Just in: Australian rescues Bayreuth’s Ring
OperaMessage from the Bayreuth Festival:
Festival Director Prof. Katharina Wagner has succeeded in recruiting Simone Young to conduct the ‘Ring des Nibelungen,’ as Philippe Jordan had to cancel the conducting of the Bayreuth Ring, which he had been looking forward to with great pleasure, much to his regret. Other commitments have now unfortunately made it impossible for him to conduct the Ring. Simone Young will be the first female conductor to conduct the tetralogy in Bayreuth. Her engagement has long been a particular concern of the Artistic Director, but other commitments had unfortunately not yet made an earlier collaboration possible.
We have no idea why Jordan jumped ship, but Young is outstandingly well equipped to take over a Ring, having been music director in Hamburg and Sydney. What took Bayreuth so long to ask her is another matter.
This should be a Ring worth hearing.
Seems like Simone Young, despite being around a long time, is getting a bit more spotlight these days. Good for her.
She is not only brilliant but with a beautiful personality with great integrity.
Melbourne.
What a super conductor and human being is Simone Young!!
Her Ring Cycles in Berlin were excellent: Barenboim clearly an influence then
Given that Barenboim was basically copying Furtwaengler, I am not sure this a title of merit….
nonsense. not even Furt. could copy himself.
I love Simone to absolute bits and and am so pleased with this.
From someone who knows. Simone is so brilliant Einstein would blush. This is a long overdue appearance and just wow and so happy for her. A return to roots where things began with Dan Barenboim. Just made my day reading this.
Respectfully, Ms Young couldn’t save her way out of a paper bag. Her Rosenkavalier at the Met last year was an utterly tedious, slow, halting, and uninspired four hours. A DEI hire all the way.
I also love her old school no=nonsense approach. She was doing an after-concert Q&A in San Francisco a few years ago. A young woman asked, ” I am a Latina musical/conducting student. What advice do you have for a minority student like me in a male dominated industry?” Young replied immediately, “that is absolutely irrelevant. You just have to work hard, try your best, do your best to get ahead.” The dumfounded, open-mouthed shocked look in the woman’s face was priceless. So is the palpable discomfort among some of the audience.
I also love her old school no=nonsense approach. She was doing an after-concert Q&A in San Francisco a few years ago. A young woman asked, ” I am a Latina musical/conducting student. What advice do you have for a minority student like me in a male dominated industry?” Young replied immediately, “that is absolutely irrelevant. You just have to work hard, try your best, do your best to get ahead.” The dumfounded, open-mouthed shocked look in the woman’s face was priceless. So is the palpable discomfort among some of the audience.
What about Anthony Negus? Come on, Katie…
Fine for the yUK and colonies.
Bit racist, tbh.
What about Anthony Negus? Come on, Katie, before it is too late…
So good, I said it again!
It may be Ring worth hearing, but depending on the director, you might not want to see it….sadly. When the Keilberth Ring was released several years ago, did anyone mention the director (Wieland Wagner)? It was about the singers (unequaled today) and the music. While Wielands’ productions were radical for their time; but in many ways, their minimalism never go in the way and it force the singers to act as per the libretto.
Beacuse of her partly Croatian origin (beside the Irish half), I had a privilege to listen her brilliant performance in Dubrovnik with the Zagreb Phil and also to interview her long time ago. Both she and her mother were enthusiastic about being back to the homeland of her Dalmatian grandparents. The second chance to witness her artistic and human values I had in Hamburg when she was opening her first season as the GMD there with deeply impressive premiere of Hindemith’s “Mathis der Maler”. This move in her career is just a proof how valid was that advice, as mentioned above, given to a female student in LA. Normally I don’t allow national feelings to affect my judgment in arts, but what comes to my mind on this occasion is the contribution to Bayreuth’s glory given in the past century by Lovro von Matačić and his favourite student Berislav Klobučar. Bravo, Simone!
After the Inkinen-Ring, the Ring also needs to be saved, but I don’t think the rescue will happen through Ms. Young. There are some who should get on the podium here first
As a member of the 1996 Sydney Wagner Society contingent at Bayreuth, we were given the traditional meeting with the composers grandson -Wolfgang Wagner. I asked him if Simone Young might be the first female to conduct at Bayreuth. He mumbled something about visiting the Sydney opera house and seemed in a great hurry to change the subject. Better late than never.