Sir Georg Solti (1912-97)

Georg Solti (1912-97) was born in Budapest, but became later an UK citizen. He was awarded an honorary Order of the British Empire (KBE) in 1971.

Solti made the first complete studio recording of Der Ring des Nibelungen (with the Vienna Philharmonic). The recording remains a classic and one of the greatest achievements in recording history.

Georg Solti appeared with all the major orchestras and opera houses in the world. He was one of the greatest post war maestros.

Solti's only Bayreuth summer, however, turned out a disaster. When Wolfgang Wagner finally managed to persuade Solti to appear at the Bayreuth Festival, Solti teamed up with Peter Hall to make a naturalistic Ring which premiered in 1983. The aim was to produce a Ring simple enough for a twelve-year-old to understand what was happening. Neither Hall nor Solti returned.

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"The thing about Wagner is that there can be no true success in any production of his operas, only degrees of failure. There is so much in these bloody pieces, all you can do is try to live up to them." (Keith Warner, The Guardian)

"I have never come across an audience with so much hatred, so much anger, such a thirst for revenge. They take everything personally. It makes you a little bit scared, and it's really quite terrifying." (Lance Ryan on the audiences at Bayreuth)

"I was bowled over. It was the year after Wieland Wagner had died; to be able to see his productions was a total knock-out. These bare stagings, where everything was done with lighting. The light changed with the music, and the shadows and patterns seemed as archetypal as the music itself. Nobody had done that on the stage before. I thought it was extraordinary and wonderful."
(Patrick Carnegy to The Guardian)

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