News from the Members

Photos: Tristan und Isolde in Karlsruhe; Tannhäuser in Aachen

CONTENTS:

• The "Missing Link" in the Evolution of Wagner's Siegfried by Edward A. and Paula M. Bortnichak
• 'Wagner's Siegfried Act III Scene 1: A Study in "Renunciation of the Will" and the "Sublime" by Richard H. Bell
• Steadfast and Upstanding: Franz Wilhelm Beidler, Richard Wagner's Eldest Grandson' by Dagny Beidler

plus reviews of:

Christopher Alden's Tristan und Isolde in Karlsruhe
Mario Corradi's Tannhäuser in Aachen
Mariusz Trelinski's Tristan und Isolde in Baden-Baden
Philipp Stölzl's Rienzi in Berlin
and Lynn Binstock's The Rinse Cycle in London

DVDs of various productions at Bayreuth over the last decade

CDs of Lohengrin conducted by Hans Knappertsbusch in Munich (1963) and by Karl Böhm in Vienna (1965), 
of Die Walküre and Siegfried conducted by Marek Janowski (1981–2), and of Wagner-inspired choral works under the title Rheinmädchen

Bernd Weikl's Swastikas on Stage: Trends in the Productions of Richard Wagner's Operas in German Theaters Today
Gunther Braam's Richard Wagner in der zeitgenössischen Fotografie, 
The Oxford Handbook of Opera, ed. Helen M. Greenwald and
Christian Thielemann's My Life with Wagner

And, a recent addition to the Wagner Journal website: The Castorf Ring at Bayreuth. 

The editors are delighted now to make available, free of charge on the website, an extended essay by Edward A. & Paula M. Bortnichak on the current production of the Ring by Frank Castorf at Bayreuth.

The authors discuss the bold interpretations of Wagner's works at Bayreuth over the last decade in the context of deconstructionist approaches to literature and theatre, concluding with a dramaturgical analysis of the Castorf Ring. This landmark article should prove invaluable to anyone intending to see the production, but will also make stimulating and enlightening reading for anyone interested in the staging of Wagner's works in the modern era.

The article and other free content can be accessed here.

The Castorf Ring will be broadcast live from Bayreuth on 30 and 31 July by Sky Arts. Edward and Paula Bortnichak will be providing a commentary; the presenter is Stephen Fry; more information here. 

YOU CAN ACCESS THE WAGNER JOURNAL AT www.thewagnerjournal.co.uk