The Richard Wagner Society of the Upper Midwest

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Happenings Elsewhere

Membership has its benefits, and one of the many benefits of being an RWSUM member is that we will help you connect with fellow Wagnerians when you have opera tickets or interesting Wagneriana to sell. One of our members has four photogravure prints of the four Ring Operas for sale, archivally framed, quite old, and most likely from J. W. Buel's 1890s series of books on The Great Operas. The prints are not taken from the book, but were purchased by an art collector in a folio. The dimensions of the frames are 14 1/8 by 17 ¾; the dimensions of each print varies slightly but is generally 8 1/2 by 12. Individual photogravures are available for $250 each, or the set of four for $900. More info, including photos of each print, can be found here.

One of our members, Pierre Couture, wrote an excellent review of the new Vienna Parsifal. You'll find his review, and a response to it by Frances Henry, on the Toronto Wagner Society's website.

The on-sale date for this year's Bayreuth Festival has been delayed to July 4th. More info here.

A new Italian Wagner Society, La Voce Wagneriana, has recently been launched, and has expressed interest in networking with Societies based in the U.S. You can find them on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, and posts are bilingual. They do not yet have a website of their own.

Happenings Elsewhere:

The following are listed roughly in chronological order based upon when a live performance will be available (either via livestream or as performed in real time in a venue - remember those?), or when a recording (audio + video, or sometimes audio only) will be first accessible to stream or download:

The Wagner Society (London, U.K.) has announced an ambitious calendar of virtual events through July of 2021. (NOTE: London is 6 hours ahead of Central Time.)

The Wagner Society of Northern California invites you to a free webinar, Wagner's Ring - Vegas Style with Maestro Dennis Doubin, on June 19 at 3 PM CDT. "Please join us to hear about Dennis Doubin's Las Vegas Ring. Imagine each of the four Ring operas condensed into the highlights of story and leitmotif as the fantastical characters of Vegas City Opera’s Ring visit your front door and “Ring” your doorbell. The citywide spectacle culminated in a digital event at 7:00 PM on November 14th, 2020 as the Vegas City Opera Company sang the entire Vegas Ring saga in about an hour!" Register here.

On Thursday, June 24 at 11 AM CDT, La Voce Wagneriana will launch with an online conference entitled: Wagnerian Fever: The Birth of Wagnerism From the Speakerphone of Direct Testimony, curated by Andrea Camparsi, scholar of German aesthetics and philosophy. The birth of passion for Wagner's work has far roots, and this event will be a chance to see closely through Max Koch's testimony (1855-1931), one of the first Wagnerians, how Wagnerism became a real craze in Germany ... and not. The conference will be visible from the Association Facebook page.

On Friday, June 25 at 6:00 PM CDT, the Wagner Society of New York will present Parsifal and French Symbolism by Marian Burleigh-Motley, PhD (Metropolitan Museum of Art lecturer, retired) with extensive illustrations, and two songs that enhance the theme: excerpts from Ariette oubliéés by Debussy and an early Wagner French song performed by Amy Shoremount-Obra (WSNY awardee and recitalist).

The Wagner Society of Southern California is hosting I Am Siegfried: The Life and Voice of Jess Thomas on June 27 at 3 PM CDT. And on July 25 at 3 PM CDT, WSSC presents the exceptional documentary, Birgit Nilsson: A League of Her Own.

San Francisco Opera will be streaming Strauss' Elektra on July 24-25, with none other than our friend, Christine Goerke, in the titular role.