Richard Wagner : NPR

From Norway With Horsepower: Soprano Lise Davidsen Is Conquering Opera

Norwegian soprano Lise Davidsen's voice has been called one-in-a-million. James Hole /Decca Records hide caption

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James Hole /Decca Records

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From Norway With Horsepower: Soprano Lise Davidsen Is Conquering Opera

March 25, 2021 • The young, late-comer to opera is turning heads in the classical world with a powerful voice that can rocket over huge orchestras or pare down to a silvery thread.

From Norway With Horsepower: Soprano Lise Davidsen Is Conquering Opera

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10 Classical Albums To Usher In The Next Decade

December 11, 2019 • As a new decade approaches, hear 10 extraordinary classical albums well-equipped to propel the music into the future.

Jeremy Denk Maps Centuries of Music History on 'c.1300-c.2000'

Jeremy Denk's c.1300-c.2000 comes out Feb. 8 on Nonesuch. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Courtesy of the artist

Review

Jeremy Denk Maps Centuries of Music History on 'c.1300-c.2000'

January 31, 2019 • Hear the resourceful pianist trace 700 years of Western music, from the delicate medieval counterpoint of Guillaume de Machaut to the minimalism of Philip Glass.

Classical Music In 2015: The Year In Review

Osmo Vänskä conducts the Minnesota Orchestra in Havana, Cuba in May 2015. Yamil Lage/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Yamil Lage/AFP/Getty Images

Classical Music In 2015: The Year In Review

January 4, 2016 • As a new year begins, take a quick glance back at some of the notable birthdays, anniversaries, awards, trends and farewells that made 2015 unique in classical music.

'Tristan Und Isolde,' The Love Story That Changed Opera For Good

Ludwig Schnorr von Carolsfeld and his wife Malwina were Wagner's original Tristan and Isolde in 1865. Joseph Albert/Wikimedia Commons hide caption

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Joseph Albert/Wikimedia Commons

'Tristan Und Isolde,' The Love Story That Changed Opera For Good

June 10, 2015 • Wagner's epic meditation on love turns 150. Projected on a cosmic level, the music triggered a seismic shift in Western music.

Hear William Berger Discuss 'Tristan und Isolde'

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Valkyries Ride All Night To Save Opera Company

Gods, monsters and Rhinemaidens populate Richard Wagner's 16-hour epic Ring cycle. Marco Secchi/Getty Images hide caption

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Valkyries Ride All Night To Save Opera Company

April 1, 2014 • Get Richard or die trying: For one opera company, it's go big or go home. In Texas, Rio Grande Opera is performing Wagner's epic Ring operas back to back and over and over until $8 million is raised.

High Notes And Clams: The Best And Worst Of Classical 2013

Sarah Joy Miller as Anna Nicole Smith in Anna Nicole by Mark-Anthony Turnage, the final production from the New York City Opera, which closed its doors for good this fall. Stephanie Berger hide caption

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Stephanie Berger

Deceptive Cadence

High Notes And Clams: The Best And Worst Of Classical 2013

December 31, 2013 • A beloved conductor made a triumphant return, an opera singer took a stand and Walt Disney was reanimated by Philip Glass. It was quite a year in classical music, which also brought the closing of a prominent opera company and the continued silence of a major orchestra.

It was a big year for extravagant classical box sets. Denise DeBelius/NPR hide caption

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Denise DeBelius/NPR

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Deceptive Cadence

A Bumper Crop Of Classical Box Sets

December 6, 2013 • It's been a banner year for classical box sets. Deceptive Cadence hosts Anastasia Tsioulcas and Tom Huizenga tell us why and choose a few of their favorites.

Richard Wagner was a larger than life figure, and his innovations as a composer changed Western music forever. Hulton Archive/Getty Images hide caption

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Music Interviews

The Self-Help Guide To Wagner

May 29, 2008 • The mere mention of Richard Wagner's name can be a lightning rod for controversy. Wagner the man was a scoundrel, but his music was far ahead of its time. Wagner biographer William Berger joins NPR's Lisa Simeone for an overview of the artist and his groundbreaking music.

The Self-Help Guide To Wagner

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Gods And Monsters: 5 Unforgettable Wagner Moments

The Valkyries, led by Brunnhilde (soprano Debra Voigt, lower left), are the warrior maidens of Richard Wagner's epic Ring cycle. Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera hide caption

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Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera

Deceptive Cadence

Gods And Monsters: 5 Unforgettable Wagner Moments

May 21, 2013 • For the 200 anniversary of Richard Wagner's birth, William Berger, author of Wagner Without Fear, guides us through five of his favorite Wagner moments — musical episodes that keep the composer's extraordinary dramas in our lives today.

William Berger on 'Parsifal'

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Extreme Drama: The Life And Music Of Richard Wagner

Rudolph Cronau's drawing of Wagner's opera house, Bayreuth, flanked by his birthplace (left) and place of death. Wikimedia Commons hide caption

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Wikimedia Commons

Deceptive Cadence

Extreme Drama: The Life And Music Of Richard Wagner

April 13, 2013 • Marking the 200th anniversary of the controversial composer's birth, conductor Marin Alsop and friends rethink Wagner in a series of multimedia concerts.

Extreme Drama: The Life And Music Of Richard Wagner

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Portrait Of The Heldentenor As A Young Man

Pablo Helguera

Deceptive Cadence

Portrait Of The Heldentenor As A Young Man

April 12, 2013 • Fridays are funnier with a classical cartoon at noon, from Deceptive Cadence.

Jonas Kaufmann On Wagner: 'It's Like A Drug Sometimes'

Tenor Jonas Kaufmann. Petra Stadler/courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Petra Stadler/courtesy of the artist

Deceptive Cadence

Jonas Kaufmann On Wagner: 'It's Like A Drug Sometimes'

February 16, 2013 • Described as the greatest living Wagnerian tenor, Kaufmann is using the Richard Wagner's bicentennial to reacquaint listeners with the controversial composer's work.

Jonas Kaufmann On Wagner: 'It's Like A Drug Sometimes'

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Storms And Salvation: 'The Flying Dutchman'

November 27, 2009 • Wagner's stormy one-acter requires lead singers with great power, both dramatically and vocally. Alan Held and Jennifer Wilson fit the bill in this turbulent opera focused on one of Wagner's favorite themes: the redemptive power of love. From the Washington National Opera.

Washington National Opera on World of Opera -- 'La Boheme'

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Prelude to an Epic: Wagner's 'Das Rheingold'

March 13, 2009 • Das Rheingold, the "Preliminary Evening" to Wagner's epic Ring cycle, is a 160-minute spectacle that flies by in a flash, introducing vivid worlds where gods, giants and dwarves all vie for ultimate power.

Washington National Opera on World of Opera -- 'Das Rheingold'

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Music Interviews

Chicago Symphony Tops U.S. Orchestras

November 21, 2008 • The city of Chicago has one more thing to boast about: Its hometown orchestra, the Chicago Symphony, has been named America's top orchestra in a new critics' poll published in the venerable British magazine Gramophone.

Chicago Symphony Tops U.S. Orchestras

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Storms And Salvation: 'The Flying Dutchman'

October 31, 2008 • Wagner's stormy one-acter requires lead singers with great power, both dramatically and vocally. Alan Held and Jennifer Wilson fit the bill in this turbulent opera focused on one of Wagner's favorite themes: the redemptive power of love. From the Washington National Opera.

Washington National Opera on World of Opera -- The Flying Dutchman

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Music Interviews

Insults And Praise On The Classical Campaign

October 23, 2008 • Commentator Miles Hoffman offers a classical variation on a political theme: insults and endorsements among the great composers. Invectives hurled at their colleagues and competitors were effective means of shaping public opinion. Whether positive, negative or the all-too-common flip-flop, classical-music criticism, just like political commentary, is little more than biased opinion in time.

Insults And Praise On The Classical Campaign

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Janice Baird Debuts in a Troubled 'Tristan'

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Music

New York Philharmonic Set for North Korea Show

February 25, 2008 • The New York Philharmonic will perform Tuesday at the East Pyongyang Grand Theatre in Pyongyang, North Korea. The concert represents an historic occasion, as a prominent U.S. cultural institution visits an isolated nation.

New York Philharmonic Set for North Korea Show

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Music News

The New York Philharmonic Plays Pyongyang

February 26, 2008 • In an act of symphonic diplomacy, conductor Lorin Maazel takes the New York Philharmonic on a historic visit to the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, armed with music by Gershwin and Dvorak. But the unprecedented event is not without criticism.