Society Events

Details of future Society events appear below, followed by previous events back to the 1980s.  

12.30pm: DVD: Act 2, Barrie Kosky's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
2.00pm: Asher Fisch will talk about conducting Wagner's music dramas
Followed by: Afternoon tea

Goethe Institut, 90 Ocean Street, Woollahra

Date and details to be provided

Details to be provided

Details of Society events back to the 1980s appear below.

 2.00pm, 25 November: Stefan Vinke - a Q&A session at St Columba's Centre, 53a Ocean Street, Woollahra
Followed by: Christmas Party

 1.00 – 5.00pm: Seminar on 'Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg'
by Dr David Larkin with musical interludes

12.30pm: DVD: Wagner - a Genius in Exile
2.00pm: Brickbats and Bouquets - Bayreuth 2018
 

1.00 – 5.00pm, Seminar on 'Tristan und Isolde' by Dr Antony Ernst

12.30pm: DVD: The Wagner Family
2.00pm: Talk & recital by Celeste Haworth 

12.30pm: DVD: Wagner’s Jews
2.00pm: Presentation by Professor Michael Ewans 
4.00pm: Wagner’s birthday champagne celebration 

2.00pm: Annual General Meeting - members only
2.30pm: Concert of young singers supported by the Wagner Society

12.30pm: DVD: 'Das Liebesverbot', Act 2
2.00pm: Presentation by Suzanne Chaundy 

12:30pm: DVD: 'Das Liebesverbot', Act 1
2.00pm: An afternoon with Sir John Tomlinson

2.00pm: Concert by artists supported by Wagner Society
followed by Christmas Party

As usual we were treated to a wonderful Christmas concert, on Sunday 19 November, this time with a program hastily altered to slot in Rebecca Moret, who kindly consented to replace a voice-less, indisposed Phoebe Humphreys.

Recital

2.00pm: Brickbats and Bouquets for Bayreuth 2017 (and 2016),
by members who received tickets from the Wagner Society 
and attended the Bayreuth Festival

The society had a very lively meeting on October 8 when members who had obtained tickets to Bayreuth through the society reported on the responses they had to the productions they attended. The mood was set by the serving of Bavarian beer, bratwurst, sauerkraut and pretzels, all essential ingredients for the experience of the annual ritual that is the Bayreuth Festival.

2.00pm: Presentation by Luke Gabbedy and Tanja Binggeli

1.00pm: Seminar by Dr Antony Ernst 

1.00pm: Seminar by Dr David Larkin

Wagner Society members were well prepared for the opera, with a seminar given by Dr David Larkin at the Goethe Institut on the afternoon of 30 July. We had an audience of 92, of whom 73 were members. David spoke for 4 hours, with a 30-minute break for refreshments in the middle.

2.00pm: Presentation by Barbara Brady
followed by Wagner's birthday champagne celebration

12.30pm: Magic Fire, 1955 film of the life of Wagner - Part 2
2.00pm: Annual General Meeting - members only
2.30pm: Young artists concert

Young artists concert
Photo: Performers for the Wagner Society in NSW AGM on 2 April 2017: (l-r) Tenor, Adam Player, Dramatic soprano, Laura Scandizzo, Baritone, Daniel Macey, and accompanist Jonathan Wilson, with wines from Brangayne Vineyards (photo, courtesy Mailis Wakeham).

12.30pm: Magic Fire – 1955 film of the life of composer Richard Wagner
with Wagner’s music arranged by Erich Korngold - Part 1
2.00pm: Presentation by Dr Rosamund Bartlett

Presentation by Dr Rosamund Bartlett
Photo: Rosamund Bartlett completing her trilogy of talks to the Wagner Society in NSW on Wagner in Russia on 12 March 2017 (photo, courtesy Mailis Wakeham)

2.00pm: Presentation by Dr Graham Bruce

2:00pm: Concert by Jessica Harper, accompanied by the pianist Bradley Gilchrist
followed by Christmas Party

2.00pm: Presentation by Dr David Larkin

6:00pm: Presentation by Roger Neill

Roger played excerpts of a number of different sopranos singing Wagner, and had a dialogue with us, the audience, about each singer, first asking us to identify her and then discussing her career.

It was an extraordinarily interesting evening, and the only disappointment was that, because it was in midweek and had been organised at relatively short notice, there were not as many members there as we would have hoped.

Jane Mathews, President

2.00pm, 6 August 2016, part 1 of seminar by Dr Antony Ernst
10.00am, 7 August 2017, part 2 of seminar by Dr Antony Ernst

12.30pm: DVD: Anna Russell’s “analysis” of The Ring Cycle
2.00pm: Presentation by Andrew Ford

2.00pm: Concert
followed by Wagner's birthday champagne celebration

Concert
In keeping with a Wagner Society in NSW tradition, we were entertained at the annual celebration of Richard Wagner’s birthday by two singers whom the Society had sponsored in previous years.

12.30pm: DVD: Visconti's 'Ludvig', Part 3
2.00pm: Annual General Meeting - members only
followed by presentation by Trevor Clark

12.30pm: DVD: Visconti's 'Ludvig', Part 2
2.00pm: Presentation by Dr Rosamund Bartlett

12.30pm: DVD: Visconti's 'Ludvig', Part 1
2.00pm: Presentation by Peter Bassett