The Society is happy to welcome back Scott Foglesong to our lecture series. In his talk Scott Foglesong will focus on those intrepid folks down there in the orchestra pit—the instrumentalists and the conductor. Wagner himself was one of the most influential figures in the history of conducting, and his successors have carried on not… Continue reading Conducting Wagner
Join the Society for a Concert celebrating the 205th Birthday of Richard Wagner - (see program below) St. Mark's Lutheran Church 1111 O'Farrell Street San Francisco, CA Our guests for this event are Ann Moss, soprano; Justin Ouellet, viola and Steven Bailey, piano. At this time the program is being fine tuned, but with these… Continue reading Concert – Richard Wagner’s 205th Birthday
Featured Speakers: Peter Bassett Desirée Mays Simon Williams LINK TO ORDER RING FORUM TICKETS: https://sfopera.com/ring/planyourring/ring-festival/ring-cycle-forum/ Peter Bassett, a writer, speaker and broadcaster on opera, particularly the works of Richard Wagner Title: Wagner's Theatres Wagner's Theatres, tracing the evolution of Wagner’s ideas from the 1840s and '50s to his Bayreuth adventure. For most of his adult life… Continue reading Ring Forum – Ring Cycle #1
PROGRAM UPDATE: It is with regret that we must announce that Heath Lees is unable to present his Ring Talks due to a serious concerns which requires him to remain in Australia. The Following is our replacement series of speakers: "The First Ring: Art, Ideology, and Politics at Bayreuth, 1876." with David Clay Large In his… Continue reading Ring Forum – Ring Cycle #2
Happy to say we are SOLD OUT! Call for wait list information (925) 285-3690 We are proud to offer a special event for the 2018 Ring Festival. Attendees will enjoy a luncheon cruise on the beautiful California Hornblower around the San Francisco Bay and to the Gold(en Gate Bridge) Champagne welcome at boarding time… Continue reading Rhine Cruise on the San Francisco Bay
Featured Speakers: Speight Jenkins Dr. John Mastrogiovanni Jonathan Khuner Speight Jenkins Title: “Creating A Ring” During his tenure at Seattle Opera, Speight Jenkins put together “from scratch” two productions of Wagner’s Ring. For the first of these two Seattle Rings, Jenkins assembled the remarkable team of François Rochaix and Robert Israel. Together… Continue reading Ring Forum – Ring Cycle #3
Join the Society in celebrating two Golden Age Godesses of the Wagnerian repertory. We will screen two documentary films and get a closer look at their careers. We will screen "Bayreuth Primadonnas" - a television interview with Astrid Varnay, Birgit Nilsson and Martha Mödl and also "Never before - The Life and first New York… Continue reading Centennial Celebration of Birgit NIlsson and Astrid Varnay
This biography of Mathilde Wesendonck is the untold and fascinating story of this woman's inspiring influence on the major works of Richard Wagner, based on facts related in their correspondence and other authentic documents. Under the influence of her aura, Wagner composed Tristan and Isolde, Rhinegold, The Walkyrie, the first two acts of Siegfried, The… Continue reading Isolde’s Dream – A Biography of Mathilde Wesendonck
Professor Thomas Grey, Stanford University– Wagner's theories of "Gesamtkunstwerk" vs. his own practices Professor Grey will speak about Wagner’s concept of the total work of art as it relates to theatricality and movement. Grey will emphasize the Tannhäuser experiment of including ballet within the opera and modern theatrical trends in "choreographic" staging. The discussion will give… Continue reading Wagner’s theories of "Gesamtkunstwerk" vs. his own practices
The Society is delighted to complete our year with the Cosima Birthday Party Our musical guests are: Marina Harris, soprano Marina Harris was a San Francisco Opera Merola Participant and Adler Fellow. Harris is a Wagner Society William O. Cord Grant recipient. In 2015 Harris was a participant and award winning finalist in the 8th… Continue reading Cosima Holiday Champagne Brunch
Saturday January 19th, 2019 1:00 to 3:30 p.m. JCC-SF 3200 California Street San Francisco, CA 2nd Floor Gallanter Hall The Wagner Society of Northern California is pleased to welcome scholar Claudia Stevens: "But of course, the real villain is Wagner! - or, Wagner in the novels of E.M. Forster" British and American authors of the… Continue reading "But of course, the real villain is Wagner! – or, Wagner in the novels of E.M. Forster"
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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