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The Wagner Society

Society library information

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The Society has a library of English and foreign-language (mostly German, obviously) books available to serious researchers. Requests for access can be made by e-mailing the Society.

The Society also has an Audio-Visual library - a collection of CDs tapes and videos of Wagner operas accumulated over the years by Members` donations.  Recently we have received a complete CD set of the Janowski Ring most generously donated by Melvyn Rayner, whose support of the Library is gratefully acknowledged.

 On another note, I am seeking to expand the Library`s collection of Wagner performances given in this country so that it is truly representative of British Wagner.  Already “gathered in” are performances dating back to the legendary Coronation season of 1936-1937 consisting of Tristan (both the infamous EMI “Reiner/Beecham” mixture and single performances from 1936 under Reiner and 1937 under Beecham), together with extended excerpts from Reiner`s 1937 Hollander and 1937 Parsifal.  Furtwangler`s Ring is represented by excerpts from Gotterdammerung and the complete Walkure 3rd Act – the complete Ring is rumored to exist in private hands but regrettably not ours. 

 The 1950s provides a fairly rich haul taking in Sir Thomas Beecham conducting Meistersinger in 1951 (sadly lacking the third act) and Ring operas under Kempe and Konwitschny.   Solti`s 1960s tenure at Covent Garden provides a complete Ring from 1963 supplemented by a 1965 Parsifal and Tristan from 1962 and 1971, which latter year also provides Sir Reginald Goodall conducting Parsifal.  From later in that decade we have Sir Colin Davis` complete Ring and his Tristan.

 More recent years bring performances by the country`s regional opera companies of Tristan, Tannhauser, & Hollander, together with London performances of Meistersinger, Hollander, Lohengrin, and Parsifal, under conductors as varied as Dohnanyi, Daniel, Haitink, and Gergiev.  We also have some single Acts from operas such as Solti performing Parsifal Act 2 at the Proms 1965 and Goodall doing Act 3 in 1985.

 Members may also be interested to hear that there is an audio recording, on either tape cassette or CD, of the famous and much-discussed Goodall “Mastersingers” from 1968. And to bring matters right up to date, Pappano`s Royal Opera "Rheingold" has just been added.

 The Society also has a rather smaller collection of video recordings of most of the major operas.  This collection is currently being expanded by a number of DVDs, all Region 2 and PAL format.

 All recordings are available to Members for a borrowing-fee of £3 per item.  The member will be responsible for returning the item within one month of the loan period– your support is encouraged either by way of loans of library material, or if you have unwanted items which you consider may be of interest to others, donations which are always welcome! 

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10 May 2007

There is a collection of Bayreuth Year Books from 1966 to 1993; 1984 is
missing, available from a member of the society.

Anyone interested in acquiring these should contact  libraryarchive(at)wagnersociety.org

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A full list of our audio-visual resource is available by e-mail (link below):-

e-mail: libraryarchive(at)wagnersociety.org

Wagner Society Recordings Library -
November 2004 update


Der fliegende Hollander.
Bayreuth Festival 18th July 1942 conductor Richard Kraus
2CDs
Joel Berglund (H), Ludwig Hoffman (D), Maria Muller (S), Lilo Asmus (M), Franz Volker (E), Erich Zimmermann (St)
Houston Grand Opera conductor Dietfried Bernet
2 CDs
Franz Grundheber (H), Gabor Andrasy (D), Sue Patchell (S), Judith Christin (M), Patrick Denniston (E), Raymond Verey (St)
New Philharmonia Orchestra, Live RFH London 1968 conductor Otto Klemperer
2 TCs
Theo Adam (H), Martti Talvela (D), Anja Silja (S), Anneliese Burmeister (M), James King (E), Kenneth McDonald (St)
Tannhauser
Deutsche Oper Berlin 1969 conductor Otto Gerdes
2TCs (Deutsche Grammophon)
Wolfgang Windgassen (T), Birgit Nilsson (E+V), Theo Adam (L), Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (Wo), Horst Laubenthal (Wa), Klaus Hirte (B), Hans Sotin (R), Caterina Alda (S)
Covent Garden 1978 conductor Sir Colin Davis
3 CDs – from BBC Radio broadcast
Wolfgang Kassel (T), Jessye Norman (E), Josephine Veasey (V), Norman Bailey (Wo), Karl Ridderbusch (L), Derek Blackwell (Wa), Robert Lloyd (B), Gwynne Howell (R), Joseph Law (S)
Lohengrin
Vienna State Opera Live 1965 conductor Karl Bohm
3 TCs
Jess Thomas (L), Claire Watson (E), Walter Berry (T), Christa Ludwig (O), Martti Talvela (H), Ebehard Waechter (Hd)
London Symphony Orchestra conductor Claudio Abbado, Edinburgh Festival 1983 (excerpts)
1 CD  from BBC Radio 3 broadcast
Siegfried Jerusalem (L), Rosalind Plowright (E), Hartmut Welker (T), Eva Hardabova (O), Robert Lloyd (H), Siegfried Lorenz (Hd)
Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg
Munich Prinzregententheater 1949 conductor Eugen Jochum
4 TCs
Gunther Treptow (W), Hans Hotter (S), Anneliese Kupper (E), Benno Kusche (B), Ruth Michaelis (M), Max Proebstl (P)
Tristan und Isolde
Covent Garden 11th June 1936 conductor Fritz Reiner
3 CDs
Lauritz Melchior (T), Kirsten Flagstad (I), Sabine Kalter (B), Herbert Janssen (K), Emanuel List (M), Frank Sale (Mt), Octave Dua (Sh), Roy Devereux (Sa), Leslie Horsemann (St)
New York Metropolitan Opera Live 2nd January 1937 conductor Artur Bodanzky
3TCs
Lauritz Melchior (T), Kirsten Flagstad (I), Kerstin Thorborg (B), Julius Huehn (K), Ludwig Hofmann (M), Arnold Gabor (Mt), Hans Clemens (Sh), Karl Laufkotter (Sa)
Bavarian State Opera Live 23rd July 1950 conductor Hans Knappertsbusch
3TCs
Gunther Treptow (T), Helena Braun (I), Margarete Klose (B), Paul Schoffler (K), Ferdinand Frantz (M), Albrecht Peter (Mt), Paul Kuen (Sh +  Sa), Fritz Bend
Parsifal
New York Metropolitan Opera 7th April 2001 conductor James Levine
4CD -  from BBC Radio broadcast
Placido Domingo (P), Hans-Joachim Ketelsen (A), John Tomlinson (G), Violeta Urmana (Ku), Ekkehard Wlaschiha (Kl), Raymond Acetel (T)
Bayreuth Festival 25th July 2004 conductor  Pierre Boulez
4 CDs  (Bavarian Radio broadcast)
Endrich Wottrich (P),  (A), Robert Holl (G), Michelle de Young (Ku),  (Kl), (T)
Das Rheingold
New York Metropolitan Opera company in Boston 3rd April 1937 conductor Artur Bodanzky
2 TCs
Friedrich Schorr (W), Karin Branzell (Fr), Karen Manzell (Fe), Julius Huehn (D), Hans Clemens (Fo), Rene Maison (L), Eduard Habich (A), Norman Condon (Fs), Emanuel List (Ff),
Bayreuth Festival 1951 conductor Herbert von Karajan
2 TCs
Sigurd Bjorling (W), Ira Malaniuk (Fr), Paula Brivkalne (Fe), Werner Faulhaber (D), Wolfgang Windgassen (Fo), Walter Fritz (L), Heinrich Pflanzl (A), Ludwig Weber (Fs), Friedrich Dalberg (Ff), Paul Kuen (M), Ruth Siewert (E), Elisabeth Schwarzkopf (Wo), Lore Wissman (We), Herta Topper (Fl)
Bayreuth Festival Live 25th July 1953  conductor Joseph Keilberth
2 TCs
Hans Hotter (W), Ira Malaniuk (Fr), Bruni Falcon (Fe), Hermann Uhde (D), Gerhard Stolze (Fo), Erich Witte (L), Gustav Neidlinger (A), Paul Kuen (M), Ludwig Weber (Fs), Josef Greindl (Ff), Erika Zimmermann (Wo), Hetty Plumacher (We), Gisela Litz), Maria von Ilosvay (E)
Bayreuth Festival Live 13th August 1956  conductor Hans Knappertsbusch
2 TCs
Hans Hotter (W), Georgina von Milinkovic (Fr), Gre Brouwenstijn (Fe), Alfons Herrweg (D), Josef Traxel (Fo), Ludwig Suthaus (L), Gustav Neidlinger (A), Paul Kuen (M), Josef Greindl (Fs), Arnold van Mill (Ff), Lore Wissmann (Wo), Paula Lechner (We), Maria von Ilosvay (Fl)), Jean Madeira (E)
Amsterdam 9th June 1999 conductor Hartmut Haenchen
2 TCs – from Dutch radio broadcast
John Brocheler (W), Reinhold Runkel (Fr), Carola Hohn (Fe), Jurgen Freier (D), Albert Bonemma (Fo), Chris Merritt (L), Henk Smit (A), Graham Clark (M), Peter Mikulas (Fs), Carsten Stabell (Ff), Gabriele Fontana (Wo), Hanna Schaer (We), Catherine Keen (Fl), Anne Gjevang (E)
Bayreuth Live 25th July 1983 conductor Sir Georg Solti
2 TCs (from BBC Radio broadcast)
Siegmund Nimsgern (W), Doris Soffel (Fr), Anita Soldh (Fe), heinz-Jurgen Demitz (D), Maldwyn Davies (Fo), Manfred Jung (L), Hermann Becht (A), Peter Haage (M), Manfred Schenk (Fs), Dieter Schweikart (Ff), Anne Gjevang (E)
Die Walkure
Bayreuth Festival Live 1953 conductor Joseph Keilberth
3TCs
Ramon Vinay (Sm), Regina Resnik (Sl), Josef Greindl (H), Hans Hotter (W), Martha Mödl (B), Ira Malaniuk (Fr)
Bayreuth Festival 26th July 1983 conductor Sir Georg Solti
3TCs – from BBC Radio broadcast
Siegfried Jerusalem (Sm), Jeannine Altmeyer (Sl), Matthias Holle (H), Siegmund Nimsgern (W), Hildegard Behrens (B), Doris Soffel (Fr)
Cleveland Orchestra conductor Christoph von Dohnanyi
3TCs
Poul Elming (Sm), Alessandra Marc (Sl), Alfred Muff (H), Robert Hale (W), Gabriele Schnaut (B), Anja Silja (Fr)
Amsterdam 10th June 1999 conductor Hartmut Haenchen
3 TCs – from Dutch radio broadcast
John Keyes (Sm), Jaennine Altmeyer (Sl), Kurt Rydl (H), John Brocheler (W), Nadine Secunde (B), Reinhild Runkel
Siegfried
New York Metropolitan Opera 30th January 1937 conductor Artur Bodanzky
3TCs
Lauritz Melchior (S), Kirsten Flagstad (B), Friedrich Schorr (W), Karl Laufkotter (M), Eduard Habich (A), Emanuel List  (Ff), Stella Andreva (Wd), Kerstin Thorborg (E)
Bayreuth Festival 15th August 1956 conductor Hans Knappertsbusch
3TCs
Wolfgang Windgassen (S), Astrid Varnay (B), Hans Hotter (W), Paul Kuen (M), Gustav Neidlinger (A), Arnold van Mill (Ff), Ilse Hollweg (Wd), Jean Madeira (E)
Bayreuth Festival 28th July 1983 conductor Sir Georg Solti
3 TCs – from  BBC broadcast
Manfred Jung (S), Hildegard Behrens (B), Bent Norup (W), Peter Haage (M), Hermann Becht (A), Dieter Schweikart (Ff), Sylvia Greenberg (Wd), Anne Gjevang (E)
Gotterdammerung
Amsterdam 23rd June 1999 conductor Hartmut Haenchen
3TCs -  from Dutch Radio broadcast
Heinz Kruse (S), Jeannine Altmeyer (B), Kurt Rydl (H), Henk Smit (A), Wolgang Schone (Gn), Eva-Marie Bundschuh (Gt), Anne Gjevang (W), Hebe Dijkstra (N1), Irmgard Vilsmaier (N2), Kirsi Tiihonen (N3), Gabriele Fontana (Wo), Hanna Schaer (We), Catherine Keen (Fl)
Bayreuth Festival Live 29th July 1953  conductor Joseph Keilberth
3TCs
Wolfgang Windgassen (S), Martha Mödl (B), Josef Greindl (H), Gustav Neidlinger (A), Hermann Uhde (Gn), Natalie Hinsch-Grondahl (Gt), Ira Malaniuk (W+N2), Maria von Ilosvay (N1), Regina Resnik (N3), Erika Zimermann (Wo), Hetty Plumacher (We), Gisela Litz (Fl)
Bayreuth Festival Live 17th August 1956  conductor Hans Knappertsbusch
3TCs
Wolfgang Windgassen (S), Astrid Varnay (B), Josef Greindl (H), Gustav Neidlinger (A), Hermann Uhde (Gn), Jean Madiera (W + N1), Maria von Ilosvay (N2/Fl), Astrid Varnay (N3), Lore Wissman (Wo), Paula Lechner (We)
Bayreuth Festival Live 1960 conductor Rudolf Kempe
3TCs
Hans Hopf (S), Birgit Nilsson (B), Gottlob Frick (H), Otakar Kraus (A), Thomas Stewart (Gn), Ingrid Bjoner (Gt), Grace Hoffman (W), Ruth Siewert (N1), Grace Hoffman (N2), Aase Nordmo-Lovberg (N3), Dorothea Siebert (Wo), Claudia Hellmann (We), Sona Cervena (Fl)
Bayreuth Festival 1st August 1983 conductor Sir Georg Solti
3TCs  (BBC broadcast)
Reiner Goldberg (S), Hildegard Behrens (B), Aage Haugland (H), Hermann Becht (A), Bent Norup (Gn), Maria Ewing  (Gt), Brigitte Fassbaender  (W), Anne Gjevang (N1), Anne Wilkens (N2), Anne Evans (N3), Agnes Harbereder (Wo), Diana Montague (We), Birgitta Svenden (Fl)

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