Previous events in Australia

- 2021 -

— Melbourne Opera's Das Rheingold, Regent Theatre: 3, 5, 7 February

 

— Australian Opera's Ring Cycle in Brisbane

- 2019 -

The Flying Dutchman, Melbourne Opera, Regent Theatre: 3, 5, 7 February
Melbourne Opera Orchestra, Anthony Negus (Conductor), Suzanne Chaundy (Director), Darren Jeffery (The Dutchman), Lee Abrahamsen (Senta), Rosaria La Spina (Erik), Roxane Hislop (Mary), Michael Lapina (The Steersman), Steven Gallop (Daland)

Parsifal, Victorian Opera, Palais Theatre: 20–24 February
Australian Youth Orchestra, Richard Mills (Conductor), Roger Hodgman (Director), Burkhard Fritz (Parsifal), Katarina Dalayman (Kundry),  Peter Rose (Gurnemanz),  James Roser (Amfortas), Derek Welton (Klingsor), Teddy Tahu Rhodes (Titurel),  Victorian Opera Chorus, Victorian Opera Youth Chorus Ensemble (VOYCE), Students from the University of Melbourne

Wagner Concert, Federation Concert Hall, Hobart: 2 November
Marko Letonja (conductor), Nine Stemme (soprano), John Lundgren (baritone), Musicians from the Australian National Academy of Music, Tenors and basses of the TSO Chorus. Program: Die Walküre - Wotan and Brünnhilde, Act 2 Scene 1, Ride of the Valkyries and Act 3 scene 3, including Wotan's Farewell and Magic Fire Music; Der fliegender Holländer - Overture and Dutchman's Monologue, Act 1; Götterdämmerung - Siegfried's Funeral Music, Act 3, and Immolation Scene, Act 3

Bryn Terfel in Concert, Sydney Opera House: 6 November
Sir Bryn Terfel performed masterpieces from The Ring Cycle and Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. Conductor: Gareth Jones, Orchestra Victoria. The program included: Prelude to Act III of Lohengrin; 'Was duftet doch der Flieder' from Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg; 'Entry of the gods into Valhalla' from Das Rheingold; 'Ride of the Valkyries' from Die Walküre; and Magic Fire Music & Wotan's Farewell from Die Walküre.

- 2018 -

Friere plays The Emperor & Runnicles' Wagner, including Ring Cycle excerpts, SSO, Sydney Opera House Concert Hall: 14, 16, 17 March
Donald Runnicles (Conductor), The Ride of the Valkyries from Die Walküre, Forest Murmurs from Siegfried, the dawn from Götterdämmerung, Siegfried's Rhine Journey & Funeral March, Brünnhilde's final immolation

Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Act III, a concert performance, State Opera of South Australia, Adelaide Festival Theatre: 4 August
Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, Nicholas Braithwaite (Conductor), Shane Lowrencev (Hans Sachs), Sam Sakker (David), Bradley Daley (Walter von Stolzing), Andrew Shore (Beckmesser), Kate Ladner (Eva), Fiona McArdle (Magdalena)

Tristan and Isolde, a concert performance, WASO, Perth Concert Hall: 16, 19 August
Asher Fisch (Conductor), Stuart Skelton (Tristan), Gun-Brit Barkmin (Isolde), Ekaterina Gubanova (Brangäne), Boaz Daniel (Kurwenal), Ain Anger (King Marke), Angus Wood (Melot), WASO Chorus, St George’s Cathedral Consort

Die Walküre, Act 1, & Siegfried Idyll, MSO, Melbourne Arts Centre, Hamer Hall: 25 August
Sir Andrew Davis (Conductor), Eva-Maria Westbroek (Sieglinde), Frank van Aken (Siegmund), Daniel Sumegi (Hunding)

Siegfried Idyll, in Sunday Idylls, SSO Fellows, Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Church, Forestville: 23 September
Roger Benedict (Academic Director)

Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Opera Australia, a co-production with Covent Garden, Melbourne Arts Centre, State Theatre: 13–22 November
Orchestra Victoria, Pietari Inkinen (Conductor), Natalie Aroyan (Eva), Nicholas Jones (David), Dominica Matthews (Magdalena), Stefan Vinke (Walther von Stolzing), Michael Kupfer-Radecky (Hans Sachs), Warwick Fyfe (Beckmesser), Daniel Sumegi (Veit Pogner), Luke Gabbedy (Fritz Kothner), Adrian Tamburini (Nightwatchman), John Longmuir (Kunz Vogelgesang), Joshua Oxley (Balthasar Zorn), Kanen Breen (Augustin Mose), Robert Macfarlane (Ulrich Eisslinger), Andrew Jones (Konrad Nachtigall), Michael Honeyman (Hermann Ortes), Gennadi Dubinsky (Hans Foltz), Richard Anderson (Hans Schwart)

- 2017 -

You Will Not Play Wagner, Eternity Playhouse, Darlinghurst: 4–28 May
A play by Victor Gordon, directed by Moira Blumenthal, set in contemporary Tel Aviv, where Ya’akov, a young Israeli upstart, causes a storm by selecting to perform Wagner in the finals of an international competition for conductors

Lohengrin, Melbourne Opera, Regent Theatre: 7, 9, 10, 20 August 
Melbourne Opera Orchestra, Greg Hocking (Conductor), Suzanne Chaundy (Director), Marius Vlad (Lohengrin), Helena Dix (Elsa), Hrólfur Sæmundsson (Friedrich), Sarah Sweeting (Ortrud), Eddie Muliaumaseali'i (Heinrich), Philip Calcagno (Heerufer)

Parsifal, a concert performance, OA, Sydney Opera House Concert Hall: 9, 12, 14 August
Opera Australia Orchestra, Pinchas Steinberg (Conductor), Jonas Kaufmann (Parsifal), Michelle DeYoung (Kundry), Michael Honeyman (Amfortas), Warwick Fyfe (Klingsor), Kwangchul Youn (Gurnemanz), David Parkin (Titurel), Opera Australia Chorus

Inspiring Wagner, WASO, Perth Concert Hall: 6 September
Asher Fisch (Conductor)
Marschner The Vampire: Overture
Schumann Scenes from Goethe’s Faust: Overture
Liszt Mazeppa (Symphonic Poem No.6)
Wagner Das Rheingold: Entrance of the Gods; Siegfried: Forest Murmurs; Götterdämmerung: Siegfried’s Rhine Journey & Siegfried’s Funeral; Die Walküre: Ride of the Valkyries

Wagner’s World, WASO, Perth Concert Hall: 9 September
Asher Fisch (Conductor)
Wagner Tristan und Isolde: Prelude and Liebestod; Die Walküre: Wotan’s Farewell; Parsifal: Good Friday Spell; Die Meistersinger: Wahn! Wahn!
Bruckner Symphony No.7 (second movement)
Chabrier Gwendoline: Overture
Strauss, R. Don Juan

- 2016 -

A Musical Insight: Wagner, His Contemporaries and Followers, Sydney Opera House, Utzon Room: 24 July
Peter Bassett, reading excerpts from letters, journals, memoirs and poetry with Alex Raineri, Australian pianist, playing works by Wagner and his contemporaries and followers

Tannhäuser, Melbourne Opera, Regent Theatre: 14, 17, 20 August, & Robert Blackwood theatre at Monash University: 28 August
Melbourne Opera Orchestra, David Kram (Conductor), Suzanne Chaundy (Director), Marius Vlad (Tannhäuser), Lee Abrahmsen (Elizabeth), Sarah Sweeting (Goddess of Love), Eddie Muliaumaseali’i (Landgrave of Thuringia) 

Tristan und Isolde excerpts, TSO, Federation Concert Hall in Hobart: 19 November
Marko Letonja (Conductor), Stuart Skelton (Tristan), Nina Stemme (Isolde), Monika Bohinec (Brangäne)

Ring Cycle, AO, Melbourne Arts Centre, State Theatre: 21 November–16 December
Melbourne Ring Orchestra, Pietari Inkinen (Conductor), Neil Armfield (Director), Bradley Daley (Siegmund), Amber Wagner (Sieglinde), Jud Arthur (Hunding), James Johnson (Wotan), Lise Lindstrom (Brünnhilde), Jacqueline Dark (Fricka), Anna-Louise Cole (Gerhilde), Dominica Matthews (Schwertleite), Olivia Cranwell (Ortlinde), Sian Pendry (Waltraute), Hyeseoung Kwon (Helmwige), Amanda Atlas (Siegrune), Nicole Youl (Grimgerde), Roxane Hislop (Rossweisse)

Parsifal, Act II excerpts & Bruckner's Symphony No 9, MSO, Melbourne Arts Centre, Hamer Hall: 1, 3 December
Simone Young (Conductor), Stuart Skelton (Parsifal), Michelle DeYoung (Kundry)

- 2015 -

The Flying Dutchman, Victorian Opera, Palais Theatre: 14, 17, 19 February
Australian Youth Orchestra, Richard Mills (Conductor), Roger Hodgman (Director), Oskar Hillebrandt (The Dutchman), Lori Phillips (Senta), Bradley Daley (Erik), Warwick Fyfe (Daland), Liane Keegan (Mary), Carlos E Barcenas (The Steersman), Victorian Opera Chorus

Wagner the Ring Without Words arr. Leinsdo, Sydney Youth Orchestra, Sydney Opera House: 29, 31 May
Max McBride (Conductor)

Tristan und Isolde, a concert performance, SSO, Sydney Opera House Concert Hall: 20, 22 June
David Robertson (Conductor), Stuart Skelton (Tristan), Christine Brewer (Isolde), Katarina Karnéus (Brangäne), Derek Welton (Kurwenal), Stephen Milling (King Marke), Sydney Philharmonia Choirs, S Katy Tucker’s visual enhancement

Thus Spake Zarathustra, including Lohengrin, Prelude to Act 1 & Act III, SSO, Sydney Opera House Concert Hall: 25, 27, 29 November
Edo de Waart (Conductor)

- 2014 -

Recital: Wagner & Beyond: a roam through the Master’s Musical Legacy – a concert featuring young Sydney singers, including Catherine Bouchier, Regina Daniel, Emilie Lemasson, Matthew Reardon and Sarah Ann Walker, accompanied by Michael Curtain, Mosman Art Gallery: 4 May

- 2013 -
200th anniversary of Wagner's birth

Climbing Toward Midnight, Sydney Chamber Opera, Parade Theatre Kensington: 15, 17, 19, 20 April
Sponsored by Wagner Society in NSW, Jack Sydmonds (Conductor, pianist), Netta Yashchin (Director), Mitchell Riley (Parsifal), Lucinda Deacon (Kundry)

Wagner Licht Exhibition, Sydney Conservatorium of Music: 22 May–10 June
An exploration in light and sound of the Ring Cycle to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Wagner's birth

Der fliegende Holländer, SSO concert performances, Sydney Opera House Concert Hall: 20, 22 July
David Robertson (Conductor), Eric Owens (The Dutchman), Orla Boylan (Senta), Ain Angar (Daland), John Daszak (Erik), John Tessier (The Steersman), Sally-Anne Russell (Mary), Sydney Philharmonic Choirs

Wagner Madness, including extracts from Meistersinger and Die Walküre, and the premiere of James Ledger’s The Madness and Death of King Ludwig, SSO, Sydney Opera House Concert Hall: 31 July, 1, 2 August
Nicholas Carter (Conductor)

Wagner and Bruckner, including Wesendonck Lieder, orchestrated by Felix Mottl, SSO, Sydney Opera House Concert Hall: 7, 9, 10 August
Simone Young (Conductor), Lisa Gasteen (soprano)

Wagner's Ring Adventure, including The Ring - An Orchestral Adventure, arr. Henk de Vlieger, SSO, Sydney Opera House Concert Hall: 18, 19, 20, 21 September
Mark Wigglesworth (Conductor)

Sydney Eisteddfod, awards for Wagnerian and German repertoire, sponsored by Wagner Society in NSW

Ring Cycle, AO, Melbourne Arts Centre, State Theatre: 18 November–13 December
Melbourne Ring Orchestra, Pietari Inkinen (Conductor), Neil Armfield (Director), Graeme Macfarlane (Mime), Stefan Vinke (Siegfried), Terje Stensvold (Wotan), Jud Arthur (Fafner), Warwick Fyfe (Alberich), Taryn Fiebig (Woodbird), Deborah Humble (Erda), Susan Bullock (Brünnhilde)

- 2012 -

Discover Wagner, Siegfried Idyll, Sydney Symphony’s Discovery program, City Recital Hall: 4 June
Richard Gill (Conductor)

A program of Wagner and Richard Strauss, including extracts from Tannhäuser, Die Walküre & Tristan und Isolde, MSO, Melbourne Town Hall: 27 June
Sir Andrew Davis (Conductor), Angela Denoke (Soprano) replacing Deborah Voigt 

A program of Wagner and Richard Strauss, including extracts from Tannhäuser, Die Walküre & Tristan und Isolde, MSO, Sydney Opera House Concert Hall: 29 June
Sir Andrew Davis (Conductor), Angela Denoke (Soprano) replacing Deborah Voigt 

Wagner under the Sails, a recreation of the official opening of the Sydney Opera House on 29 September 1973, with extracts from Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Tannhäuser, Tristan und Isolde, Götterdämmerung, Sydney Opera House Concert Hall: 9, 10, 11 August 
Simone Young (Conductor), Christine Brewer (Soprano)

Beethoven and Wagner, including Die Walküre, Act I, MSO, Melbourne Arts Centre, Hamer Hall: 16, 18 August
Markus Stenz (Conductor), Stuart Skelton (Siegmund), Meagan Miller (Sieglinde), Daniel Sumegi (Hunding)

Das Rheingold, a concert performance, Hamburg Philharmonic Orchestra & Hamburg State Opera, QPAC Concert Hall: 23, 25 August
Simone Young (Conductor), Falk Struckmann (Wotan), Anna Larsson (Fricka), Eike Wilm Schulte (Alberich), Jan Buchwald (Donner), Vida Mikneviciute (Freia), Chris Lysack (Froh), Jürgen Sacher (Loge), Peter Galliard (Mime), Deborah Humble (Erda), Hayoung Lee (Woglinde), Maria Markina (Wellgunde), Anne-Beth Solvang (Flosshilde), Tigran Martirossian (Fasolt), Adrian Sampetrean (Fafner)

- 2011 -

Jean-Efflam Bavouzet in Recital, including Prelude and Isolde’s Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde arr. by Liszt, City Recital Hall: 7 March
Jean-Efflam Bavouzet (Pianist)

- 2010 -

The Hall of Heroes, including orchestral highlights from Götterdämmerung, suite arr. by Alexander Briger, SSO, Sydney Opera House Concert Hall: 17, 18, 19 March
Alexander Briger (Conductor)

Romantic Rapture, including Lohengrin, Prelude to Act III, SSO, Sydney Opera House Concert Hall: 5, 6, 7 August
Simone Young (Conductor)

- 2009 -

Concert including Prelude from Lohengrin and Liebestod from Tristan and Isolde, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Sydney Opera House Concert Hall: 7 October
Vladimir Jurowksi (Conductor)

The Flying Dutchman, State Opera of South Australia, Festival Theatre: 7, 10, 12, 14 November
Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, Nicholas Braithwaite (Conductor), John Wegner (The Dutchman), Margaret Medlyn (Senta), Stuart Skelton (Erik), Daniel Sumegi (Daland), Katharine Tier (Mary), Angus Wood (The Steersman), State Opera Chorus

- 2008 -

Gelmetti's Farewell, including Tristan und Isolde, Prelude and Liebestod, SSO, Sydney Opera House Concert Hall: 18, 20 September
Gianluigi Gelmetti (Conductor)

- 2007 -

Tannhäuser, a revival of Elke Neidhardt’s 1998 production, OA, Sydney Opera House Opera Theatre: 8, 11, 16, 20, 23, 27, 30 October, 2 November

Schubert's Great Symphony, including Siegfried Idyll, SSO, Sydney Opera House Concert Hall: 5, 6, 7, 8, December
Gianluigi Gelmetti (Conductor)

- 2006 -

Der Ring des Nibelungen: An Orchestral Adventure arr. Henk de Vlieger, SSO, Sydney Opera House Concert Hall: 6, 7, 8, 10 April 
Edo de Waart (Conductor)

The Giants concert including Siegfried Idyll, Australian Chamber Orchestra, City Recital Hall: 9, 12, Sydney Opera House Concert Hall: 10 September,  Wollongong: 14 September, Canberra: 16 September, Melbourne: 18 September

Tristan und Isolde, West Australian Opera, His Majesty’s Theatre, Perth: 4, 8, 11 November 2006
West Australian Symphony Orchestra, Lionel Friend (Conductor), Neil Armfield (Director), Susan Bullock (Isolde), Alan Woodrow (Tristan), Australian Opera Chorus

- 2005 -

Tristan und Isolde, Queensland Music Festival 2005, Australian Youth Orchestra concert performance, Concert Hall South Bank: 30 July
Richard Mill (Conductor), Lisa Gasteen (Isolde), John Treleaven (Tristan), Bruce Martin (King Marke), Bernadette Cullen (Brangäne), David Wakeham (Kurwenal)

Exhibition of photographs by Michael Scott-Mitchell the set designer for the Neidhardt Ring in Adelaide, which was sponsored by the Goethe-Institut Sydney, Sydney Opera House Exhibition Hall: July 
These photos were taken during the final dress rehearsal for the Ring

- 2004 -

The Flying Dutchman, OA, Sydney Opera House, Opera Theatre: 23, 26, 30 January, 3, 7, 10, 13, 18 February
Cathy Dadd (Director), Lisa Gasteen & Elizabeth Whitehouse (final performance) (Senta), Jonathan Summers (1st performance), Warwick Fyfe & John Wegner (final performance) (The Dutchman), Jay Hunter Morris & Thomas Studebaker (final performance) (Erik), Daniel Sumegi & Arend Baumann (final performance) (Daland), the male chorus of OA. 

Ring Cycle, State Opera of South Australia, Adelaide: 16 November–2 December
Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, Asher Fisch (Conductor), Elke Neidhardt (Director), John Bröcheler (Wotan), Timothy Dufore (Donner), Andrew Brundson (Froh), Christopher Doig (Loge), Elizabeth Campbell (Fricke), Kate Ladner (Freia), Liane Keegan (Erda), John Wegner (Alberich), Richard Greager (Mime), Andrew Collis (Fasolt), David Hibbard (Fafner), Stuart Skelton (Siegmund), Deborah Reidel (Sieglinde), Richard Green (Hunding), Lisa Gasteen (Brünnhilde), Gary Rideout & Timothy Mussard (Siegfried), Shu-Cheen Yu (Woodbird), Duccio dal Monte (Hagen), Jonathan Summers (Gunther), Joanna Cole (Gutrune)

- 2003 -

Götterdämmerung, Perth International Arts Festival 2003, WASO in association with West Australian Opera, Perth Concert Hall: 13, 15 February
Lionel Friend (Conductor), Neill Gladwin (Director), Susan Bullock (Brünnhilde), Alan Woodrow (Siegfried), Philip Kang (Hagen), Sir Donald McIntyre (Alberich), Harry Peeters (Gunter), Margaret Medlyn (Gutrune), West Australian Symphony Chorus; screened to an audience within the Perth Concert Hall and an outdoor audience along the Swan River, with WA poet John Kinsella producing an "Australianised" translation of the libretto that made reference to the landscape of Perth

The Ride of the Valkyries concert included the Siegfried Idyll and a concert performance of the third Act of Die Walküre, SSO, Sydney Opera House Concert Hall: 27 March
Edo de Waart (Conductor), Elizabeth Connell (Brünnhilde), Bruce Martin (Wotan)

Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, AO, Capitol Theatre:  2, 5, 8, 11, 16, 19 July
Simone Young (Conductor), Bruce Martin (Hans Sachs), Jürgen Müller (Walther von Stolzing), Michael Lewis (Beckmesser), Miriam Gordon-Stewart, Steve Davislim (David), Warwick Fyfe (Fritz Lothner)

- 2002 -

No Wagner events in 2002.

- 2001 -

Lohengrin, AO, Sydney Opera House Opera Theatre, 10, 14, 17, 22, 26 August, 1, 6 September
Sebastian Weigle (Conductor), Andrew Sinclair (Director), Glenn Winslade (Lohengrin), Lisa Harper-Brown (Elsa), John Wegner (Telramund), Bernadette Cullen (Ortrud), Donald Shanks (Heinrich) 

Parsifal, State Opera of South Australia, Adelaide: 22, 26, 29 September, 2 October
Jeffrey Tate (Conductor), Elke Neidhardt (Director), Poul Elming (Parsifal), Jonathan Summers (Amfortas), Margaret Medlyn (Kundry), Daniel Sumegi (Klingsor), Manfred Hemm (Gurnemanz)

Wagner Spectacular, Tristan und Isolde Act 2, Tristan Prelude, Siegfried Idyll and "other orchestral masterworks from Wagner's music dramas," Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra, Sydney Opera House Opera Theatre: 26 October
Simone Young (Conductor), Horst Hoffmann, Lisa Gasteen

Tristan und Isolde, AO, State Theatre Melbourne: 13, 17, 20, 23 November
State Orchestra of Victoria, Simone Young (Conductor), Neil Armfield (Director), Horst Hoffman (Tristan), Lisa Gasteen (Isolde), Bernadette Cullen (Brangäne), Daniel Sumegi (Kurwenal), Bruce Martin (King Marke), Opera Australia Melbourne Chorus

- 2000 -

Concert of music of Richard and Siegfried Wagner, including Lohengrin Act III, Scenes 1, 2 and 3 for orchestra, soprano, tenor and chorus; and the Siegfried Idyll, Der Bärenhäuter - Overture to Act I, and Teufelstanz, Sydney Conservatorium of Music, Eugene Goosens Hall: 18, 19 March
Carlo Felice Cillario (Conductor), Sydney Conservatorium Symphony Orchestra, singers from the Vocal Studies and Opera Unit of the Conservatorium

Götterdämmerung, SSO, Sydney Opera House Concert Hall: 5, 8 September 
Edo de Waart (Conductor), Heinz Kruse (Siegfried), Elizabeth Connell (Brünnhilde), Peter Coleman-Wright (Gunther), Kurt Rydl (Hagen), Gwynne Geyer (Gutrune), Elizabeth Campbell (Waltraute), Ekkehard Wlaschihi (Alberich)