More Information:
Tom Arthur (press)
Aurelius Fernandez, (301) 907-2600 (other)
WASHINGTON, D.C., April, 2004 ———— The Wagner Society of Washington, D.C. announces a free presentation by a returning lecturer,
“Where is Wagner’s Faust?”
The lecture will be on Thursday, May 13, 2004, at 7:30 P.M. at the George Washington University, Funger Hall, 2201 G Street, N.W.
The Topic. Professor Irmgard Wagner has extensively explored autobiographical and documentary material about Richard Wagner for facts about his understanding of the image of Faust in Goethe and the attitudes about Faust that Wagner developed. In her lecture, she will explore the effects of those attitudes and understandings of his music. She will also explain her discovery of three stages of Faust impact on Wagner’s work: first, a total fascination with Faust while a teenager; later, a time of seriously seeking to express the Faust problem through music; and last, a strong opposition to the Faust figure ––as Wagner understood it–– in his later works. Additionally, she will indicate what happens to the Faust theme in the music, especially in The Flying Dutchman, Tannhäuser, The Ring of the Nibelung, and in Wagner’s last great work, Parsifal.
The Speaker. Irmgard Wagner studied languages, philosophy, comparative literature and literary theory at the universities of Tübingen, Tufts, Yale, and Harvard. She earned her Ph.D. at Harvard and her Staatsexamen at Tübingen. She has taught courses on language, literary theory, and the history of German culture and arts, always emphasizing the role of Richard Wagner in German cultural history. She recently retired from the George Mason University as a Professor Emerita of German. Professor Wagner has published many articles, three books on Goethe, and one on the modern German author, Franz Fühmann. Presently, she is working on a book about a Nineteenth Century German author of literature for the young. Those who attended the seminar on Richard Wagner’s Ring of the Nibelung that was jointly presented last September by the Wagner Society and the Smithsonian Resident Associates Program will remember her well-received, illustrated lecture on Fritz Lang’s classic film, Die Nibelungen.
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 of its events are free to members and the public. The Wagner Society welcomes new members and contributions at any time. Membership forms and other information about the Society and its events are available at its web site or by calling the Society.
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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