Wagner Society of New York

“21 Years at the Met”
2016-04-08 00:00 UTC
Violinist Erica Miner: “21 Years at the Met.”

Tribute to Waltraud Meier
2016-05-05 00:00 UTC
Tribute to Waltraud Meier, Met soprano (for special contributor members). Interview with F. Paul Driscoll; message from Mo. Daniel Barenboim, remarks by distinguished guests; presentation of Anton Seidl Award.

Fidelio cast talk
2017-03-21 00:00 UTC
Klaus Florian Vogt, Hanna-Elisabeth Müller, and Sebastian Weigle (stars of Fidelio), interviewed by Scott Carlton.

Günther Groissböck Reception
2017-03-26 00:00 UTC
Special Contributors Reception: Günther Groissböck, honoree.

“Shining the Ring: Revisiting It as a Director”
2017-12-08 00:00 UTC
Francesca Zambello, director of San Francisco Ring: “Shining the Ring: Revisiting It as a Director”; with Maestro Donald Runnicles, conductor of the Ring.

Piotr Beczala, tenor
2019-01-14 00:00 UTC
Interview and reception in honor of Piotr Beczala, tenor.

A View from the Podium: Eve Queler on Conducting Wagner
2019-10-23 00:00 UTC
Eve Queler on Conducting Wagner, with booksigning of her memoir A View from the Podium.

Die Feen at The Glimmerglass Festival
2019-11-13 00:00 UTC
Francesca Zambello and Die Feen, with cast members and production team scheduled for The Glimmerglass Festival.

Alex Ross and Heath Lees on Wagnerism
2020-11-19 00:00 UTC
A conversation between Alex Ross and Heath Lees about Ross’s acclaimed new 784-page book Wagnerism: Art and Politics in the Shadow of Wagner. They discuss the format of the book and the many aspects of this broad subject that are covered in depth, throughout Europe and in the U.S.
Watch on YouTube:

Maestro Pappano on Meistersinger
2021-11-08 14:30 - 16:00 UTC | National Opera Center, 330 Seventh Avenue, 7th Floor, New York, NY, 10001, United States
Sir Antonio Pappano, conductor of Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg at the Met and Music director of the Royal Opera House, was interviewed by Fred Cohn at this exclusive WSNY event, which took place live at the National Opera Center in New York City.

Donald Palumbo: Wagner and the Met Chorus
2021-12-13 19:30 - 21:00 UTC | Holy Trinity Church, 213 West 82nd Street, New York, NY, 10024, United States
Renowned Met Chorus Master Donald Palumbo, who directed 200 chorus members in the Metropolitan Opera’s recent revival of Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, gave a talk to the WSNY community. The interview was hosted by Susan Brodie (reviewer, Classical Voice North America).

Talk with Stefan Vinke
2022-04-18 17:00 - 18:00 UTC | 3 West Club, 3 W51st. St., New York, 10019, United States
Interview with Stefan Vinke, heldentenor, Aegisth in Elektra and Siegfried in the 2019 Met Ring, guest of honor on the Ring cruise.
Interview Host: Fred Cohn.
Watch on YouTube:

Tenors Clay Hilley and Issachah Savage
2022-12-06 19:00 - 20:30 (America/New_York)
Description:
Wagner Society grantees Clay Hilley and Issachah Savage recently recorded a thrilling interview with Society Singers Program Director Scott Carlton, and was videocast to WSNY members.
For many years, the Society has been honored to support careers of young Wagnerians who have subsequently built major careers. Hilley and Savage are among the most recent and most prominent. Tenor Clay Hilley was then singing Tristan at the Deutsche Oper Berlin. Tenor Issachah Savage had just completed a run of Idomeneo at the Metropolitan Opera. We are thrilled that they agreed to engage in a joint discussion with Scott. These two young artists share meaningful and insightful reflections on their work, their careers and their aspirations.
Watch on YouTube:

Maestro Thomas Guggeis on Conducting Wagner
2023-06-07 16:30 - 18:30 (America/Halifax) | National Opera Center, 330 Seventh Avenue, 7th Floor, New York, NY, 10001, United States
Maestro Thomas Guggeis shared his insights into the challenges of conducting the Ring in Berlin and Der fliegende Holländer at the Metropolitan Opera, with particular emphasis on the influence of bel canto tradition in Wagner’s vocal writing.
Thomas Guggeis created an international stir in March 2018 when he was tapped to take over a highly acclaimed new production of Salome from Christoph von Dohnányi at the Staatsoper unter den Linden in Berlin, where he was subsequently named Staatskapellmeister for the 2019/20 to 2022/23 seasons. In 2022, Maestro Guggeis conducted the second Ring cycle in place of Daniel Barenboim. In October 2021 he was named Music Director-designate of the Oper Frankfurt as of 2023/24, where he will also assume artistic leadership of the Frankfurt Museumskonzerte. At the time of our event, Guggeis was making his debuts at the Metropolitan Opera and the Santa Fe Opera with Der fliegende Holländer.

Conductor Thomas Guggeis demonstrates motifs from Der fliegende Holländer.

Maestro Thomas Guggeis speaks with Prof. John J. H. Muller IV and members and guests of the Wagner Society of New York.

Maestro Guggeis takes some time to talk with WSNY members before the evening's performance.

Talk with Metropolitan Opera Concertmaster David Chan
2023-10-18 18:30 - 20:30 (America/New_York) | National Opera Center, 330 Seventh Avenue, 7th Floor, New York, NY, 10001, United States
Description:
Our guest speaker, Maestro David Chan, in his 24th season as concertmaster of New York’s Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, which performs almost daily under a constantly changing series of conductors. Mr. Chan discussed those challenges, as well as his experiences as an orchestral conductor in the United States and in Europe.
Mr. Chan is a member of the faculty of the Juilliard School and serves as Head of the Orchestral Performance Program at the Manhattan School of Music. Mr. Chan also recently served as Music Director of the APEX Ensemble and Camerata Notturna. He has conducted the Mainly Mozart’s All-Star Orchestra, the combined musicians of the LA Philharmonic and San Francisco Symphony, as well as the Met Orchestra and the National Symphony Orchestra. Recent conducting engagements have included Belgium’s l’Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège, the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra, and l’Orchestre Dijon Bourgogne in France, the Grant Park and Classical Tahoe summer festivals, the Juilliard Orchestra and Manhattan School of Music in New York City, and the Apollo Orchestra in Washington, D.C. He is co-founder of Musique et Vin au Clos Vougeot festival in the Burgundy region of France, which pairs wine tastings with music.
The event was followed by a social hour with refreshments.

“I have a very different tolerance of mistakes as well, as a player and as a conductor”

“I’m much more interested in the structure of a movement. So I’ve marked off 4-bar phrases here: two bars of introduction and then 4 bars / 4 bars / 4 bars / 4 bars … what I’ve found is, if I understand how a house is built – and Bruckner’s symphonies are built like cathedrals – it’s all about numbers … he actually put in the period numbering that he was going to use for structure in his score before he wrote any melody. He’s the only composer who did that. And it shows the importance of structure.” – David Chan on Mahler’s Symphony No. 4.

“I had a Soviet-trained teacher […] his training was based around going to the major international competitions and striving to become a soloist. So it was that type of training I did. I owe the technical facility and the physical foundation I have for making music to that.”

Location:
The National Opera Center, 330 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY.
Pricing:
Free for members, $15 for non-members, live in-person or online (video stream available 48 hours after start of program).
Livestream:
WSNY members will receive the livestream link automatically by email; the event is viewable until 48 hours after it begins.
Accessibility:
The Opera America building has ground-level entry with elevators to the 7th floor. Wheelchair accessible; modular seating will be arranged to accommodate wheelchairs and walkers. Handicap-accessible restrooms are available on the same floor. The venue is located on the west side of 7th Avenue between 28th-29th Streets, closer to 29th Street. Sidewalk curb cuts at the 29th Street corner are uneven; for easier access and tactile paving enter from the 28th Street corner (at the downtown #1 subway station).

Special Contributors Reception with Oksana Lyniv
2024-03-14 18:00 - 20:00 (America/New_York)
A private reception in honor of Maestra Oksana Lyniv.
Oksana Lyniv was the first woman to conduct at the Bayreuth Festival when she led Der fliegende Holländer in 2021, a work she will conduct again at this summer’s Festival. She was in New York to conduct Puccini’s Turandot at the Metropolitan Opera Feb. 28 – Apr. 19.
This invitation was exclusive to our Special Contributors as well as our valued board and committee members.

Bayreuth Talk: Conductor Simone Young
2024-08-19 10:30 - 11:30 (Europe/Berlin) | Arvena Kongress Hotel, Eduard-Bayerlin Str. 5a, Bayreuth, 95445, Germany
Exploring the works in-depth with the artists performing in the Festival, we continue our series of Artists’ Talks in 2024. These performers will discuss their careers, the challenges and rewards of working at Bayreuth, and answer audience questions in an informal atmosphere.
On Monday, 19 August we welcome conductor Simone Young, who will be conducting the Ring Cycle at this year’s festival.
Simone Young is currently chief conductor of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and from 2005-15 was the General Manager and Music Director of the Hamburg State Opera. After completing her musical studies in her native Sydney, Ms. Young began her career on the podium in Germany. This launched her international career, which has taken her to nearly all the most important opera houses and symphony orchestras around the world. Ms. Young is well known as a Wagner and Strauss specialist, a reputation she developed early in her career when she conducted multiple complete cycles of Wagner’s “Ring” at the Vienna State Opera and the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin, as well as his Walküre and Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg along with Strauss’ Elektra, Salome, Die Frau Ohne Schatten and Ariadne auf Naxos, and also with a new production of Hans Pfitzner’s Palestrina at the Bavarian State Opera.
This in-person-only event will take place at the Arvena Kongress Hotel in Bayreuth, Germany.
Tickets are $20 in advance online, 20 € cash or credit card at the door. Pre-purchase is recommended to expedite entry and seating.

Bayreuth Talk: Bass-Baritone Nicholas Brownlee
2024-08-20 10:30 - 11:30 (Europe/Berlin) | Arvena Kongress Hotel, Eduard-Bayerlin Str. 5a, Bayreuth, 95445, Germany
Exploring the works in-depth with the artists performing in the Festival, we continue our series of Artists’ Talks in 2024. These performers will discuss their careers, the challenges and rewards of working at Bayreuth, and answer audience questions in an informal atmosphere.
On Tuesday, 20 August we welcome bass-baritone Nicholas Brownlee, who will be performing Donner in Das Rheingold at the festival this season.
Nicholas Brownlee, from Mobile, Alabama, is a member of the ensemble at Oper Frankfurt, and winner of the Zarzuela prize at Operalia as well as a grand prize winner of The Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. He has enjoyed success with roles such as Kurwenal, Hans Sachs, Der Holländer, Jochanaan in Salome, Der Geisterbote in Die Frau ohne Schatten, Colline in La Bohème, Méphistophélès, Amonasro, Leporello, and Caspar in Der Freischütz.
This in-person-only event will take place at the Arvena Kongress Hotel in Bayreuth, Germany.
Tickets are $20 in advance online, 20 € cash or credit card at the door. Pre-purchase is recommended to expedite entry and seating.

Bayreuth Talk: Bass Tobias Kehrer
2024-08-21 10:30 - 11:30 (Europe/Berlin) | Arvena Kongress Hotel, Eduard-Bayerlin Str. 5a, Bayreuth, 95445, Germany
Exploring the works in-depth with the artists performing in the Festival, we continue our series of Artists’ Talks in 2024. These performers will discuss their careers, the challenges and rewards of working at Bayreuth, and answer audience questions in an informal atmosphere.
On Wednesday, 21 August we welcome bass Tobias Kehrer, who will be performing Fafner in Das Rheingold and Siegfried and Titurel in Parsifal.
Tobias Kehrer, born in Dessau, started his musical education with private singing lessons and studied at the Universität der Künste in Berlin with Professor Siegfried Lorenz. He joined the Deutsche Oper Berlin as a company member in 2012 and developed roles in Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Der fliegende Holländer, Don Giovanni, Die Zauberflöte, Jeanne d’Arc, Rienzi, Il barbiere di Siviglia, La Bohème, Rigoletto, and Elektra. He has appeared at the Bayreuth Festival since 2018 and engaged to sing the Nachtwächter in the new Meistersinger production in 2025.
This in-person-only event will take place at the Arvena Kongress Hotel in Bayreuth, Germany.
Tickets are $20 in advance online, 20 € cash or credit card at the door. Pre-purchase is recommended to expedite entry and seating.

Bayreuth Talk: Soprano Catherine Foster
2024-08-22 10:30 - 11:30 (Europe/Berlin) | Arvena Kongress Hotel, Eduard-Bayerlin Str. 5a, Bayreuth, 95445, Germany
Exploring the works in-depth with the artists performing in the Festival, we continue our series of Artists’ Talks in 2024. These performers will discuss their careers, the challenges and rewards of working at Bayreuth, and answer audience questions in an informal atmosphere.
On Thursday, 22 August we welcome soprano Catherine Foster, who will be singing Brünnhilde in Die Walküre, Siegfried, and Götterdämmerung in the Ring Cycle at this year’s festival.
Catherine Foster is one of the leading dramatic sopranos worldwide and has set herself apart internationally through her work with the Wagnerian repertoire. She is considered one of the most important soloists to have appeared over the last decade at the Bayreuth Festival and it is telling that she performed not just Isolde, but also Brünnhilde in both Götterdämmerung and Die Walküre in the 2023 festival.
In the 2023-24 season Catherine has appeared in the title role of Puccini’s Turandot at the Hamburg State Opera, Teatro del Liceu Barcelona, Opéra de Dijon, and the Deutsche Oper Berlin. She sang Isolde in Tristan und Isolde in Barrie Kosky’s critically acclaimed production in Essen, as well as Brünnhilde in Die Walküre in Greek National Opera’s first-ever staging of the work. She was presented with the prestigious Reginald Goodall Prize by the London Wagner Society for her outstanding dedication to the music of Richard Wagner.
This in-person-only event will take place at the Arvena Kongress Hotel in Bayreuth, Germany.
Tickets are $20 in advance online, 20 € cash or credit card at the door. Pre-purchase is recommended to expedite entry and seating.

A View from the Prompter's Box with Craig Rutenberg
2024-10-31 18:30 - 20:30 (America/New_York) | National Opera Center, 330 Seventh Avenue, 7th Floor, New York, NY, 10001, United States
“The prompter is the ultimate safety net for the performance: a helper, part conductor, part assistant stage director, knowing the problem spots with individual singers — an in-the-moment problem solver. Those are just a few of the skills required.” – Craig Rutenberg

"I think the best description I've ever heard of what a prompter does is, we are the safety net. That was Maestro Levine's term for it. And if a conductor or director - more and more nowadays - doesn't see the need for a safety net - they're hanging themselves out to dry pretty badly."

On prompting a chorus: "There are certain, ahem, chorus masters who say: 'Don't bother the chorus.' The chorus comes to me and says, 'Please! We need your cues! Don't care what he says... we need you!' So it's always a delicate balance there. "

Social hour after Mr. Rutenberg's talk

Former Head of Music Staff at the Metropolitan Opera, Craig Rutenberg explains what a prompter does, what preparation prompters undergo in a particular production, and how a good prompter can rescue performers from disaster. He will also discuss the various responsibilities of the music staff at the Met — from rehearsal pianist to diction coach to assistant conductor to prompter.
This informal talk with Mr. Rutenberg will be led by conductor Tyson Deaton and discuss how prompting Wagner is different from, say, Mozart or Puccini; the differences between prompting solo singers as opposed to difficult ensembles such as Die Meistersinger; developing sensitivity to the individual needs of artists; the function of a prompter in the rehearsal room vs. the stage, and physical/technical aspects of positioning; memorable moments while prompting and in rehearsals, and of course what happens when things go wrong – or surprisingly right!

The event will be followed by a social hour with refreshments, and livestreamed (viewable up to 36 hours after the start of the event). WSNY Members will receive livestream link automatically by e-mail; no need to pre-register.
Program Change: Regrettably Ms. Joan Dornemann is unavailable for her originally scheduled talk. We thank Craig Rutenberg for accepting our invitation to this interview.
About the Speaker: Craig Rutenberg, a native of New Haven, CT, is best known as an accompanist and vocal coach. He is former Head of Music at The Metropolitan Opera and has coached nationally and worldwide for the opera companies in San Francisco, Chicago and Houston as well as at The Paris Opera, Covent Garden and The Glyndebourne Festival. Mr. Rutenberg has appeared in recital and recorded with Thomas Hampson, Ben Heppner, Christine Brewer along with many others. Future plans include coaching at several universities in the USA in addition to visits to China, Sweden, Italy and the Czech Republic.
Accessibility: The Opera America building has ground-level entry with elevators to the 7th floor. Wheelchair accessible; modular seating will be arranged to accommodate wheelchairs and walkers. Handicap-accessible restrooms are available on the same floor. The venue is located on the west side of 7th Avenue between 28th-29th Streets, closer to 29th Street. Sidewalk curb cuts at the 29th Street corner are uneven; for easier access and tactile paving enter from the 28th Street corner (at the downtown #1 subway station).

Seminar: Die Frau ohne Schatten
2024-12-08 12:00 - 16:15 (America/New_York) | Bohemian National Hall, 321 E 73rd St., Third Floor, New York, 10021, United States
Photo: Ken Howard / The Metropolitan Opera
This is the Society’s annual “deep dive” into a Wagner-related work currently in the repertory of the Metropolitan Opera. This year we will visit a work that many regard as Richard Strauss’s masterpiece: Die Frau ohne Schatten. Join us in a conversation about Richard Strauss’s most richly scored and opulently exotic work, with a highly symbolic and intellectual libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal, a mixture of fairy-tale, magic, and Freudian psychology.
Speakers include Prof. Bryan Gilliam of Duke University, Dr. Anna Balas of the New York Psychoanalytic Society and Institute, Prof. Larry Wolff of New York University, and our very popular Singers’ Roundtable featuring members of the cast of the Met production. Critic and lecturer David Shengold will return as our Moderator.
Program:
PDF Download: WSNY Die Frau ohne Schatten Seminar Program

12:00 p.m.
Welcome by Chairman John Ryan and Moderator David Shengold

12:05 – 12:55 p.m.
Prof. Larry Wolff, “Die Frau ohne Schatten, World War One, and the Departure of Emperors and Empresses”

12:55 – 1:15
break

1:15 – 2:00 pm
Dr. Anna Balas, “Shadowless Women: A Psychoanalytic Perspective”

2:00 – 2:15 p.m.
break

2:15 – 3:00 p.m.
Met Cast Roundtable:
Michael Volle (Barak the Dyer)
Lise Lindström (Dyer’s Wife)
Elza van den Heever (Empress)
Jessica Faselt (Voice of the Falcon)
other cast members TBA

3:00 – 3:15 p.m.
break

3:15 – 4:00 p.m.
Prof. Bryan Gilliam, “Die Frau ohne Schatten and the Problem of Marriage”

Spend the day exploring an opera that author Sherrill Hahn Pantle said “stands before the audiences of the last quarter of the twentieth century as the incarnation of a lost innocence and the realization of a lost hope.”
Books and other items relating to Strauss and Wagner will be available for sale and refreshments will be served. Continue the conversation over dinner or a drink: for post-event gatherings, we recommend Bohemian Spirit, the Czech restaurant located on the first floor of Bohemian National Hall.
Discount Tickets: WSNY Members get 15% off the Met’s run of Die Frau ohne Schatten this season – check your email for details.
Livestream is available; or watch up to 36 hours after the program (midnight Tuesday, December 10).
About the speakers:

Anna Balas MD is a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst for adults and children in private practice on the UES in Manhattan. She is a training and supervising analyst at the New York Psychoanalytic Society and Institute, the oldest in the US. She teaches on Normal and Pathological Narcissism and on Psychic Trauma. Dr. Balas is also Associate Professor at the Payne Whitney Division of the Weill Cornell Medical Center. She has an interest in transcultural factors and creativity. She is the author of a chapter entitled “Yearning for Intimacy: Bela Bartok’s Duke Bluebeard’s Castle” in a volume entitled Opera on the Couch: Music, Emotional Life and Unconscious Aspects of the Mind, editors S. Goldberg and L. Rather (Routledge, 2022).

David Shengold is a critic and lecturer and resides in New York City. He regularly writes for Opera (with Opera News) as well as Opéra Magazine, Opernwelt and other publications. He has done program essays for companies including the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Washington National Opera, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, and the Wexford and Glyndebourne festivals.

Bryan Gilliam Ph.D. is Professor Emeritus at Duke University (Department of Music and German). He has published five books on Richard Strauss, most recently Rounding Wagner’s Mountain: Richard Strauss and Modern German Opera (Cambridge University Press). He is writing a sixth one on Salome for Oxford Keynotes. Beyond scholarly venues, he has given lectures at various national and international festivals such as Bayreuth, Salzburg, and Mostly Mozart, among others; as well as opera and concert venues: Lincoln Center Great Performances, New York Philharmonic, American Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Santa Fe Opera, and the San Francisco Opera. Besides Strauss, he has published on Anton Bruckner, Kurt Weill, and Erich Wolfgang Korngold.

Larry Wolff Ph.D. is Julius Silver Professor of History at New York University. At NYU he has previously served as Executive Director of the Remarque Institute and as Co-Director of NYU Florence at Villa La Pietra. His most recent book (a book about Die Frau ohne Schatten) is The Shadow of the Empress: Fairy-Tale Opera and the End of the Habsburg Monarchy (2023). His books also include The Singing Turk: Ottoman Power and Operatic Emotions on the European Stage from the Siege of Vienna to the Age of Napoleon (2016), The Idea of Galicia: History and Fantasy in Habsburg Political Culture (2010), and Inventing Eastern Europe: The Map of Civilization on the Mind of the Enlightenment (1994). He writes frequently about opera, publishing essays and reviews in the Times Literary Supplement, the New York Review of Books, the New York Times, the New Yorker, the Los Angeles Review of Books, and the Hudson Review. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Venue & Accessibility: Bohemian National Hall, 321 East 73rd Street (between 1st Street-2nd Avenue), Third Floor
There are smooth sidewalk cutouts at 73rd & Second Ave.; those at First Ave. are uneven. Look for the access ramp to Bohemian Spirit Restaurant to the left of the Hall; the venue is fully accessible. WSNY Seminar is on the 3rd Floor, via elevators, and seating can be arranged to accommodate walkers and wheelchairs. ADA compliant restrooms are conveniently located on the same floor.

Wagnerian Techniques in Film Scores: Howard Shore’s Lord of the Rings
2025-01-08 18:30 - 21:00 (America/New_York) | National Opera Center, 330 Seventh Avenue, 7th Floor, New York, NY, 10001, United States
Wagnerian Techniques in Film Scores: The Motivic Structure of Howard Shore’s Lord of the Rings

In his decades-long career as a musician, Doug Adams has remained in-demand as a performer, a composer/arranger, an author, and a lecturer. He was selected by Howard Shore to observe and document his work on The Lord of the Rings films – a score performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, eventually exceeding 13 hours, and consistently cited as one of the best film scores ever written. Adams subsequently spent just under ten years writing the book, The Music of the Lord of the Rings Films. He joins the Wagner Society to analyze and compare the use of motives as a structural component in Wagner and in Shore. What if Wagner had the opportunity to score a modern film?
The program will be preceded by a brief Annual Membership Meeting. The Meeting is being held in January, rather than later in the year as previously, as a result of a recent change to the Society’s fiscal year end. The purpose of the Annual Meeting is to elect the 2025-26 Board of Directors and the transaction of such other business as may properly come before the meeting. Your vote is needed! Members who cannot attend in person may send in (by mail or electronically, returning it to arrive no later than noon Tuesday, January 7, 20254) the form (sent by postal mail and online here) to designate a proxy.
The event will be followed by a social hour with refreshments, and livestreamed (viewable up to 36 hours after the start of the event). WSNY Members will receive livestream link automatically by e-mail; no need to pre-register.
Accessibility: The Opera America building has ground-level entry with elevators to the 7th floor. Wheelchair accessible; modular seating will be arranged to accommodate wheelchairs and walkers. Handicap-accessible restrooms are available on the same floor. The venue is located on the west side of 7th Avenue between 28th-29th Streets, closer to 29th Street. Sidewalk curb cuts at the 29th Street corner are uneven; for easier access and tactile paving enter from the 28th Street corner (at the downtown #1 subway station).

Reception with Conductor Simone Young - For Special Contributors
2025-05-02 16:30 - 18:00 (America/New_York)
Conductor Simone Young will again join the Wagner Society of New York, this time for a private reception following her matinée performance of Bruckner’s Sixth Symphony with the New York Philharmonic.
For Special Contributors (Patrons and above) only – a separate invite will be sent via e-mail.

Bayreuth Artist Talk: Ekaterina Gubanova
2025-08-18 10:30 - 23:30 (Europe/Berlin) | Arvena Kongress Hotel, Eduard-Bayerlin Str. 5a, Bayreuth, 95445, Germany
Join us in 2025 for the Bayreuth Artists Talks Series, an engaging opportunity to connect with the exceptional performers of the Bayreuth Festival. These intimate sessions offer audiences a rare glimpse behind the scenes as artists reflect on their careers, share insights into their roles and creative processes, and discuss the unique experience of performing at Bayreuth. With a relaxed and informal setting, these conversations provide a deeper understanding of the works the artists bring to life on stage, making each event a memorable encounter with the people behind the music.
Ekaterina Gubanova (2025: Kundry in Parsifal, Brangäne in Tristan und Isolde; Venus in Tannhäuser 2019-24) is acknowledged as one of the leading mezzos of our days. Born in Moscow she first studied piano before being trained as an opera singer at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatoire, the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki and as a member of the Young Artists Program at the Royal Opera House in London. Since then, she regularly guests at the major opera houses and festivals worldwide, such as the Metropolitan Opera New York, the Lyric Opera Chicago, La Scala in Milano, the Rome Opera, the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, the Opera national de Paris, the Vienna State Opera, the Bavarian State Opera, the Berlin State Opera, the Hamburg State Opera, the Bolshoi Theatre, the Mariinsky Theatre, the Gran Teatro del Liceu Barcelona, the Teatro Real Madrid as well as the Bayreuth festival.
The 2024/25 season sees Ekaterina Gubanova in new productions of Das Rheingold (Fricka) at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, and Rusalka (Foreign Princess) at the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples. Later in the season, she also returns to the Paris Opera for Don Carlos and to the Vienna State Opera for a new production of Tannhäuser.
This in-person-only event will take place at the Arvena Kongress Hotel in Bayreuth, Germany.
Tickets are $15 in advance online, €15 cash or credit card at the door. Get the Series: all five artists talks plus Parsifal Mythologies for $60 (a $30 savings). Pre-purchase is recommended to expedite entry and seating.

Bayreuth Artist Talk: Jordan Shanahan
2025-08-19 10:30 - 11:30 (Europe/Berlin) | Arvena Kongress Hotel, Eduard-Bayerlin Str. 5a, Bayreuth, 95445, Germany
Join us in 2025 for the Bayreuth Artists Talks Series, an engaging opportunity to connect with the exceptional performers of the Bayreuth Festival. These intimate sessions offer audiences a rare glimpse behind the scenes as artists reflect on their careers, share insights into their roles and creative processes, and discuss the unique experience of performing at Bayreuth. With a relaxed and informal setting, these conversations provide a deeper understanding of the works the artists bring to life on stage, making each event a memorable encounter with the people behind the music.
Jordan Shanahan (Kurwenal in Tristan und Isolde, Klingsor in Parsifal, Kothner in Die Meistersinger) has made a name for himself internationally, particularly with his charismatic interpretations of dramatic roles. In the 2024/205 season, he sang Monterone in Rigoletto at the Metropolitan Opera, his debut in Portugal at the Casa da Música in Porto with Zemlinsky’s Lyrische Symphonie, a new production of Die Frau ohne Schatten as Barak at the Deutsche Oper Berlin and his house debut at the Vienna State Opera as Telramund in Lohengrin with Christian Thielemann. In addition to the standard repertoire, Jordan Shanahan has also made a name for himself in contemporary repertoire and with roles such as Joseph de Rocher in Dead Man Walking, Robert Oppenheimer in Dr. Atomic, The Protector in Written on Skin and Il Uomo Senza Sangue.
This in-person-only event will take place at the Arvena Kongress Hotel in Bayreuth, Germany.
Tickets are $15 in advance online, €15 cash or credit card at the door. Get the Series: all five artists talks plus Parsifal Mythologies for $60 (a $30 savings). Pre-purchase is recommended to expedite entry and seating.

Bayreuth Artist Talk: Michael Spyres
2025-08-20 10:30 - 11:30 (Europe/Berlin) | Arvena Kongress Hotel, Eduard-Bayerlin Str. 5a, Bayreuth, 95445, Germany
Join us in 2025 for the Bayreuth Artists Talks Series, an engaging opportunity to connect with the exceptional performers of the Bayreuth Festival. These intimate sessions offer audiences a rare glimpse behind the scenes as artists reflect on their careers, share insights into their roles and creative processes, and discuss the unique experience of performing at Bayreuth. With a relaxed and informal setting, these conversations provide a deeper understanding of the works the artists bring to life on stage, making each event a memorable encounter with the people behind the music.

Michael Spyres (Siegmund in Die Walküre, Walther in Die Meistersinger) is one of the most accomplished tenors of his generation with already 10 DVDs and 30 CDs to his name. Born and raised in the Ozarks in an extremely musical family, he has been celebrated in the world’s most prestigious international opera houses, festivals and concert halls. Acclaimed in the widest range of repertoire, he has tackled every genre from Baroque to Classical to 20th century music, while firmly establishing himself as an expert within the Bel Canto, Romantic, and French Grand Opera genres. Michael has sung at many of the world’s most prestigious opera houses, concert halls and festivals such as the Teatro alla Scala, Metropolitan Opera, Wiener Staatsoper, Royal Opera Covent Garden, Paris Opéra National, Bayerische Staatsoper, Teatro Real Madrid, Liceu Barcelona, Lyric Opera Chicago, Houston Grand Opera, Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, La Monnaie Brussels, Dutch National Opera, Semperoper Dresden, Théâtre des Champs-Elysées of Paris, Carnegie Hall, Gewandhaus Leipzig, Bunka Kaikan Hall Tokyo, Salzburg Festival, Aix-en-Provence Festival, Rossini Opera Festival Pesaro, the Edinburgh Festival and the BBC Proms.
Since 2015 Michael has had the honor to be the only International Opera Star who is not just a performer but also an impresario. Mr. Spyres has been the Artistic Director of his hometown opera company, the Ozarks Lyric Opera, and has been involved in every aspect of the renaissance of his regional company. In addition to being the active Artistic Director he has translated libretti and actively teaches masterclasses while guiding young artists’ careers. The last years have seen him produce numerous events as well as 15 operas and 5 gala concerts. In 2021, Michael was honored with the highest honor officially bestowed to artists in France, the prestigious Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres designation by the government of France.

This in-person-only event will take place at the Arvena Kongress Hotel in Bayreuth, Germany.
Tickets are $15 in advance online, €15 cash or credit card at the door. Get the Series: all five artists talks plus Parsifal Mythologies for $60 (a $30 savings). Pre-purchase is recommended to expedite entry and seating.

Bayreuth Artist Talk: Matthew Newlin
2025-08-22 10:30 - 11:30 (Europe/Berlin) | Arvena Kongress Hotel, Eduard-Bayerlin Str. 5a, Bayreuth, 95445, Germany
Join us in 2025 for the Bayreuth Artists Talks Series, an engaging opportunity to connect with the exceptional performers of the Bayreuth Festival. These intimate sessions offer audiences a rare glimpse behind the scenes as artists reflect on their careers, share insights into their roles and creative processes, and discuss the unique experience of performing at Bayreuth. With a relaxed and informal setting, these conversations provide a deeper understanding of the works the artists bring to life on stage, making each event a memorable encounter with the people behind the music.

Matthew Newlin (Eisslinger in Die Meistersinger, Junger Seemann in Tristan und Isolde, 4th Knappe in Parsifal) has been a member of the ensemble at Deutsche Oper Berlin since 2013, where he regularly performs such leading roles as Tamino, Don Jose, Alfredo, and Count Almaviva. He enjoys an international career, performing in major theatres across Europe, and can be heard in recordings of Handel’s Semele and Samson. Matthew’s versatile singing, excellent musicianship, and natural stagecraft affords him success in a wide range of repertoire, from the Baroque to the Modern. This coming season he’ll also be performing the role of Siegmund in Die Walküre at Deutsche Oper Berlin.

This in-person-only event will take place at the Arvena Kongress Hotel in Bayreuth, Germany.
Tickets are $15 in advance online, €15 cash or credit card at the door. Get the Series: all five artists talks plus Parsifal Mythologies for $60 (a $30 savings). Pre-purchase is recommended to expedite entry and seating.

Bayreuth Artist Talk: Michael Nagy
2025-08-23 10:30 - 11:30 (Europe/Berlin) | Arvena Kongress Hotel, Eduard-Bayerlin Str. 5a, Bayreuth, 95445, Germany
Join us in 2025 for the Bayreuth Artists Talks Series, an engaging opportunity to connect with the exceptional performers of the Bayreuth Festival. These intimate sessions offer audiences a rare glimpse behind the scenes as artists reflect on their careers, share insights into their roles and creative processes, and discuss the unique experience of performing at Bayreuth. With a relaxed and informal setting, these conversations provide a deeper understanding of the works the artists bring to life on stage, making each event a memorable encounter with the people behind the music.
Michael Nagy (Beckmesser in Die Meistersinger; Wolfram von Eschenbach Tannhäuser, 2011-13), began his musical career with the Stuttgart Hymnus Boys’ Choir. He studied singing, Lied interpretation and conducting with Rudolf Piernay, Irwin Gage and Klaus Arp in Mannheim and Saarbrücken and enhanced his education in master classes held by Charles Spencer, Cornelius Reid and Rudolf Piernay. Michael Nagy became an ensemble member of the Komische Oper Berlin before moving on to Frankfurt Opera, where he was able to develop his repertoire in roles such as Paragon (The Magic Flute), Count Almaviva (The Marriage of Figaro), Wolfram (Tannhäuser), Valentin (Faust), Prince Yeletsky (Pique Dame), Marcello (La Bohème), Albert (Werther), Frank/Fritz (Die tote Stadt), and Dr. Falke (Die Fledermaus).
His 2024-25 concert season offered a wide repertoire with performances including Arnold Schoenberg’s Gurre-Lieder and Schoenberg’s Jakobsleiter under the baton of Ingo Metzmacher at the Elbphilharmonie. He sang The Creation with the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Brahms’ Requiem in Utrecht and Amsterdam, Mahler’s Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen in Warsaw, as well as Mahler’s 8th Symphony with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.
This in-person-only event will take place at the Arvena Kongress Hotel in Bayreuth, Germany.
Tickets are $15 in advance online, €15 cash or credit card at the door. Get the Series: all five artists talks plus Parsifal Mythologies for $60 (a $30 savings). Pre-purchase is recommended to expedite entry and seating.

Ryan Speedo Green in Conversation
2025-10-09 18:30 - 20:00 (America/New_York) | National Opera Center, 330 Seventh Avenue, 7th Floor, New York, NY, 10001, United States
Join us for a special evening with Grammy Award–winning bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green, currently starring in the title role of Don Giovanni at the Metropolitan Opera. In conversation with dramaturg Cori Ellison, Mr. Green will discuss his career, artistic path, and upcoming major roles, including King Marke in Tristan und Isolde, Crown in Porgy and Bess, and Wotan in Die Walküre.
Named “the real showstopper” by the New York Times, Green is one of opera’s most acclaimed bass-baritones, regularly performing at leading opera houses and orchestras around the world, including the Metropolitan Opera, Bayerische Staatsoper, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Known for both his powerful stage presence and vocal artistry, Green continues to expand his repertoire with critically acclaimed debuts in both classic and contemporary works.
Program Change: This event replaces the “Hitler’s Twilight of the Gods: Teutonic Aesthetics and the Statecraft of the Third Reich” book talk with author Alexandra Birch.
Livestream: the event will be livestreamed (viewable up to 36 hours after the start of the event). WSNY Members will receive livestream link automatically by e-mail; no need to pre-register.
