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Grandson of opera great will be
By Ruth O. Bingham
the guest of honor at a
celebratory gala
Special to the Star-BulletinWOLFGANG Wagner is "without question, the most famous man in opera today," states Larry Lueck, President of the Wagner Society of Hawaii. "More has been written about him than any other human being who has ever lived except Jesus Christ, and that's a fact. He has generated immense controversy, a fascinating man."
Lueck should know: he is a personal friend of Wagner and his wife, Gudrun: in fact, he invited them to be the guests of honor at "2000: Celebrating Wagner in a Paradisiacal Setting at the Beginning of a New Millennium," an international conference jointly hosted by the Wagner Society of Hawaii and Hawaii Opera Theatre, opening Saturday at the Halekulani hotel.
Wolfgang Wagner, Richard Wagner's grandson, has come to Hawaii with his wife in order personally to usher "Tristan und Isolde," the most famous opera of the 19th century, into the 21st century.
The Wagners move through a modern world with old-world charm, each complementing the other: Mr. Wagner bows over women's hands in greeting as Mrs. Wagner graciously translates her husbands' words. Both look far younger than their years, and not even Mr. Wagner's snow-white hair betrays that he turned 80 last August. But even 80 isn't old enough to bridge centuries.
"I never knew my grandfather personally," Mr.Wagner explains. "There is almost an absurd amount of time between the death of my grandfather (1883) and my birth (1919). My grandfather was already 56 years old (when my father was born), and my father 50 when I was born, so 106 years. Normally, one to two generations could lie between."
"I never spoke directly with my grandfather about his compositions, his works, his ideas, his intentions ... . My father died when I was not quite 12, and, as I was not a genius," he notes wryly, "I could not discuss his ideas with him, either."
WILD FOR WAGNER
What: "2000: Celebrating Wagner in a Paradisiacal Setting at the Beginning of a New Millennium"
"Ah, but I had a sister," he adds with a touch of sarcasm, referring to their somewhat turbulent relationship, "who was a year and a half older and who, according to her book, cogently discussed the significance of Bayreuth with my father when she was only 5."
Bayreuth, a small town in Germany, is more than just home to the Wagner family: it is where Richard Wagner built his famous Festspielhaus, an opera theater unlike any other in the world, where he could produce his operas to his own idealistic specifications. Every year, from the end of July to the end of August, Bayreuth hosts a Festival of Wagner operas.
"(The Bayreuth Festival) is sold out, always. ... It often takes 10 years (to get a ticket) to Bayreuth, and when you do go, you're going to Mecca, " Lueck says.
The Wagners now lead this Mecca for opera lovers together. At an age most people have retired, the Wagners are busy with Bayreuth. "You see, we come to Hawaii (to relax)," says Mrs. Wagner. To the Wagners, heading an international conference is relaxing.
Monday, the main day of the conference, will feature lectures by world-renowned speakers in addition to the Wagners and Lueck: Bryan Magee, a Wagnerian philosopher specializing in Schopenhauer; Martin Bernheimer, chief music critic of the Los Angeles Times, Günther Schneider-Siemssen, Viennese state designer and director; Simon Williams, chair of Dramatic Arts at the University of California, Santa Barbara; Patrick Smith, editor-at-large of Opera News; singer Janis Martin, who performed in HOT's acclaimed "Elektra" last year; Jim Becker, local opera expert; and Henry Akina, general and artistic director of HOT and director and producer of this year's "Tristan.""2000" culminates in HOT's production of "Tristan," first performed in 1865.
Mr. Wagner has seen "Tristan" "so many times, I have never counted it. I was always interested in what the singers and the director did with the third act that's the most difficult part."
While preparing Hawaii's production, Akina consulted Mr. Wagner. "We talked about philosophical grounds and the context" Wagner says.
Asked what the audience should grasp, Mr.Wagner says, "Richard Wagner's composition is about love and death, but it is transcendent of real love and death. People should think for themselves about how to handle (love and death) in their personal lives."
There was a time when "Tristan" was rarely performed and little known. "In 1953, for example, was produced at Bayreuth with an outstanding cast, but the house wasn't full. (It) first became fashionable in 1957; since then, it has been performed more often around the world."
The legacy of Bayreuth has always been taken seriously by the Wagner family.
"In 1908, my grandmother (Cosima, Richard Wagner's wife and Franz Liszt's daughter) handed over to my father sole direction of the entire festival ... but my grandmother continued to rule over it.
Leadership was eventually passed to his mother, then, in 1950 to Mr. Wagner and his brother, who died in 1966.
Questions of succession have always been an important and often contentious issue for the Wagner family.
"I, personally, have a lifetime contract but many speculate about who will be my successor and, of course, every one (in the family) thinks they're better than the other. So, that's the situation," he says.
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