Wagner Rings Down the Curtain on CSO Season
“The Ring” and Nordic mythology surround us today. And not just in Richard Wagner’s
“Der Ring des Nibelungen,” which is always on the boards somewhere. (May
Festival music director James Conlon is conducting the four-opera cycle for Los Angeles Opera this spring.)
There’s also Tolkien’s “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings” -- even the vastly popular “Harry Potter” series, which is packed with references to Nordic folklore. This is not to mention the innumerable films, video games and comic books dealing with Vikings, dragons and magical objects. Adolph Hitler infamously adored and exploited Wagner, much to the latter’s discredit, and his music is still shunned in Israel and in Jewish (and other) communities worldwide.
The beat and the controversy go on.
Paavo Järvi and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra feature music from Wagner’s “Ring” operas on the final concert of the 2009-10 CSO season May 6 and 8 at Music Hall. In June, Cincinnati Opera will present its first “Die Meistersinger” in nearly two decades (June 23 and 26 at Music Hall).
Issues surrounding the composer were discussed in a Cincinnati Opera Rap May 5 at Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati. Moderator was Rabbi Abie Ingber, founding director of the Office of Interfaith Community Engagement and adjunct professor of theology at Xavier University. Panelists included Steven Goldstein, chair of the acting department at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and a Wagner singer; Jonathan Cohen, associate professor at HUC and director of the HUC/University of Cincinnati Ethics Center; and Anne Arenstein, Cincinnati music writer (City Beat) and curator for studio and family programs at the Taft Museum.
Many viewpoints were expressed. Opinions on how to deal with Wagner's polarizing music ranged from honoring the feelings of Holocaust survivors and their descendants by not subjecting them to Wagner’s music, to discontinuing visibility for the Nazi dictator by constantly associating him with the composer.
In the end, the panel concluded, everyone must grapple with Wagner is his or her own way (more on this discussion in a future posting on this site).
CSO concerts are at 7:30 p.m. May 6 and 8 p.m. May 8 at
Music Hall. Wagner excerpts to be performed, in order, include "Wotan's Farewell" and "Magic Fire Music" from "Die Walküre"; "Dawn" and "Siegfried's Rhine Journey" from "Götterdämmerung"; "Ride of the Valkyries" from "Die Walküre";
"Siegfried's Death and Funeral Music" from "Götterdämmerung"' and "Entrance of the Gods into Valhalla" from "Das Rheingold."
Guest artist is pianist Alexander Toradze in Tchaikovsky’s popular Piano Concerto No. 1.
Tickets are $10-$95 and are available at (513) 381-3300; the
Music Hall box office, open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 1
p.m. on Saturday and one hour before the concerts; and online at www.cincinnatisymphony.org
The May 6 concert is preceded by a buffet dinner in the Music Hall ballroom, free to ticketholders. Doors open at 6:15 p.m.
Following the May 8 concert, there will be a free “Season Celebration” party in the Music Hall foyer, with Järvi, the CSO musicians, live music, prizes and complimentary desserts.
Information at www.cincinnatisymphony.org