HERE IS THE LINK TO THE ARCHIVAL RECORDING OF THIS EVENT: https://youtu.be/JgYsw8359uQ In this Zoom Webinar, we get to know heldentenor Clay Hilley. Praised in The New York Times for his “vocal heft, clarion sound and stamina,” by de Volkskrant for a “sublime” voice, in the Financial Times for his “extraordinary energy and stamina,” and… Continue reading Heldentenor Clay Hilley in Conversation
HERE IS THE LINK TO THE ARCHIVAL VIDEO OF THIS EVENT: https://youtu.be/HBQ0gCHIFo4 Strauss's collaboration with the poet and dramatist Hugo von Hofmannsthal on Elektra (1909) spawned a creative relationship that swiftly moved in new stylistic directions with Der Rosenkavalier (1911) and Ariadne auf Naxos (1912). Ideas that would lead to Die Frau ohne Schatten (1919)… Continue reading Strauss’s Evolving Relationship with Wagner’s Creative Legacy with Katherine Syer
HERE IS THE LINK TO THE ARCHIVAL VIDEO OF THIS PROGRAM: https://youtu.be/Q-6QGZN62jk Lohengrin is, arguably, the Wagnerian music drama that is most closely tied to the time in which it… Continue reading Lohengrin in the 21st Century: The Challenge of Production with Simon Williams
A Musical Evening with Heldentenor Simon O'Neill Monday October 30, 2023 REGISTRATION FOR THIS EVENT IS NOW CLOSED. THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST. Simon O'Neill participated in the San Francisco Opera Merola Program (2002) and subsequently received a career grant from the Wagner Society of Northern California. O'Neill's career has taken him to great opera… Continue reading A Musical Evening with Heldentenor Simon O’Neill
Our next meeting will take place at the JCC-SF on Saturday, November 11th at 1:00 p.m. This is a Member's Meeting and we have 5 member volunteers who will make presentations to the group. Three members will recount their first trip to the Bayreuth Festival and we will have 2 book reports on recent publications… Continue reading WSNC Member’s Meeting – Members share their Wagner Memories from 2023
Our first Member's Meeting for 2024 will be a film presentation. Our film is entitled "The Flying Dutchman, Fire and Ice" In this film we will be introduced to a real "Flying Dutchman" a sailor circumnavigating the globe in his sailing ship. This will be juxtaposed with a production of Wagner's Flying Dutchman at the… Continue reading Flying Dutchman – a video presentation
HERE IS THE LINK TO THE ARCHIVAL VIDEO OF THIS EVENT: https://youtu.be/QhtFRauyy64 Maestro Jonathan McPhee is an artist in residence at Boston University, the Music Director of the Lexington Symphony and since 1992 has been a guest conductor for the Houston Ballet. McPhee will introduce us to his most recent work "Wagner - the Essential… Continue reading Jonathan McPhee – Ring Reduction for Piano
HERE IS AN ARCHIVAL VIDEO OF THIS EVENT: https://youtu.be/0aZ9G6X549Q As Wagnerians, we are drawn to the Bayreuth Festival to see innovative opera productions and enjoy its special atmosphere. For us it is a destination, a Wagnerian Mecca. Bayreuth, however, existed long before Richard Wagner put it on the map and made it… Continue reading Bayreuth, A History with Emma Popek
The Society will have a documentary film presentation. The recent screening of Flying Dutchman Fire and Ice was quite a success so we will present another film by Werner Boote. This film is entitled Parsifal, Indiana Jones and Richard Wagner. Previously screened by the Society in 2004, this film traces the legend of the Grail… Continue reading Parsifal – A Documentary Film
HERE IS THE LINK TO THE ARCHIVAL VIDEO OF THIS PROGRAM: https://youtu.be/lJ_atae246U The Wagner Society welcomes West Edge Opera Music Director Jonathan Khuner who will introduce us to “Legend of the Ring”. West Edge Opera has presented this condensed Ring twice before. The upcoming encore presentation will be considerably different than the previous productions. This… Continue reading West Edge Opera – “Legend of the Ring” An Introduction with Jonathan Khuner
Join your fellow Wagnerians for a festive celebration of Richard’s 211th Birthday! We will gather at the Sunset Brewing Company to toast “the Master” and enjoy a delicious repast while sharing our mutual enthusiasm. Space is limited so book early. Your registration must be received by April 30, 2024.
HERE IS THE LINK TO THE ARCHIVAL VIDEO OF THIS EVENT: https://youtu.be/j-sc3qjA2rI Maestro Leo Eylar's talk which will combine history, music and politics. Richard Wagner had a troubled relationship with all things French. However, Wagner had a formidable influence on French music, in particular the music of Debussy. Maestro Eylar will explore aspects of Wagner's… Continue reading Wagner’s French Connections by Maestro Leo Eylar, Music Director of the California Youth Symphony
Paul Heise’s zoom talk “How Elsa Showed Wagner the Way to Siegfried” is an update of his article of the same name originally published in the May, 1995 issue of Wagner, the peer-reviewed journal of The Wagner Society (London, UK). Its subject is how Wagner’s last traditional opera Lohengrin paved the way for Wagner’s revolutionary music-drama… Continue reading How Elsa Showed Wagner the Way to Siegfried – A Zoom Lecture with Paul Heise
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Our traditional Wagnerian Celebration returns once more to the Classic Marines’ Memorial Club and Hotel. This year, in addition to a festive repast served in the beautiful Crystal Lounge, the musical program will feature a performance by current Adler Fellows, Sadie Cheslak and Ji Youn Lee. Mezzo-soprano Sadie Cheslak, a first-year Adler Fellow at the… Continue reading 2026 Cosima Wagner Holiday Celebration Brunch
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An erudite and engaging speaker, Leo Eylar returns for another fascinating lecture to the Society. His last talks with us covered “thematic transformation” – aka leitmotifs. This lecture will be a continue his examination of this key area of Wagner’s art, focusing on aspects of this subject that he did not have time to cover… Continue reading Leo Eylar Returns!
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Well known to Wagner Society members, Thomas Grey will examine the meaning and functions of the “ring” Wagner’s epic cycle. Grey is a Professor Emeritus of Musicology and by courtesy, German Studies, at Stanford University. His special fields of study are: Wagner, 19th-century opera, the history of musical aesthetics and criticism, Romantic music and visual culture.… Continue reading What does the Ring actually do in Wagner’s Ring Cycle? with Prof. Thomas Grey
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Join us for a Zoom meeting where Erica will examine the relationship between these two vastly different 19th-century composers. Wagner and Mendelssohn knew each other, and Wagner expressed admiration for Mendelssohn early on, but turned against him after his early death. Mendelssohn was a focus of Wagner’s infamous screed, Das Judenthum in der Musik (Jewishness in… Continue reading Wagner and Mendelssohn a Zoom talk with Erica Miner
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As the San Francisco Opera starts the monumental undertaking of producing Wagner’s Ring Cycle with performances of Das Rheingold this month, Katherine Syer’s presentation will enhance our experience with a talk focused on this pinnacle of musical and dramatic art. Further details on her talk will available later. Katherine Syer has taught at the University… Continue reading Aspects of the Ring with Katherine Syer
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