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The Old Wizard of Bayreuth – February 20, 1983 | Harbourfront, ON
The Old Wizard of Bayreuth – February 20, 1983 | Harbourfront, ON
Songs by Richard Wagner and by his French adherents
date: February 20, 1983
One of our earliest concerts, this was to be presented a number of times in subsequent seasons: in our Sunday Series, for the Wagner Society of New York in 1987 (as “A Wagnerian Salon”), in Ottawa in 1990 and again in our Sunday Series in 1998, though the repertoire was slightly revised over the years. This performance at Harbourfront was part of du Maurier’s “Brunch with Bach” series. We included a few of Wagner’s little-known early songs, particularly those in French, and a complete performance of the Wesendonck-Lieder. Our second half returned to France with music by some of that country’s enthusiasts for Wagner’s music: Fauré, Messager, Duparc and Berlioz – the latter a rather more equivocal supporter. Light relief was provided by the sets of quadrilles on Wagnerian themes by Fauré and Messager, and by Chabrier, an excerpt from which provided our encore with vocal lines added from a French translation of Tristan. Spoken narration was taken from the diaries and memoirs of the composer himself (delivered by Bruce Ubukata) and of his wife, Cosima, with some fascinating extracts from the reminiscences of the English diplomat, Lord Frederic Hamilton.
| Song | Artist | Composer | Poet |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polonaise in D, Op.2 | Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Wagner, Richard | n/a |
| L’Attente | Robbin, Catherine, mezzo; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Wagner, Richard | Hugo, Victor |
| Les Deux grenadiers | Korjus, Ingemar, bass-baritone; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Wagner, Richard | Heine, Heinrich, trans. Loeve-Veimar, François-Adolphe |
| Dors, mon enfant | Robbin, Catherine, mezzo; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Wagner, Richard | anon. |
| Der Engel (Wesendonck-Lieder) | Robbin, Catherine, mezzo; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Wagner, Richard | Wesendonck, Mathilde |
| Stehe still (Wesendonck-Lieder) | Korjus, Ingemar, bass-baritone; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Wagner, Richard | Wesendonck, Mathilde |
| Im Treibhaus (Wesendonck-Lieder) | Robbin, Catherine, mezzo; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Wagner, Richard | Wesendonck, Mathilde |
| Schmerzen (Wesendonck-Lieder) | Korjus, Ingemar, bass-baritone; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Wagner, Richard | Wesendonck, Mathilde |
| Träume (Wesendonck-Lieder) | Robbin, Catherine, mezzo; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Wagner, Richard | Wesendonck, Mathilde |
| Souvenirs de Bayreuth | Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Fauré, Gabriel / Messager, André | n/a |
| Cantique à l’épouse, Op.36/1 | Korjus, Ingemar, bass-baritone; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Chausson, Ernest | Jounet, Albert |
| Villanelle des petits canards | Korjus, Ingemar, bass-baritone; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Chabrier, Emmanuel | Gérard, Rosemonde |
| Souvenirs de Munich | Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Chabrier, Emmanuel | n/a |
| La Lugubre gondola II | Ralls, Stephen, piano | Liszt, Franz | n/a |
| Sur les lagunes – Lamento, Op.7/3 (Nuits d’été) | Robbin, Catherine, mezzo; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Berlioz, Hector | Gautier, Théophile |
| Souvenirs de Munich (excerpt) | Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Chabrier, Emmanuel | n/a |
| Souvenirs de Munich (excerpt) – ENCORE | Robbin, Catherine, mezzo; Korjus, Ingemar, bass-baritone; Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Chabrier, Emmanuel | anon. |