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Wagner Society Presents Musicologist Carol Berger

The Dialectics in Die Meistersinger: Sacred Rituals in the Awakened State

WASHINGTON, D.C. ---- The Wagner Society of Washington, D.C. will continue

its “Year of Die Meistersinger” events with a lecture by its own member,

Carol Berger, a noted Wagnerian musicologist. Titled “The Dialectics in Die

Meistersinger: Sacred Rituals in the Awakened State,” it will be presented

on Thursday, March 14th at 7:30 P.M. at the George Washington University,

Funger Hall 108, 2201 G Street, N.W.

Four years after its premiere in Munich, Richard Wagner reflected on the

sensibility of Die Meistersinger saying, "When future generations seek

refreshment in this unique work, may they spare a thought for the tears from

which the smiles arose" -- Wagner's own jarring advice on understanding Die

Meistersinger: a work of irony, subconscious inspiration, disappointment,

sacrifice, and artistic altruism. Carol Berger will conduct an excursion

through the philosophical, psychological and artistic currents that

transverse this complex Wagnerian drama. She also will examine the fate of

the artist in society, based on a Greek ideal, a reflection of the personal

sacrifice that Richard Wagner made in order to create a body of art never

before attempted, or equaled after, by anyone else. Berger views Wagner's

music dramas as psychodramas that explore the unconscious mind, Eastern

aesthetics and ethics, enlightened utopianism, and socialist thought. She

focuses on cerebral, metaphysical and sociological elements which weave a

common thread through all Wagner dramas.

Carol Berger is a musicologist specializing in the music dramas of Wagner

and Richard Strauss. She also is an expert in musical rhetoric and Baroque

opera. Her upcoming book, Wagner's Hand in Die Frau Ohne Schatten: The Nexus

of the Swan, will describe the connections between the two composers' works

and clarify the musical and metaphysical influence of Wagner on the mature

dramas of Richard Strauss.

After a short career as a ballet dancer, Carol Berger obtained degrees in

music theory and musicology from the Manhattan School of Music and City

University of New York. She worked with René Jacobs on various opera,

recording, and recital projects in Europe. She also worked on productions of

Concerto Vocale, La Petite Bande, the Holland Festival, the Festwoche des

Altes Muzik in Innsbruck, London's Wigmore Hall Concert Series, and Amici

della Musica in Sicily. She is the author of thirty-five articles and

reviews published by music journals, other periodicals, and record

companies.

The Wagner Society of Washington, D.C. is a private, non-profit organization

for the study and enjoyment of Wagner’s art. Its series of lectures, the

Evelyn Lear and Thomas Stewart Emerging Singers concert, and other events

will continue through June 2002. Many programs are free to the public.

The Wagner Society of Washington, D.C. ¦ P.O. Box 33051 ¦ Washington,

D.C. 20033

Telephone 301.907.2600 ¦ Facsimile 301.907.8671.

www.wagner-dc.org

<http://www.wagner-dc.org>