Wagner’s worst ever cast?
OperaWe have been reminded of the BBC’s 1983 super-slow mini-series on the domestic life of Richard Wagner.
The composer was played by Richard Burton, Cosima by Vanessa Redgrave. It gets worse as you go down the list. The English enunciation of German names is comic.
The director was Tony Palmer. The music was conducted by Georg Solti.
Enjoy.
I think this was a political rather than domestic view of the Wagners
Don’t you just love Wagner!
It was only shown on Channel four in a truncated version
I’ve since seen it complete on dvd
Despite some short comings in casting its still a magnificent epic with wonderful music Burton looks great as Wagner I’d fully recommend viewing for those who havnt seen it I noticed it was on YouTube
It’s one of those things that you will love or hate but it must still remain probably the longest and most epic of composer films
Richard Burton was nearly 60 when this film was made. I tried watching it again a few years ago, having seen a cinema version in the 80s, and couldn’t get past his attempt to portray the 35-year old composer during the 1848 revolution.
I don’t quite follow the point about the “worst cast ever”. It’s more of a list of the then-good and great of the theatrical world, with a few musicians in cameo roles (Peter Hoffman and Gwyneth Jones the von Carolsfelds, William Walton and his wife as the King and Queen of Saxony). Sir John Gielgud hams it up as the unfortunately-named Pfistermeister.
My recollection is that the plot is slow, the dialogue as wooden as the Festspielhaus, and the only redeeming feature the music.
I sat through it all years ago. I also think the only redeeming feature was the music. Turgid writing, hammy performances by many, Burton being Burton –which is usually worth watching, but this really dragged on and on and on.
It is extremely difficult to impersonate someone like Wagner, and unimaginable which actor could possibly encompass even the most general aspects of the protagonist. The courageous attempt of this film production should be seen as Wagnerian in itself.
Surely, it must be impossible to impersonate Wagner, or someone like him, since there is no one alive who saw or knew him and would be able to judge an impersonation accurate or not. Portraying the character of Wagner, on the other hand, is within the compass of any decent actor.
When one reads the biographical material and reports from witnesses, friends, people from W’s circle etc. etc. one gets an impression that is very different from Burton’s creation.
Competition for the worst on-screen portrayal of a great composer is cut-throat.
Obviously, nobody portrayed Wagner as well as Wagner himself, he was unsurpassed as Wagner, as he knew himself.
Sorry for my poor wording: my last comment was about other composers too.
That it was directed by Tony Palmer is almost enough to confine it to the “not worth watching” bin. I saw his attempt at Turandot at Scottish Opera decades ago and it was a disaster. He ended with Liu’s death. Then after a 15 minute interval the audience was given a concert version of the more conventional Alfano ending. Ridiculous!
Wasn’t Tony Palmer the director of the embarrassing portrait of the Menuhin family?
One of Palmer’s better efforts (though that’s not saying much).
I played some trumpet fanfares at the Premier at the QEH. I seem to remember some chap in the audience tried thumping Tony Palmer. It wouldn’t have been the first time.
I would rather sit through this film multiple times than attend the fifth-rate garbage that passes for Wagner opera productions today. This film or Bayreuth’s Eurotrash? And Bayreuth isn’t the only culprit.
At least visually the Wagner film is very beautiful. I think one should applaud the enormous efforts that went into it and not complain about the inevitable flaws that are not Palmer’s but are inevitable given the subject. I think it is impossible to create a film that would depict that strange life accurately.
And I am thankful that we have been spared Americatrash. Robert Wilson’s “Ring” machine, anyone?
Please don’t forget this 150-minute epic … I mean 120-minute movie … uh, I mean 90 minutes of highlights: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0049461/
Thanks Boreslap, for all your ‘insights’ – so revealing.
If I remember rightly, Dame Gwyneth Jones was in filmed in the bath in this Wagnerian biopic. Yes, it’s of its time and full of English bias, but I have seen worse from the Germans about the English.