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Recording of the month

Der fliegende Holländer conducted by Franz Konwitschny


DVD of the month

The Copenhagen Ring


Important years in Richard Wagner's life

1813 born in Leipzig
1834 Die Feen completed
1843 Holländer premiere
1845 Tannhäuser premiere
1850 Lohengrin premiere
1852 text of Rheingold and Walküre
1854 Das Rheingold completed
1856 Die Walküre completed
1859 Tristan completed
1865 Tristan premiere in Munich
1868 Meistersinger premiere
1869 Das Rheingold premiere
1870 Die Walküre premiere
1871 Siegfried completed
1874 Götterdämmerung completed
1876 First Festival in Bayreuth
1882 Parsifal premiere
1883 Wagner dies in Venice

 

Tristan und Isolde Conductors in Bayreuth

1886

Felix Mottl

1889

Felix Mottl

1891

Felix Mottl

1892

Felix Mottl

1906

Michael Balling
Felix Mottl

1927

Karl Elmendorff

1928

Karl Elmendorff
One of the performances this year was recorded and released on CD. Norwegians Gunnar Graarud is Tristan and Ivar F. Andresen King Marke. Listen to Andresen here (link will open your default MP3 player).
A list of Norwegians in Bayreuth is available on Wagneropera.no

1930

Arturo Toscanini

For Toscanini it was a great night, his Bayreuth debut. To his presence—perhaps his last engagement as an opera conductor —was ascribed an early sell-out of admissions for the whole season. He is conducting all five Tannhauser performances, the three of Tristan. Before him no South European had held the conductor's wand at the Festspielhaus. Thus to him had fallen the honor of bringing true Friedrich Nietzsche's words of long ago to Wagner: "We must 'Mediterraneanize' music." Tannhauser had not been given in Bayreuth in 25 years. It was an equally long time since Toscanini had conducted it. After each act (and at following performances) the great audience cheered tempestuously, threw hats, stamped, applauded, called for conductor and cast. But they called vainly. There are no curtain calls at Bayreuth.
(Time Magazine, Monday, Aug. 04, 1930)

1931

Wilhelm Furtwängler

1938

Karl Elmendorff

1939

Victor de Sabata

1952

Herbert von Karajan

1953

Eugen Jochum

1957

Wolfgang Sawallisch

1958

Wolfgang Sawallisch

1959

Wolfgang Sawallisch

1962

Karl Böhm

1963

Karl Böhm

1964

Karl Böhm

1966

Karl Böhm
A performance from this Festival was recorded, and is now a true Tristan und Isolde classic recording. More info on Karl Böhm's recording with Birgit Nilsson and Wolfgang Windgassen as Isolde and Tristan.

1968

Karl Böhm

1969

Karl Böhm

1970

Karl Böhm

1974

Carlos Kleiber

1975

Carlos Kleiber

1976

Carlos Kleiber
Horst Stein

1977

Horst Stein

1981

Daniel Barenboim
Johanna Meier as IsoldeA new production. Stage director: Jean-Pierre Ponnelle.

1982

Daniel Barenboim

1983

Daniel Barenboim
This production by Jean-Pierre Ponnelle was filmed and released on DVD with Johanna Meier and René Kollo as Isolde and Tristan.

1985

Daniel Barenboim

1986

Daniel Barenboim

1987

Daniel Barenboim

1993

Daniel Barenboim
New production. Stage director: Heiner Müller.

Waltraud Meier

1994

Daniel Barenboim

1995

Daniel Barenboim
This production by Heiner Müller became a huge success. It was Waltraud Meier's debut as Isolde. The production was filmed and released on DVD with Waltraud Meier and Siegfried Jerusalem as Isolde and Tristan.

1996

Daniel Barenboim

1997

Daniel Barenboim

1999

Daniel Barenboim

2005

Eiji Oue

2006

Peter Schneider

2008

Peter Schneider
Tristan: Robert Dean Smith
Isolde Iréne Theorin

See full cast here

 

Tristan und Isolde
Tristan und Isolde on CD
Tristan und Isolde on DVD

Parsifal conductors at Bayreuth

 

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