This section contains essays and articles of special and lasting interest that could not be included in Wagner Notes, our bimonthly publication for members. Check it often for new items.

Gold Rules: The Politics of Wagner’s Ring is a draft research study by our member Neil K. Friedman, PhD, Political Science. It is the only political interpretation of The Ring that attempts to explain every character, dead or alive, using a consistent political theory, going far beyond Bernard Shaw and citing sources Wagner used. The author welcomes comments at neilkfriedman@gmail.com. The file may be downloaded from Drop Box here.


Die Feen in animation! The WSNY had greatly anticipated The Glimmerglass Festival’s staging of Die Feen and hosted a preview program on Nov. 19, 2019, with Director Francesca Zambello, Maestro Joseph Colenari, three cast members, and production staff. The pandemic caused its cancellation, but Glimmerglass Glimpses presented a virtual Die Feen fantasia—an animation—on Sept. 3,  with Eric Owens and two cast members, to give us a lasting memory in a delightful format. We have permission to share this with you; click here to enjoy it.

Joachim Herz’s Holländer (1964) on DVD by Hilan Warshaw
Joachim Herz visited New York for a screening of this film on December 14, 2000—co-presented by WSNY and the Goethe Institut—and gave a talk about the film and his philosophy.

That Bayreuth Season by Verena Kossodo
At the invitation of Wagner Notes editor Harry L. Wagner, Verena wrote this reminiscence of her early life, meeting and marrying her husband Gunter, and their first Bayreuth trip. It was published in the April 2013 issue of Wagner Notes.

Solti’s Ring Remastered: Ascent to Valhalla or Descent into Nibelheim? by Michael Sherwin
Comments and observations on the 2012 Decca remastered Solti’s Ring; an expanded version of a review published in Wagner Notes, Vol. XXXVI No. 3 (June 2013).

Essay by Joe Pearce on Ring recordings
How the Solti/Culshaw Ring revolutionized the entire recording industry. Handout at October 17, 2012 program.

Sir Georg Solti’s Discography compiled by Bill Williams
Sir Georg Solti’s Wagner operas and the reissues of his Ring recording. Handout at October 17, 2012 program.

Wagner in Australia Wagner Arrives in Australia (metaphorically speaking): This item was shared in a letter from an Australian member; it is taken from an extended article and talk by Peter Bassett, given to the Wagner Society of Queensland in 2009. For the complete article, go to the Links page and then click on that Society.

“Wagner in Comix and ‘Toons” by F. Peter Phillips. 
A study of the treatment of Wagner’s music dramas in comic books and animated cartoons.

“One Hundred Years of the Richard Wagner Congress” by Josef Lienhart
Address by Josef Lienhart, President Emeritus, International Association of the Wagner Societies (Richard Wagner Verband International e.V., RWVI) and its President, 1991–2009, delivered at the 2009 International Richard Wagner Congress in the Dresden State Theatre, May 17, 2009, in English translation

“Tannhäuser: history of performances chart” compiled by Bill Williams
As Tannhäuser was the new production in Bayreuth in 2011, it was discussed at the first program of the Society on Sept. 23. A chart giving the complete history of its performances at the Bayreuth Festival from 1891 to 2011, compiled by Bill Williams, was distributed, and it is now shared with the world.