Re: thought for the week of August 29, 1999

On Mon, Aug 30, 1999, Craig A. Summerhill <craig[_at_]cni.org> wrote:
>
> On Mon, 30 Aug 1999, Timothy Phillips <hrothgar[_at_]telepath.com> wrote:
> >
> > Perhaps even, productions of Wagner tend to be overly-conservative
> > and insufficiently experimental? Any opera buffs on the list with
> > opinions on this?
>
> Hmmm. Are you kidding? This is a setup, right, Timothy?
>
> I doubt it could be widely known to the CNI-COPYRIGHT readership that
> your humble moderator holds a B.M. degree in music (vocal and choral
> was what I graduated with, but actually entered as pianist), and that I
> sang for several years with the chorus of the Nevada Opera company in
> Reno, NV. (For those of you who consider Nevada and opera an
> anachronism, I would refer you to the documented history of the Piper
> Opera House in Virginia City, NV, circa 1870.)
>
> > I am not aware that Parsifal, or anything else of Wagner's, has
> > gotten notoriously bad treatment since its copyright lapsed.
>
> Define "notoriously bad." We're talking art here. Bad is somewhat
> subjective. B^)
>
> As for performance of Wagner (1813-1883) operas. Among operatic
> composers, he is somewhat in a class by himself.
>
> It is probably indisputable that more of his works have been performed
> in the latter half of the 20th century than during his life, but I
> suspect this is more an issue of *practicality* than anything else.
> Despite the fears of the Prussian Royal Family, outside of Bayreuth
> -- which has dedicated itself to the preservation and promotion of
> Wagner -- there were few opera companies willing or able to stage his
> elaborate productions. There are even fewer opera patrons willing
> to sit through a Wagner production, which makes them non-viable
> financially. Thus, you find Wagner's reticence to see his works
> performed outside Bayreuth. Beyond staging, the vocal roles in Wagner
> operas tend to be extremely demanding (in terms of voice type and
> range), and when you combine that with the extreme length of his
> works... you tend to find yourself with a *very* short list of
> vocalists even capable of performing the works in their entirety.
> Only the growth of the artform outside of its traditional European
> audience in the 20th century, as marked by the expansion of opera
> companies in major U.S. metropolitan markets, has made it even
> possible to find companies and artists to perform Wagner operas.
>
> P.S. I have never attended a performance of any Wagner opera,
> although I was required to study recordings for my degree and I've
> been involved in staging scenes in opera theater. The Washington
> Opera perfomed _Parsifal_ last season, I believe. A friend with
> season tickets asked me if I would like to attend, but I bowed out
> gracefully. After all, that was five hours of my life (not counting
> transit time) I could dedicate to your continued copyright and
> intellectual property reading pleasure. B^)

Of course, Seattle has become the U.S. Bayreuth, with several acclaimed mountings of the Ring during the '70s and '80s, and a new one slated for 2001. And last season's TRISTAN with Jane Eaglen was stunning.

Bob

Robert C. Cumbow
> Graham & Dunn, P.C.
> 1420 Fifth Avenue, 33rd Floor
> Seattle, Washington 98101-2390
> Phone: 206-340-9619
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> E-mail: rcumbow[_at_]grahamdunn.com
> Website: http://www.grahamdunn.com/
Received on Tue Aug 31 1999 - 16:10:36 GMT