radio klassik Stephansdom broadcasts four complete operas every week — a unique quality in itself — and this summer the station will be devoted to the operas of two great German composers in recognition of a few anniversaries.
Carl Maria von Weber died on 5 June 1826, two hundred years ago, at the age of 39. Despite that relative youth, by the time of his death Weber had become perhaps the most accomplished composer of German romantic opera, producing several operas, some of which remain in the repertory today. radio klassik Stephansdom will broadcast seven Weber operas in their entirety in June, including his most famous opera Der Freischütz and two complete recordings of his one-act comedy Abu Hassan. More information about this mini-Weber-festival can be found here.
Weber was a profound influence on Richard Wagner, a man not fond of acknowledging influences outside of himself. The 150th anniversary of the opening of Bayreuth takes place this August, and during that month and the month of July radio klassik Stephansdom devotes the larger segment of its programming to Wagner, and specifically his Ring cycle. Both the Solti and von Karajan Ring cycles will be broadcast in their entirety through those two months, along with special programming from Stefan Mickisch that examines over 200 motifs in the Ring and a six-part special series by Markus Vorzellner on the origin story of the tetralogy. (Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg will also be broadcast on 23 June; one can also expect broadcasts of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony [which opened the Bayreuth Festival on 13 August 1876] and selections from Tristan ünd Isolde, perhaps my favorite Wagner opera, if not my favorite opera of them all.) More specific information here.
I can now see how I’ll be spending the summer — along with dedicating myself more diligently to improving my German so that I can enjoy more fully the rest of rkS’s programming. A full June-August schedule of radio klassik Stephansdom’s opera programming can be found here. More on that fine Vienna institution radio klassik Stephansdom here.
4 responses to “Wagner and Weber for the summer”
Hello George,
During the festival summer in Europe (starting very soon) you don’t have to rely on old opera productions.
Bayerischer Rundfunk – Bavaria’s radio station – broadcasts the annual Wagner festival in Bayreuth live, see https://www.br-klassik.de/themen/bayreuther-festspiele/spielplan/index.html – including a Ring.
And the Austrian public radio station Österreich 1 (Ö1) regularly features live broadcasts from festivals, including from Salzburg. oe1.orf.at
Enjoy!
Thank you, John’s wife! I rely on people like you to keep me in the know — especially about the Bayreuth broadcasts. I will explore both without delay.
Best to the Mr.
Sounds like an opportunity. I have yet to hear a complete ring cycle of a single production. 30 or more years ago, I was able to record 3 of 4 parts of the Met’s Ring, starring the incomparable Hildegard Behrens. But in those days, you had to set the timer on both your cable box and your VCR. If you made a mistake on one of them, just static. I think I missed “Siegfried.”
More recently, I was able to catch 3 of 4 parts of the Lepage Ring at the Met starring Debra Voigt and “The Machine,” both live and in HD simulcast. I was not able to catch “Götterdämerung.” “The Machine” malfunctioned during one performance, forcing the cast to re-block on the spot. I spotted a stage hand furiously tugging at one of the boards to no avail.
Will these broadcasts be archived, so we can listen later?
Not sure about whether or not they’ll be archived, Dan.
You can find several full Ring productions at the Deutsche Grammophon Stage+ web site (https://www.stage-plus.com/). It may cost a few $$ but worth it. They’ve got the entire Lepage Met cycle there and a few others — including the controversial Chereau/Boulez Ring, which is what I grew up with.