the 2009-2010 season - The Wagner Society of Washington DC

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THE 2009-2010 SEASON by Bonnie Becker
Jeffrey Swann,
internationally acclaimed
pianist and distinguished
lecturer illustrated “Wagner’s
Influence on Proust.” Austrian
Embassy. (September 25)
Dan Sherman, a long-time
WSWDC Member with an
encyclopedic knowledge and collection of historic recordings
lectured on “Wagner Recordings You (Probably) Don’t Know.”
GWU Funger Hall. (October 15)
19th Emerging Singers Concert in collaboration with Opera
Roanoke under the direction of Maestro Stephen White at
Roanoke VA. (October 17) (See report and photo page 4)
Klaus Schultz, a dramaturge and intendant at several German opera
houses and a former member of Wolfgang Wagner’s artistic and
management team for the Bayreuth Festival spoke on his personal
“View from Bayreuth.” Funger Hall GWU. (November 14)
Professor Donald Crosby
and Klaus Schultz
(see November and
January programs).
Jeffrey Swann’s concert
opened the 2009-2010
program season.
Gotterdammerung Cast Dinner Party after a WNO performance
was attended by conductor Philippe Auguin and singers including
Jon
Frederic West (Siegfried), Irene �eorin (Brünnhilde), Gidon
Saks (Hagen), Elizabeth Bishop (Waltraute) along with Christina
Scheppelmann, WNO Director of Artistic Operations. �e 600
Restaurant, Washington DC. (November 15)
20 th Emerging Singers Concert at the Arts Club, Washington
DC. (November 19) (See photo and additional reporting page 4)
Professor James West, Middlebury College, spoke on “Wagner,
Nietzsche, and Nineteenth Century �ought.” GWU Funger Hall.
(December 10)
Ryan Brown, founder, conductor and artistic director of Opera
Lafayette, and a leader in the revival of Baroque opera, spoke on
“Wagner and Gluck’s Armide.” GWU Funger Hall. (January 14)
Professor Donald Crosby, frequent WSWDC lecturer participated
in a panel on “�e Icelandic Edda: Wagner, Tolkien, and Beyond”
at the Library of Congress “Myth and the Mind” series. Library of
Congress. (January 28)
Maestro Saul Lilienstein, a frequent lecturer at WSWDC, the
Smithsonian Institution and WNO spoke on “Wagner’s Music and
the Jews.” GWU Funger Hall. (March 4) (Note: A DVD of this
lecture can be ordered on www. wagner-dc.org.)
Desirée Mays, resident lecturer for Santa Fe Opera, spoke on
“Heroes of the Ring.” GWU Funger Hall. (March 18)
21st Emerging Singers Concert was presented at the German
Embassy. (April 8) (See report and photo page 4)
Peter Pachl, founder of the International Siegfried Wagner Society
and author of a biography of Siegfried spoke on “Siegfried Wagner
– A Very Original Composer.” GWU Funger Hall. (April 15)
�e Valencia Ring Marathon. An uninterrupted, all-day, DVD
screening from 8 am to midnight of the entire Valencia Ring --
free to the public --was attended by 300 viewers, including 50 who
made it from start to finish! �e production features ESP soprano
Jennifer Wilson as Brünnhilde. GWU Funger Hall. (April 3)
John Pohanka, is a Founding Member of the WSWDC Board of
Directors, a former WNO Chairman and the author of Wagner the
Mystic, published by WSWDC. A book signing was co-hosted by
Guillermo and Cecilia Schultz, and John’s son Geoffrey Pohanka,
and his daughter in law Anne Klein. Proceeds from the sales of the
book go the ESP. �e book launch was held at the Waterview in
Arlington VA. (May 20) (See reports and photos page 1 and 5)
Leon Botstein, President of Bard College, founder of the Bard
Music Festival and music director and principal conductor of the
American Symphony Orchestra and the Jerusalem Symphony
Orchestra spoke on “Wagner in the 21st Century.” GWU Funger
Hall. (June 8) (Note: A transcript is available on our website: www.
wagner-dc.org)