Saturday February 9, 2019 1:00 pm to 3:30 pm JCC-SF - 3200 California Street San Francisco, CA Free to WSNC Members, suggested donation of $10 for guests The Wagner Society of Northern California invites you to meet and hear: Jasmin Solfaghari, Director and Master Teacher will discuss her career as an Assistant Director for the… Continue reading Jasmin Solfaghari – Director, Odense Denmark Ring
March 23, 2019 1:00 p.m. Filmmakers Thomas Voigt and Wolfgang Wunderlich have created this fascinating documentary about the magnificent Birgit Nilsson. This documentary includes highlights from performances, concerts, talk shows and rare archive materials. Also included are interviews with today's singers, conductors and artists who share their thoughts about Ms. Nilsson. The Wagner Society has… Continue reading Birgit Nilsson – A League of Her Own
Parsifalmania: The early history of Wagner’s final opera in America April 6, 2019 1:00 p.m. JCC-SF 3200 California Street, San Francisco, CA By Jeffery S. McMillan Richard Wagner’s Parsifal was intended by the composer to be experienced exclusively by audiences at his festival theater in Bayreuth. Undeterred, American impresarios began programing music from the opera in… Continue reading Parsifalmania: The early history of Wagner’s final opera in America
SAVE THE DATE! The Wagner Society of Northern California is pleased to announce that we will hold the Annual Richard Wagner Birthday Celebration on Saturday May 25th at St. Mark's Lutheran Church 1111 O'Farrell Street, San Francisco, CA Our musical guests for the concert are Steven Bailey and Mai-Linh Pham who will be playing the… Continue reading 2019 Richard Wagner Birthday Party
The Wagner Society of Northern California is pleased to welcome back Metropolitan Opera Radio Broadcaster Will Berger. Berger will talk about a topic he has been researching: how technology affects music – what we like, what we think we should like and what we dislike. The subject ranges around the globe and from the ancients… Continue reading Will Berger – Technology, Opera and Wagner
Saturday July 27, 2019 1:00 p.m. JCC-SF 3200 California Street, San Francisco, CA For this meeting we will screen two films: Parsifal, Indiana Jones and Richard Wagner (2004) and Parsifal - Porter/Edison Film (1904). What a difference 100 years makes! Parsifal, Indiana Jones and Richard Wagner by documentary filmmaker Werner Boote traces the journey of… Continue reading Parsifal – Two Films
Saturday September 28, 2019 1:00 p.m. JCC-SF 3200 California Street, San Francisco, CA The Wagner Society of Northern California is proud to welcome returning guest speaker Dr. John Mastrogiovanni, Chairman of the Wagner Society of Southern California. Parsifal, a true religious opera? In his talk Mastrogiovani will consider the concept of redemption in Parsifal: are… Continue reading Parsifal, a true religious opera?
What do Hansel and Gretel have to do with Siegmund and Sieglinde? Saturday, October 19, at 1:00 p.m. at the JCC-SF in San Francisco. Our guest is WSNC member Brad Wade, speaking on Hansel and Gretel, by Wagner disciple and one-hit wonder Engelbert Humperdinck. The opera is, of course based on the Grimm brothers' fairy tale, but… Continue reading What to Hansel and Gretel have to do with Siegmund and Sieglinde?
November 2, 2019 1:00 p.m. JCC-SF 3200 California Street, San Francisco, CA The French Wagnerians Dr. Simon Williams, Professor Emeritus Dept. of Drama and Dance, University of California Santa Barbara The French Wagnerians - Although Wagner was rarely performed in France during the late 19th century, several composers were strongly influenced by his music, his dramatic… Continue reading The French Wagnerians
The Deadline has passed and Registration closed on November 27th.
Dramaturg Emeritus of the San Francisco Opera and Musicologist, Kip Cranna, will present a talk Wagner In His Youth: How Beethoven and Bellini Won His Heart. The Young Richard Wagner was influenced by many different styles in his early years. San Francisco Opera's Dramaturg Emeritus Kip Cranna will explore the life and works of the teenage and twenty-something… Continue reading Wagner in his Youth: How Beethoven and Bellini won his heart – EVENT CANCELED
Our March guest is Desiree Mays and she will present an objective look at the Wagner family since Wagner's death in 1883, 136 years ago. Mays will draw from original first-hand sources where possible and attendees will be provided with a Wagner Family tree handout. Desirée is a globetrotter for opera; she lectures both live… Continue reading The Wagner Dynasty and Changing Philosophies at Bayreuth – EVENT CANCELED
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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