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Avner Dorman

Wahnfried: the birth of the Wagner cult

Having devoted much of the past decade to the work of Wagner, Longborough is well placed to give the UK premiere

The Times, "Best opera to book in 2025"

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**The Times, Best opera to book in 2025**

UK PREMIERE (BEST NEW OPERA nominee, INTERNATIONAL OPERA AWARDS)

Libretto by Lutz Hübner and Sarah Nemitz

What happens to an artist's work after their death? Who controls the narrative? 

This opera begins with the death of Richard Wagner and spans forty years of history. We witness the Wagner family's determination to construct the myth of the composer, their brutal infighting and their disturbing political affiliations.

This major new opera by Avner Dorman, with a libretto by acclaimed playwrights Lutz Hübner and Sarah Nemitz, will receive its UK premiere at Longborough in 2025. The world premiere was presented alongside the Karlsruhe Ring in 2017 and was nominated for a prestigious International Opera Award in the Best New Opera category.

Musically, Dorman’s sound world has affinities with Kurt Weill and Dmitri Shostakovich. Biting satirical writing gives way to lyrical arias and powerful choruses, while the action is propelled relentlessly forwards by the virtuosic percussion-heavy score.

It will be conducted by Justin Brown (Die tote Stadt 2022), who commissioned the opera as the Music Director of Karlsruhe State Theatre. Longborough’s production will feature a cast of leading British singers including Susan Bullock CBE as Cosima Wagner, and Mark Le Brocq as Houston Stewart Chamberlain, and will be directed by our artistic director Polly Graham.

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On the podcast

Hear Wahnfried extracts and insights from composer Avner Dorman, conductor Justin Brown and Polly Graham, on our podcast.

“Attending the world premiere in 2017 was a profoundly moving experience. Presenting this opera about the Wagner family here feels especially fitting, as Longborough is often regarded as the British Bayreuth.”

Music Director Anthony Negus

Praise for Wahnfried:

"Seeing this opera half way through a Ring Cycle was like tasting an astringent sorbet between the courses of a heavily sauced Wagnerian banquet. A timely antidote to immersion in the Wagner ethos and warning of the ever present threats of populism, hatred and intolerance" - Bachtrack

"Avner Dorman's music-dramatic talent is striking throughout ... Justin Brown conducted Wahnfried as a masterpiece with dedication, burning intensity, and perfection in sound" - Opernwelt

"There are "beautiful" arias, sweeping choirs, nostalgically noble string writing, and thundering drum rattles and brass opulence ... within the framework of this satirical concept, the whole thing works perfectly" - Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

"Although Nemitz’s and Hübner's language has a gritty sense of humor, the librettists bring the political dimension of opera brilliantly to the point" - OPUS

"Justin Brown takes care of precision, dynamism, power at the podium ... The audience cheered" - br-klassik.de

"Wahnfried brims over with word-wit, allusions and whimsical figures ... Dorman, who lives in the USA, writes music that sparkles with idea ... His music develops an irresistible pull. The highly engaged Justin Brown ensured the perfect realization of the virtuosic score" - dpa



Avner Dorman

Avner Dorman

“wide-ranging, appealing, breathtakingly virtuosic, sophisticated enough to appeal to an audience of classical aficionados, and approachable enough to appeal to people who have never been to an orchestra concert.” 

- Washington Post on Avner Dorman

“Dorman’s music develops an irresistible pull. The highly engaged Justin Brown with his brilliantly performing Badische Staatskapelle ensured the perfect realization of the virtuosic score.”

- German Press Agency

More about Avner Dorman >

Auditorium-seats

production guidance

Wahnfried addresses challenging themes and sensitive historical material. See here for specific content that may impact audience members. Content warnings are updated as productions develop through rehearsals.

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Ring cycle screenings (26-31 May)

In May 2025 we will be screening the full Ring cycle, on the opening week of the 2025 festival. The screenings of Wagner's epic Der Ring des Nibelungen take place around the opening performances of Wahnfried, which was first premiered alongside the Karlsruhe Ring. Take in the complete Ring and the UK premiere of the astounding Wahnfried in a single week to full immerse yourself in the world of the Wagner family. Find out more >


Coming by train?

Hop aboard the Hedgehog!

In partnership with brilliant local bus service the Hedgehog, we’re now offering a shuttle service from Moreton-in-Marsh station to our theatre.

The service will depart from Moreton-in-Marsh 90 minutes before the performance start time, to arrive at Longborough shortly after the grounds open. It will return to Moreton following the performance end time.

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MORETON STATION BUS TRANSFER

Book a return bus transfer for £16.


Act I

In the early 1880s in newly unified Germany, the British natural scientist Houston Stewart Chamberlain and his German wife Anna catch and study butterflies whilst on holiday.

Houston struggles to speak German, and Anna has to speak for him until he resolves to learn the language and adopt a fully German identity.

The Chamberlains arrive at Bayreuth and Houston falls in love with Richard Wagner’s music. He meets other Wagnerian acolytes and becomes a superfan.

When Wagner dies in 1883, his widow Cosima enlists Houston to help her preserve the composer’s legacy for the world. As the Wagnerians speak of Richard Wagner’s immortality, the Wagner-Dæmon is born.

In 1899, Houston writes The Foundations of the Nineteenth Century, which becomes a bestseller. Hermann Levi, the Jewish conductor who premiered Parsifal, challenges the racist ideas which Houston outlines in the book.

Now a famous writer, Houston meets Kaiser Wilhelm II. Houston grows ever closer with the all-powerful matriarch Cosima Wagner. Houston divorces his wife Anna and works with Cosima to purify the history of Richard Wagner’s life. 

Cosima and Houston censor early letters from Wagner’s revolutionary period which do not tally with their desired conservative narrative of the German meister.

Houston’s influence continues to grow, and he marries Eva, Cosima and Richard Wagner’s youngest daughter.

Act II

Richard Wagner’s son Siegfried Wagner struggles as Houston insists that Siegfried’s homosexuality is hidden. Siegfried’s operas are critically panned; the family dismiss these critiques as a smear from the ‘Jewish’ press.

Meanwhile, Cosima and Richard’s oldest daughter Isolde (born while Cosima was still married to Hans von Bülow), fights for her son and Wagner’s first grandchild Franz Wilhelm Beidler to inherit the festival. Instead, Cosima banishes them from Wahnfried.

Houston Stewart Chamberlain is increasingly frail. He is haunted by the Wagner-Dæmon and the ghost of Hermann Levi.

At the outbreak of the First World War, Houston hopes for a German victory. He resorts to antisemitic conspiracy theories to explain Germany’s defeat. 

Cosima’s wish that Siegfried marry is granted when Siegfried marries Winifred Williams; they have four children in quick succession, shifting the power dynamics within the Wagner clan.

At Wahnfried, the Wagners feel Germany’s post-war economic decline. In 1923, there is a knock at the door. The Wagners welcome an unknown Austrian soldier into their home. This soldier is passionate about Richard Wagner, his music, and a new future for Germany. 

As Houston dies, he prepares to be celebrated amongst the German greats. However, the Wagner-Dæmon tells Houston that he has misunderstood; Houston is merely a footnote in history.

Chorus / Ensemble

The Longborough Festival Opera Orchestra

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