1946. Under the direction of its principal conductor Jonathan Nott, the orchestra will play excerpts from Der Ring des Nibelungen.

Tickets: € 45 / 35 / 25 / 15 / 10

Sunday, July 14, 2013 /// Marktplatz

“Wagner für alle” with Götz Alsmann and the Staatskapelle Weimar

An extraordinary open-air event on the Bayreuth market square, presented by the “cult emcee” Götz Alsmann and the Staatskapelle Weimar.

Entrance free

Wednesday, July 24, 2013 /// Das Zentrum, Europasaal

The ring in one evening

Short version of the dramatic opera Der Ring des Nibelungen by Richard Wagner under the direction of Philippe Arlaud

Tickets: € 29 / 17 (discounted)

Tuesday, July 30, 2013 /// Bayreuth Stadthalle

Fazil Say

This pianist and composer born in 1970 in Ankara is one of the outstanding and most exceptional virtuosi on his instrument.

Tickets: € 23 - € 45

Wednesday, August 14, 2013 /// Das Zentrum, Europasaal

Stefan Kaminski: Der Ring des Nibelungen as three-dimensional live audio drama; Rheingold on August 14, Die Walküre on August 15, Siegfried on August 17, Götterdämmerung on August 18.

Kaminski’s audio drama is racy, moving and comic. In the four-part Ring des Nibelungen, Stefan Kaminski slips fluently from one role into the next, making an entire theater troupe redundant. Music, atmosphere and sounds come from extravagant musicians on instruments such as the glass harp, electric cello and a percussion instrument made of nails.

Tickets: € 25 / 12 (discounted), entire tetralogy € 75 / 36 (discounted)

Wednesday, August 21, 2013 /// Bayreuth Stadthalle

Vocal recital with Anette Dasch and Wolfram Rieger

As Elsa von Brabant in Hans Neuenfels’ Lohengrin, which now enjoys cult status, Dasch will not fail to enthuse the Bayreuth audience during the festival summer 2013. On the piano will be Wolfram Rieger, one of the most prominent vocal accompanists of his time.

Tickets: € 45 / 35 / 25 / 15 / 10

Monday, August 26, 2013 /// Oberfrankenhalle

Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden

Christian Thielemann and the Staatskapelle Dresden wish Richard Wagner a happy 200th birthday with a selection of Wagner’s works. Rienzi’s prayer, Lohengrin’s grail narration, and the Tannhäuser’s Rome narrative will be sung by star tenor Johan Botha.

Tickets: € 98 / 75 / 48 / 32 / 18

Christian Thielemann and the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden

Christian Thielemann
Photo: Matthias Creutziger

Friday, September 13, 2013 /// Bayreuth Stadthalle

Vocal recital with Adrian Eröd and Eduard Kutrowatz

Under Christian Thielemann, Adrian Eröd sang the role of Sixtus Beckmesser in Wagner’s Meistersinger von Nürnberg with such resounding success that he was invited by the Bayreuth Festival in 2009 to embody this role on the green hill as well. He now will give a guest performance of lieder by Schumann, Britten, Wagner and Liszt. Accompanying is the pianist Eduard Kutrowatz, instructor at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna.

Tickets: € 35 / 25 / 15 / 12 / 10

Saturday, September 14, 2013 /// Bayreuth Stadthalle

Piano Duo Tal / Groethuysen

A happy coincidence led the piano duo Tal and Groethuysen to the up until now unpublished estate of Wagner’s promoter and friend Alfred Pringsheim. The resulting program promises new insights and will present the great influence of Wagner on French composers, such as Debussy, Dukas and Mallarmé.

Tickets: € 35 / 25 / 15 / 12 / 10

Dates are subject to change.
Further information and tickets: www.wagnerstadt.de

Leipzig’s Richard Wagner Festival from May 16 – 26, 2013

All events and dates in Leipzig over the course of the Wagner anniversary year can be found on our Internet site (www.wagner-jubilaeum-2013.de) or in our program booklet, which is introduced in detail under “Noted in brief”.

Wednesday, May 15, 2013 /// The Leipzig Museum of Fine Arts

Exhibit opening on the evening before the Festival:
“Weltenschöpfer: Richard Wagner, Max Klinger, Karl May”
(“World Creators: Richard Wagner, Max Klinger, Karl May”)

Welcome to the Wagner Year 2013 with the third issue of the Wagner-Depesche!

Dear readers and friends of Richard Wagner’s art,

Dear readers and friends of Richard Wagner’s music,

In Villa Wahnfried – King Ludwig II as Wagner’s “guest” during the anniversary year

In the Margravial Opera House – World heritage information center and a glimpse of the royal box

Richard Wagner Memorial

The New Theater and the Leipzig Opera

Jörg Lichtenegger

Frank Nicklas

Thomas Krakow

Dr. Markus Käbisch

David Timm

Following the footsteps of Richard Wagner – Exclusive special tour from March 27 to April 1, 2013

Package

Reservation

Richard Wagner and Leipzig

Package

More information & reservation

Wagner’s early works in Bayreuth from July 7 – 14, 2013

New anniversary event program has been published

The program for the Richard Wagner Anniversary in 2013

Book tip: Es wagnert in Leipzig