Events

The WSSC plans unique events

throughout the calender year…

Our events occur in several regular places throughout the year and sometimes in special locations which will be noted:

NOTE: ZOOM Events are for WSSC

members and guests who purchased

a $10,00 entry fee.

The Colburn School 200 S. Grand Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90012 Directions Parking The Chairman’s Home: 1630 South Barranca Ave.. #167 Glendora, CA 91740 Directions Bayreuth Festival Festspielhügel 1-2 85445 Bayreuth

(Members of the WSSC and Opera League are

at a discounted price.)

KLAUS FLORIAN VOGT RECITAL

“One of the premier Wagner tenors

of our time.”

Accompanist: Cathy Miller

Sat., Nov. 29th 2025, @ 1PM PST

In person at the Colburn School

Klaus Florian Vogt is one of the finest Wagnerian tenors of our time. His repertoire covers mostly dramatic roles such as Lohengrin, Parsifal, Tannhäuser, Stolzing, Siegmund and Siegfried but also Florestan („Fidelio“), Paul („Die tote Stadt“) and Hoffmann („Les Contes d’Hoffmann“). It extends furthermore to lyric-dramatic roles such as Erik („Der fliegende Holländer“), and much more… He’s a much sought after guest at all major opera houses from the Bayreuth and Salzburg Festivals to Munich, Berlin, Hamburg, Paris, London, Barcelona, Vienna, Madrid, Milan, Toulouse, Helsinki, New York and Tokyo. Born in Holstein, in the North of Germany, Klaus Florian Vogt studied horn and played for several years with the Philharmonic State Orchestra Hamburg. Later he studied at the Conservatory in Lübeck and gave up his position as a horn player in the orchestra to become a tenor. He made his debut in Flensburg and then became a member of the company at the Opera in Dresden. Since 2003 he has been a freelance artist. Cathy Miller is the Music Director of St. Matthew's Lutheran Church, on the Music Staff for the San Diego Opera. She also serves as Artistic Director of the Pasadena Vocal Competition.

“ISOLDE SINGS!”

A discussion with soprano,

CATHERINE WOODWARD

Sun., Feb. 15th 2026 @ 11 AM PST

“For sheer consistency, though, could anyone hold a candle to Catharine Woodward as Brünnhilde, whose bright soprano gleamed from her first triumphant appearance to the blazing finish? One of the pleasures, and saving graces, of Die Götterdämmerung was seeing her simply stand and deliver. It’s not a competition but this treasurable talent took home the gold.” - Daniel Lewis, The Times Feb. 2, 2025 Catharine is a British dramatic soprano resident in Germany. Her first Wagner role was Eva in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg in 2019, she has since sung Isolde, Kundry, Gerhilde in Bayreuth, and Brünnhilde at the Regents Opera for the complete Ring Cycle. She is singing Isolde again in the upcoming Longborough Opera production in June of 2026. Beyond Wagner, she’s sung, Leonora di Vargas Forza del destino, Mimi in La Boheme, Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, Alice Ford in Falstaff, Edna Tobias & The Angel and Sarah Clemency and more. Catharine studied Music at the University of Durham, vocal Performance at Trinity Laban & at the Alexander Gibson Opera School at The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. She has worked at the Royal and Ballet and Opera, Covent Garden; English National Opera; Scottish Opera; the Aix-en-Provence Festival and many other prestigious companies and festivals. Career highlights include a documentary for the Open University - Future Diva, and performing at Buckingham Palace for the Queen’s Coronation Festival in 2014. In 2017 she appeared in comedy series “Taskmaster” on Dave & also demonstrated the function of the vocal tract by singing Puccini in an MRI scanner for the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures. In January 2018 she performed excerpts of Madama Butterfas a featured artist in ITV drama “Next Of Kin”.

PARISFAL

at the Goetheanum, Switzerland

Sunday, March 29th @ 4PM CET

After its national success, this Parsifal returns to the Goetheanum stage, blending opera and eurythmy. The Goetheanum, often called the Grail Castle, is once again opening for modern audiences in Dornach near Basel. Built between 1925 and 1928 by about 100 people following Rudolf Steiner’s design, it is an early example of organic reinforced concrete architecture, with shipbuilders contributing innovative techniques. The building’s organic forms reflect anthroposophy’s focus on understanding and promoting life, connecting the structure to its surroundings. Steiner had always hoped to witness Parsifal staged there, and now that dream has finally come true. Wagner’s music is performed by conductor Roland Fister and the Baden-Baden Philharmonic, while 29 eurythmists from the Goetheanum and Else Klink Ensembles visually interpret the work. The opera is directed by Jasmin Solfaghari. For more information about the production and cast, click here.

RUNNING THE BAYREUTH

FESTIVAL - ULRICH JAGELS

A discussion with the former

director of the Bayreuth Festival

Sun. Jan. 11th @ 11AM PDT

via ZOOM

Ulrich Jagels served as the managing director of the Bayreuth Festival during one of the most notably challenging periods for live performance, and particularly for the Festival itself. He assumed the role in January 2021, at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic and the six- week hospitalization of Festival Director Katharina Wagner presented significant obstacles. Under his leadership, the Festival resumed operations for the summer of 2021, despite restricted staffing and the necessity of strict health protocols. Mr. Jagels’s thoughtful approach and decisive vision motivated the team to develop innovative solutions for audience engagement and implement effective safety measures, contributing to a successful reopening of the Festival.