Das Kaliforniagold: California Wagnerisms 1848-2026 with David Kanaga

HERE IS THE LINK TO AN ARCHIVAL VIDEO OF THIS PRESENTATION: https://youtu.be/rfFy_I0U6eo California, Gold, and….Wagner have been intertwined for almost two centuries now. David Kanaga will explore this in his fascinating talk. Those who saw his previous presentation to the Society featuring his Soft Walküre know what an engaging speaker he is. David is an award-winning composer and game designer. His interactive musical scores for video games such as Proteus, Dyad, and Panoramical won him acclaim in the art-gaming world. His interactive computer opera Oikospiel Book I (2017)  paved the way for his first live opera “Heat Cantata: from Oikospiel Book II”, which premiered at Amsterdam’s Holland Festival in 2018. In 2022, Holland Festival along with Dutch National Opera and Staatsoper Hanover commissioned and premiered Soft, an unabridged electronic arrangement of Richard Wagner’s Die Walküre, with a full cast and Wagner’s original stage directions narrated by Stephen Fry. He continues to work in game development and on a book called Endless Melusine: Mendelssohn’s Melody in Wagner’s Ring, concerning the opening Rhine motif of the Ring cycle.

Click this link to see his talk on the Soft Walküre.

Click this link to see the full video.