Mary Lambert Gets Wagnerian In Her "Secrets" Music Video

Wagnerian Tribute: Mary Lambert in her music video for "Secrets"

Seattle-based singer Mary Lambert released her debut album Heart on My Sleeve in October 2014. Featured on the album was the single "Secrets," which peaked at number one on U.S. Dance charts. She is a declared Christian and out lesbian. Often described as a mix of Adele, Tori Amos and James Blake, the singer often writes about her own personal experiences of early childhood sexual abuse, body image, bipolar disorder, and her sexuality. She taught herself how to play piano and write songs at age 6. She is originally from Everett, Washington, where she attended Mariner High School between 2003 and 2007. Her mother is a recording artist. Lambert moved to Seattle, Washington, to study at Cornish College of the Arts where she graduated with a Bachelor of Music in Composition. In the music video for "Secrets," you see a clip of Mary Lambert assuming the role of a Valkyrie from a Wagner opera. Watch the video, after the jump. [Source]

Wagner On A Sousaphone Accompanies KKK Marchers To Rally

A man cleverly uses a sousaphone alongside marching members of the Klu Klux Klan. The choice of slumbering, almost cartoonish music, is perfection. He even slips in "Ride of the Valkyries" by Richard Wagner! Check out the Vienna Philharmonic playing the full version as it was originally intended in the opera Die Walküre.

Jolly Rancher Bites Gets A Lift From Wagner's Valkyries

A new commercial for Jolly Rancher's Bites candy features the "Ride of the Valkyries" from the opera Die Walküre by Richard Wagner. The bite-sized gummies are available in watermelon, green apple and cherry flavors. Check out their website for more information by clicking here.

Is "30 Rock's" Liz Lemon the Ninth Valkyrie Sister?

Elizabeth Miervaldis "Liz" Lemon is the main character of the American television series 30 Rock and is played by Tina Fey. The character's ringtone on her cell phone was The Ride of the Valkyries in several episodes. No word on whether Liz Lemon was going for the Bugs Bunny aspect or perhaps it was simply the influence of fellow actor (and opera lover) Alec Baldwin that made the decision for the ringtone.

"The Ride of the Valkyries (German: Walkürenritt or Ritt der Walküren) is the popular term for the beginning of Act III of Die Walküre, the second of the four operas by Richard Wagner that comprise Der Ring des Nibelungen. The main theme of the Ride, the leitmotif labelled Walkürenritt, was first written down by the composer on 23 July 1851. The preliminary draft for the Ride was composed in 1854 as part of the composition of the entire opera, which was fully orchestrated by the end of the first quarter of 1856. Together with the Bridal Chorus from Lohengrin, the Ride of the Valkyries is one of Wagner's best-known pieces. In the opera house, the Ride, which takes around eight minutes, begins in the prelude to the Act, building up successive layers of accompaniment until the curtain rises to reveal a mountain peak where four of the eight Valkyrie sisters of Brünnhilde have

Taking a Second Look at American Soprano Jennifer Ann Wilson

"Dich teure halle"
Tannhäuser (Wagner)

"It was as recently as 2002 that Jennifer Wilson made her professional debut as Turandot with the Connecticut Opera but she has in the short intervening period already successfully established herself as one of the world’s leading dramatic sopranos. Following on the heels of her Connecticut success, Jennifer Wilson went on to debut with the Lyric Opera of Chicago as Helmwige/Die Walküre and make her first European appearance in the leading soprano role in Schulhoff's Die Flammen at Amsterdam's Concertgebouw conducted by Edo de Waart. In the 2003/2004 season, Jennifer made a short-notice debut at Houston’s Grand Opera, again as Turandot, which led The Houston Chronicle to declare her "A star in the making." In the 2005/2006 season at the Paris Chatelet, she made her European operatic debut in Bob Wilson’s production of Die Walküre, conducted by Christoph Eschenbach. In addition to further successful productions of Turandot for the Santa Fe Opera, Opera

"In questa reggia"
Turandot (Puccini)

Australia and at the Thessaloniki Concert Hall in Greece, Jennifer Wilson enjoyed a huge personal success with her first Brünnhilde/Die Götterdämmerung at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, also performing Helmwige, Gutrune and the Third Norn in their 2005 Ring Cycles. A house and role debut as Senta at the artist’s home house – Washington National Opera – followed, and last season saw successful further house debuts at Covent Garden (Turandot with Nicola Luisotti) and at Hamburg’s State Opera (Die Walküre with Simone Young). In the 2006/2007 season, Jennifer Wilson began a multi-season collaboration with Zubin Mehta, the Palau de les Arts, Valencia and the Teatro del Maggio Musicale in Florence as she embarked on new productions of Die Walküre, Siegfried and Götterdämmerung which culminated last season with her highly-acclaimed first complete Ring Cycle performances. “She sings with great sensitivity and tenderness. Wagner would have loved her." Also a versatile concert artist, Jennifer Wilson's extensive repertoire includes R Strauss’ Four Last Songs, Beethoven's Symphony No 9 and Verdi’s Requiem alongside less frequently performed works by composers such as Durufle', Haydn, Saint-Saëns and Vaughan-Williams. Last season saw her debut with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra/Kent Nagano firstly as Elisabeth in concert performances of Wagner’s Tannhäuser, returning for performances of Mahler’s Symphony No 8. A native of Fairfax, Virginia, Jennifer Wilson is the recipient of a major grant from the Olga Forrai

Scenes from the Valencia production of
Der Ring des Nibelungen (Wagner).

Foundation, as well as the 2003 Robert Lauch Memorial Grant from the Wagner Society of New York and the Liederkranz Foundation's Ethel Bleakley Daniels Award for Wagnerian Voices. She is the recipient of the Evelyn Lear and Thomas Stewart Emerging Singers Career Grant from the Wagner Society of Washington, with whom she has sung a number of concerts including major scenes from Lohengrin and the final scene from Siegfried. The current season includes Jennifer’s debut as Aida for Opera Australia, a role which she will repeat at Valencia’s Palau de les Arts under Lorin Maazel, Gutrune in the Los Angeles Opera’s new Ring Cycle with James Conlon, as well as concerts in New Orleans, Montreal and Tel Aviv. Future projects include Isolde with the Leipzig Opera and at the Hong Kong Festival, as well as debuts at the opera houses in Berlin, Munich, Vienna and Tokyo." [Source]

Read two wonderful interviews with the soprano here and here. Watch excerpts from Der Fliegende Holländer (Wagner) at Washington National Opera after the jump.