NEWS FROM THE WAGNER SOCIETY

More Information:

Aurelius Fernandez, 301.907.2600

WASHINGTON, D.C., DECEMBER, 2003. ———— The Wagner Society of Washington, D.C. announces a free event to begin the new year, a presentation by a returning lecturer, the classical scholar, author and educator

Jeffrey L. Buller, Dean of Mary Baldwin College

Siegfried: The Wurm Turns

The lecture will be on Thursday, January 22, 2004 at 7:30 P.M. at the George Washington University, Funger Hall, 2201 G Street, N.W.

The Topic. Jeffrey Buller believes that Siegfried, the third opera of Richard Wagner’s great tetralogy, The Ring of the Nibelung, may be viewed in many different ways -- as a "mirror image" of Die Walküre, the second opera of the tetralogy; musically, as a "minuet-and-trio" or as the third movement "scherzo" of a four-movement symphony; as a coming-of-age novel about the boy-hero of The Ring and in other ways. In this lecture, Jeffrey Buller will explore how all of these perspectives end up fitting together and why the dragon Fafner tells Siegfried “you don’t know who you are” (unkund deiner selbst). The unique lecture will be illustrated with musical and visual examples.

The Speaker. Jeffrey L. Buller is a nationally recognized authority on classical literature and its influence on modern opera. He has published extensively on these and related topics. An administrator as well as a scholar, Buller chaired the Department of Classical Studies at Loras College in Iowa and served as Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences at Georgia Southern University. He is now Dean of Mary Baldwin College in Virginia.

Dean Buller is the author of Classically Romantic, in which he explores how Richard Wagner’s ideas about the past were shaped, not by the classical world itself, but by the Romantic Age’s select view of antiquity. Last spring, he lectured for the Wagner Society of Washington, D. C. on the subject of “Sleep in the Ring.” Last summer, he provided the English language pre-performance lectures at the Richard Wagner Festival at Bayreuth, Germany.

The Wagner Society of Washington, D.C. is a private non-profit organization devoted to the study and enjoyment of Richard Wagner’s art. Most events are free to members and the public. The Wagner Society welcomes new members and contributions at any time. Membership forms and other information are available at the Society’s Website or by calling the Society.

The Wagner Society of Washington, D.C.

P.O. Box 33051, Washington, D.C. 20033

Telephone (301) 907-2600 ¦ Facsimile (301) 907-8671