Wagnerians near and far, take heed. In celebration of both National Opera Week as well as the composer's ongoing 200th, the Wagner Society of Santa Fe is seeking sequels to Der Ring des Nibelungen--specifically, what happens to ol' Alberich. Yes, all would-be librettists are invited to imagine the treacherous dwarf's fate after the Ring's fiery end.
Of course, like the Meistersinger song competition, there are rules here: Entries must be 100 words or less, in English. And entrants must post their entries on the Wagner Society Santa Fe's Facebook page and/or e-mail them to wagnersocietyofsantafe@gmail.com.
A panel of international Wagner experts and interpreters will review all submissions, and the composer of the essay judged most creative will be awarded the Golden Apple Prize. The prize does not confer eternal youth, but something almost as good--an invitation to take one of the coveted on-stage chairs during Tannhäuser at Bayreuth next season.
Directed, once again, by Sebastian Baumgarten, this production of Tannhäuser will include on-stage seating for members of an "audience," whose sole role is to view the performance of the opera, itself.
Despite this guy's early opinion, Baumgarten's newest Wagner will be presented six times, in late July and August of 2014.
This once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take part in a production of the master's Gesamtkunstwerk is a gift from TAFF--Team aktiver Festspielförderer--a new volunteer support group of the fest.
Alberich fan ficks should note, however, that the prize does not include travel or lodging.
That illustrious panel of judges includes the following persons: Stephen Wadsworth (who directed the much-loved "green" Ring at Seattle Opera); Speight Jenkings, general director of Seattle; Australian bass Daniel Sumegi (playing Hagen in Melboune's Ring); soprano Jeanne-Michèle Charbonnet; British conductor Leo Hussain; Scottish director Paul Curran; Santa Fe Opera education director Andrea Fellows Walters and philanthropist Edgar Foster Daniels.
Given that the prize is a ticket to the Bayreuth Festival, entering this competition certainly sounds tempting. It's hard to imagine Alberich surviving the conflagration at the end of Götterdämmerung, but he always did display an uncanny ability to land on his feet...
For official contest rules, click HERE. Make haste, though; your deadline is November 3.
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