Understanding Wagner’s ‘Ring’

 

Immerse yourself in Wagner with a weekend workshop conducted by Dr Antony Ernst. The Wagner Society of NSW continues its commemorations of the bicentenary of Wagner’s birth (and the 130th annoversary of his death) with this exceptional series of lectures, which will also prepare you for the Melbourne performances of ‘The Ring’ later in 2013.

Titled Forging Meaning out of Music: Heritage, Complexity and Vision of the Ring, the talks will offer new insights into the ocmposer and his work.

Dr Antony Ernst is a dramaturg, director, writer, lecturer, translator and arts administrator. He has worked with Opera Australia, Staatsoper Dresden, Bell Shakespeare Company, Deutsche Oper am Rhein, Sydney Symphony, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Opera Frankfurt and the Teatro Maestranza in Seville. After five years as Manager of Artistic Planning at the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra in New Zealand, he returned to Sydney as CEO of Sydney Youth Orchestras. He is now Manager of Artistic Planning with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg.

The Programme:

Saturday

9.00-9.15 OPENING SESSION  Lyndon Terracini, Opera Australia Artistic Director 

9.15-12.00 WAGNER’S TIME AND MUSICAL HERITAGE
(coffee break of 30 mins during session)

This first session will look at what it actually meant to grow up in the time and place Wagner did, how this shaped his thought and his music, and how he came to the Ring. 

12.00-1.00 Lunch

1.00-2.45 DAS RHEINGOLD – MEANING MADE PHYSICAL

The first part of the Ring is as much about laying the musical groundwork as it is about establishing the dramatic framework of the Ring. We’ll examine how Wagner establishes his revolutionary system of leitmotifs, and look at why they work so uniquely in the Ring. We’ll also look at how the events of Rheingold shape the drama to come. 

2.45-3.15 coffee break 

3.15-5.30 DIE WALKÜRE – THE DARK HEART OF THE RING

As the Ring unfolds, Wagner establishes the conflict of attachment, self-interest and morality in a work which is both a powerful drama and a critique of the nature of power. 

Sunday

12.30-2.30 SIEGFRIED – WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE

This is a useful juncture to reassess the way Wagner uses his system of leitmotifs. Tthere are very rich depths of meaning to be found in looking at them in a new way; and Siegfried gives us a wonderful opportunity to look at this and also the ideas of humanity and regeneration which it portrays. 

2.30-3.00 coffee break 

3.00-5.30.GÖTTERDÄMMERUNG – THE REASON FOR IT ALL

The final work of the Ring is in itself one of the most substantial works of European culture, and the masterly way in which Wagner draws all his threads together makes it a fitting culmination of the cycle. Exactly what Wagner sets out to achieve, and how he uses all his resources to do it, will be the focus of this final session.

To register:

• register online click here  
• write to Wagner Society in NSW, GPO Box 4574, Sydney 2001
• email details to wagner_nsw@optusnet.com.au

Cost:

$95 for members

$120 for non members

$95 for non members if you register and pay before 14 January 2013.

Transport

There is parking on site for 22 cars with 2 mobility parking spots.

There is ample parking in surrounding streets. The venue can also be accessed from Forsyth St. We are using the ground floor venue.

Buses 273 from Wynyard and M40 from Park St (near Pitt) travel along Penshurst St. Bus stop going north is (2068) 87, and south is 53.