Behind the Ring–Wagner Symposium @ Twilight of the Gods

You are invited to a Wagner Symposium for an in-depth look at Richard Wagner’s Twilight of the Gods and the development of The Atlanta Opera’s first Ring Cycle. Meet the speakers in a panel presentation and hear about the work from Jay Hunter Morris–one of the greatest artists of our time to perform the role of Siegfried, and author and commentator Walter Frisch.

9:30am | Doors open

10 – 11:15am | Panel Discussion – Designing The Ring

Join us for an in-depth exploration of Twilight of the Gods from those who bring it to life on stage. Moderated by opera expert Walter Frisch, this discussion features director Tomer Zvulun, set designer Erhard Rom, lighting designer Robert Wierzel, and costume designer Mattie Ulrich. Together, they’ll share insights into the creative and logistical challenges of staging Wagner’s epic work, from visionary direction and design to the demands of mounting one of opera’s most formidable projects—a full Ring cycle.

Moderator:
Walter Frisch, Professor of Music, Columbia University

Panelists:
Tomer Zvulun, The Atlanta Opera, Carl W. Knobloch, Jr. General & Artistic Director, and Stage Director
Erhard Rom, Scenic & Projection Designer
Mattie Ulrich, Costume Designer
Robert Wierzel, Lighting Designer

11:15 – 11:30am | Break

11:30am – 12:45pm | Lecture – The Long Game:
Singing Wagner & Living to Tell About It

What does it actually take to build a Wagnerian career—and keep it? Join us for a candid conversation with Grammy-winning Heldentenor Jay Hunter Morris, who has sung Siegfried at the Metropolitan Opera and navigated one of opera’s most demanding repertoires with hard-won wisdom, dry wit, and a little redneck resilience. Nothing is off limits. The lecture will be followed by a Q&A Session.

speaker: Jay Hunter Morris, Opera Singer

12:45 – 1:55pm | Lecture – “How Does It End? Reflections on the Conclusion of Wagner’s Ring”

Brünnhilde mounts a funeral pyre with her horse. Valhalla and the gods go up in flames. The Rhine overflows its banks. The Rhine Maidens reclaim the ring. It is an understatement to say lot happens in the last minutes of Wagner’s Ring cycle. Is Wagner’s an optimistic vision, a darker one, or somewhere in between? Over the almost twenty-year evolution of the opera that became Götterdämmerung, Wagner himself considered several possible conclusions, especially for the heroine’s final monologue. This lecture will explore various ways the ending of Wagner’s magnum opus has been—and might be—interpreted musically, dramatically, and philosophically. The lecture will be followed by a Q&A Session.

Speaker:
Walter Frisch, Professor of Music, Columbia University

1:55pm | Closing Remarks