Dame Gwyneth is at odds with her Wagner Society

Dame Gwyneth is at odds with her Wagner Society

main

norman lebrecht

April 24, 2018

From notes to the forthcoming AGM of The Wagner Society:

11. Item for discussion – President’s Masterclass

“I, the President of the Wagner Society, wish to clarify to the Members, exactly why the Annual Event “The President’s Award for a Public Masterclass”, which was announced by the Society as one of their Singing Competition 2017 prizes, to which my husband Adrian Müller and I always donate our services, will not take place.”
(Requested by Dame Gwyneth Jones, President of the Society)

Also:
10.           Item for discussion – AGM Byelaws

As the AMENDED AGM BYELAWS OF THE WAGNER SOCIETY, circulated to members on March 28th, 2018 appear to diminish important rights of the membership, this should be discussed within the membership at the AGM on May 16th, 2018.”

(Requested by Dame Gwyneth Jones, President of the Society & Adrian Muller)

Comments

  • Nik says:

    riveting

  • Adrienne says:

    I’ve read this three times and I still don’t understand what it’s about.

    • Wiebke Göetjes says:

      Same here..

      • Petros Linardos says:

        Dame Gwyneth wishes to clarify to the Members the reason behind the cancellation of the Annual Event “The President’s Award for a Public Masterclass”.

        Hopefully the wish will come true.

    • Richard Winters says:

      Why would Mr. Lebrecht create a headline with negative undertones in relation to a Wagner article?

      Surely it is obvious why.

  • Jeremy Atkin says:

    Can you give us a clue what this means ?

  • Henning says:

    Why is Jones upset…excerpts make no sense!!

  • Mike_T says:

    It’s quite simple. In the first instance, the President wishes to explain why a previously announced event will not take place and in the second, she wants to ensure that members have an opportunity to discuss procedural changes which will have an impact upon them.

    Both reasonable and unremarkable requests, so I’m at a loss to see how this is an indication of anyone being ‘at odds’…

  • RW2013 says:

    Who would want a Masterclass with Adrian Müller?

  • Player says:

    But what is this all about, pray?

  • C J Boland says:

    All Wagner Societies are dysfunctional, I should know I am a member of the one in Dublin and they had an almighty row as well. The talks are good and the Xmas socials though Bayreuth itself is a real disappointment.

  • Richard says:

    The London Wagner Society is far from dysfunctional. It has over 1000 members (& growing); a busy & varied programme of cultural & social events; and a diverse & energetic Committee. Anyone interested in joining (free for students) should visit http://www.wagnersociety.org.

    I won’t defend all the productions at Bayreuth, but most people who go there would be surprised to hear it described as a disappointment.

    • CJ Boland says:

      Bayreuth is like Salzburg. The nobs like to flash their diamonds. Place to be seen. Eurotrash productions eg Rat costumed Lohengrin, terrible ring cycles etc.

    • Wagner Events says:

      For example, here is the next event with Dame Anne Evans:

      https://wagnersociety.org/events/thepathtowagner/

      THE PATH TO WAGNER
      Dame Anne Evans in conversation with David Nice

      THURS 10TH MAY 2018, 6:30PM FOR 7PM TO 9PM
      SWEDENBORG HALL, BARTER STREET, LONDON WC1A 2TH

      Dame Anne Evans first became known as a Mozart singer, but went on to become one of the leading Wagner sopranos of her generation, singing the role of Brünnhilde in the celebrated Ring cycles conducted by Daniel Barenboim at Bayreuth. Using audio and visual recordings from her long career, she and the music critic David Nice discuss the formidable hurdles a singer faces when he or she takes up the challenge of singing Wagner’s most demanding roles.

  • WHM says:

    I have just seen your item on The Wagner Society. It seems a bit of a non-story, but I suspect members will be rather surprised to hear – as your headline implies – that the Society belongs to its honorary President, rather than its members.

  • MOST READ TODAY: