1	STAGING WAGNER an audience member's view a talk by Graham Bruce
2	WALTER FELSENSTEIN 1901: born Vienna; worked at Burgtheater. 1923-32: theatre actor in various provincial German towns. Opera director in Cologne (32-34), Frankfurt (34-36), & Zurich (38-40). 1940: moved to Berlin: Schillertheater (40-44) Hebbeltheater (45-47) Guest director in various German towns and at the Salzburg Festival 1947: created the Komische Oper and worked there as director until his death in 1975 Famous productions: Die Zauberflöte (54); Les Contes d' Hoffman (58); Otello (59); Barbe-bleue (61); Cunning Little Vixen (56)
3	THE FELSENSTEIN METHOD Account of method by Felsenstein's dramaturg (Fuchs, 1991, foreword) Teamwork The composer: "the first and most important stage director is the composer." The chorus: distinct individuals, each with her/his own personality ; "chorus soloists". Function of set/costumes/lighting: a cradle for the action - not necessarily naturalistic The "singing actor"
4	THE SINGING ACTOR "Singing human beings": the heart of music theatre is to turn music-making and singing on the stage into a communication that is convincing, truthful, and utterly essential. Music theatre exists when a musical action with singing human beings becomes a theatrical reality that is unreservedly believable." Felsenstein, 1963. Learning a role: "the longer a singer does this without a precise dramatic conception,the more the vocal preparation of a role, through force of habit, will turn into a vocal exercise; singing and acting become two separated functions which hinder each other."
5	The Singing Actor (contin.) No "star"guest-singer appearances. No substitution of singers who have not participated in the original production process. - the Traviata story - my 1972 Aida? - c.f. the casting of Siegfried at Bayreuth in 1977
6	PREPARING AN OPERA "The real music theatre experience...can be transmitted only by the music-making and acting human being. The experience takes place only when the dramatic function of music and singing is correctly defined and properly applied. This function is clear: to transform an action through music and singing into a theatrical reality that is unconditionally plausible." Felsenstein, 1957. The "Preliminary Plot": supplying the "missing data" from the text. The "Initial Situation": making clear every detail of the relationships as they exist at the beginning of the opera.
7	WAGNER in EAST GERMANY Influenced by Soviet cultural attitudes: ie Wagner as an "imperialist", "incomprehensible to the masses" Director, Erich Witte's Ring (57) and Lohengrin (58) at Berlin Staatsoper attacked in Theater der Zeit as indicative of "dangerous modernist tendencies" Ring, Tristan, & Parsifal considered "problematic late works" Felsenstein directed only 4 Wagner operas from 1927 to 1943 (Meistersinger, Parsifal. Tannhäuser, & Rienzi), but then avoided Wagner. Left to Felsenstein's disciples and pupils to apply the principles of Musiktheater to Wagner
8	Das Rheingold in Berlin design: Heinz Pfeiffenberger direction: Eric Witte
9	Die Walküre
10	Siegfried
11	Götterdämmerung
12	FELSENSTEIN'S LEGACY Terms: "Music Theatre" (Musiktheater); "Realist Music Theatre" (Realistisches Musiktheater); Regietheater ("Director's Theater") Joachim Herz, Götz Friedrich, & Harry Kupfer carried on their mentor's work. Joachim Herz: assistant to Felsenstein 53-56 Der Fliegender Holländer at Komische Oper(62) Ring in Leipzig(73-76) Der Rosenkavalier in Dresden (85) (seen in 1990)
13	GöTZ FRIEDRICH(1930-2000) 1953: student & assistant of Felsenstein 1968: director of production at Komische Oper 1972: defected to West Germany 1972-81: director Hamburg State Opera & director of production at Covent G.(77-81) 1981-2000 : general director Berlin Deutsche Oper Productions: at Bayreuth: Tannhäuser (72) Lohengrin (79), Parsifal (82) Ring at Covent Garden (73-76) & Deutsche Oper (80) ("time-tunnel" Ring) Films: Salomé (74); Elektra (81)
14	Friedrich's TANNHäUSER F: "when I came to Bayreuth, I brought with me what I'd learnt from Felsenstein about handling people on stage.....I sought to find a connection between intensive human action & intensive stylization." T seen as a dramatic human story: the artist's journey "through the inner and outer worlds in search of himself ". Venusberg played as T's fevered fantasy: the saintly Elizabeth transformed into the erotic Venus & therefore played by the same singer. F. appreciated the irony: E is actually closer to T's fantasy than he imagines, which becomes clear in Act 2: E.: "longings I had never before known."
15	Tannhäuser (contin.) Act 1 Prelude & Venusberg T rushes on, fleeing from Wartburg court his harp's strings suggest prison bars Venusberg also a "prison": ropes/bars; spider-web costumes; film noir lighting (half face in shadow); V's engulfing skirt Act 2 Prelude note E's contrasting actions to (a) ecstatic music & (b) darker music previously heard during V's warning to T. : Elizabeth/Venus parallel Act 3 Prelude: "Tannhäuser's Pilgrimage" - music of E's "ich fleh'fur ihn" from act 2 used here & prompts F to feature E in prelude
16	Tannhäuser: Venusberg
17	Tannhäuser: Act 2
18	Tannhäuser (contin.) T's/E's pilgrimage - E is T's spiritual alter ego & saviour and so enacts/shares his pilgrimage note the coordination of her actions with the succession of musical themes: T's wretchedness pilgrims pulsating motif Feast of Grace in Rome E's pleading Act 3 sc 1: - E's search of the pilgrims & her exit
19	Parsifal: Act 1 sc 1
20	Parsifal: Act 1 sc 2
21	Parsifal: Act 2
22	Parsifal: Act 3
23	Topics for Further Investigation (Wagner direction) Kupfer's Wagner productions The "French School": Chéreau, Ponnelle The "Frankfurt School": Ruth Berghaus, Alfred Kirchner The " extreme wing" of Regietheater Forward-thinking direction prior to Felsenstein: Adolphe Appia; Klemperer's Kroll Opera Wieland Wagner
24	References Carnegy, P.(2006) Wagner and the Art of the Theatre. New Haven: Yale U. P. Fuchs, P.P.ed.(1975)The Music Theatre of Walter Felsenstein. London: Quartet Books. (collected articles, interviews and speeches by Felsenstein and others) Millington, B., & Spencer, S.eds. (1992) Wagner in Performance. New Haven: Yale U. P.