REGISTRATION FOR THIS EVENT IS CLOSED. See you at the next meeting or at the Cosima Party in December

HERE IS THE LINK TO THE ARCHIVAL RECORDING OF THIS EVENT: https://youtu.be/WqbdJIrTHDo During Kirsten Flagstad’s career she enchanted millions of people, and today her recordings are a touchstone that prove truly great singing can convey astounding depths of emotion while still remaining beautiful—even in the most strenuous roles written by Richard Wagner. But The Flagstad… Continue reading The Metropolitan Opera Career of Kirsten Flagstad with Paul Thomason

HERE IS THE LINK TO THE ARCHIVAL RECORDING OF THIS EVENT:: https://youtu.be/MFBPFZPL04E The leitmotifs in The Ring are an endless source of fascination. San Francisco Opera's Dramaturg Emeritus, Kip Cranna, will use video and audio examples to explore the meanings, transformations. and interrelationships of leitmotivs in The Ring to bring some new insights into Wagner's… Continue reading A Spotlight on Leitmotifs – Another Look at Wagner’s Ring with Kip Cranna

The Wagner Society of Northern California is delighted to present a screening of this new documentary "Global Wagner, From Bayreuth to the World" by Axel Brüggemann. In this film Brüggemann examines the cult-like following Wagner has throughout the world. As described on the DVD cover: "The film is a feature-length study of life with Wagner's… Continue reading Global Wagner – From Bayreuth to the World

HERE IS THE LINK TO THE ARCHIVAL RECORDING OF THIS EVENT: https://youtu.be/HOfb9AVwY2s Emma Popek, PhD, presents this fascinating talk on the eternally unresolved topic – who is the true hero of the Ring of the Nibelung? The talk is based on her detailed studies of the The Ring of the Nibelung, the poem that serves… Continue reading Who is the true hero of the Ring? – A Case for Siegmund

HERE IS THE LINK TO THE ARCHIVAL RECORDING OF THIS EVENT: https://youtu.be/RA3y4JwaIn8 Our guest is Professor Scott Foglesong who presents: "LvanB!" which Scott describes as "a heartfelt tribute to Ludwig van Beethoven, he who gave us Kunst with a capital K, HE whose Ninth Symphony Wagner described as "the mystical goal of all my strange… Continue reading LvanB! with Scott Foglesong

The Wagner Society gathered at the beautiful Marine's Memorial Club and Hotel, Crystal Ballroom for our year-end champagne celebration. Our musical guests were mezzo soprano Kindra Scharich and her piano partner Jeffrey LaDeur. Ms. Scharich sang several of the Wesendonck Lieder and other German Lied. As is customary we had a drawing for prizes. It… Continue reading 2022 Cosima Wagner Birthday Celebration

HERE IS THE LINK TO THE ARCHIVAL RECORDING OF THIS EVENT:: https://youtu.be/HYiiyBfbHNE Richard Wagner was regarded as one of the leading orchestral conductors of his day, even among those such as Eduard Hanslick who were highly skeptical of his aesthetic and his methods. Through his disciples Hans von Bülow, Hans Richter, Anton Seidl, Felix Mottl,… Continue reading Wagner the Conductor – With Professor Chris Walton

HERE IS THE LINK TO THE ARCHIVAL RECORDING OF THIS EVENT: https://youtu.be/Zrm688rX86k What is it about power? It fascinates, it terrifies. Tyrants cling to it. Inevitably they fall, and often their world collapses around them. That is the stuff of theater and of opera. In Claudia Stevens' presentation, she considers Wotan's loss of power and… Continue reading Wotan and Prospero – The Price of Power with Claudia Stevens

We are very sorry that the video of this lecture wasn't up to our usual standard. https://youtu.be/u35wbPBMB1s San Francisco has had a love affair with opera for more than 168 years. In fact, citizens during the Gold Rush were mad for it. Between 1851 and the earthquake of 1906, nearly 5,000 opera performances were given… Continue reading 100 Years at the San Francisco Opera with Jeffrey McMillan

HERE IS THE LINK TO AN ARCHIVAL RECORDING OF THIS EVENT: https://youtu.be/LdPp_p5RHtA A native of Mexico, Ragnar Conde is one of the most important Mexican opera stage directors. He has participated in over 150 performing arts projects in Mexico, the United States, France, Switzerland, Italy and Colombia. These projects include theatre, opera, musicals, concerts and… Continue reading A Preview of The Flying Dutchman at West Bay Opera with Ragnar Conde

HERE IS THE LINK TO AN ARCHIVAL RECORDING ON THIS EVENT: https://youtu.be/UU3uAEVw4-g As the Bay Area braces for the San Francisco Opera's production of Strauss' opera Die Frau Ohne Schatten, The Wagner Society welcomes renowned author Larry Wolff. Wolff will discuss his new book, "The Shadow of the Empress: Fairy-Tale Opera and the End of… Continue reading Author Larry Wolff – In The Shadow of the Empress