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Are you a “Ring-Nut” or a “Ring-let”? A longtime fan or a newbie to the Wagner universe? However deeply you have engaged in the music and imagination of Richard Wagner, you are invited to hear more. Presented in English by David Kerr, educator and staff member at the German Cultural Center of Atlanta, the lecture focuses on Das Rheingold, the first of four-opera cycle of Das Ring des Nibelungen. Learn about the composer, his music, the plot, the characters, the historical background and more. No pre-existing knowledge of either music or German, Italian or other language required.

Meet Grammy award-winning tenor Jay Hunter Morris. As one of the handful of singers who can credibly handle the demands of Richard Wagner’s tenor role of the hero Siegfried, Morris will present the pre-opera talk each night. One hour prior to curtain. Free with your ticket!

Richard Wagner was a revolutionary whose inspired compositions and expansive vision changed the course of classical music forever. At the same time, he was a man of his time, a German nationalist who absorbed and even amplified the casual and cruel social anti-Semitism of the 19th century. Despite being surrounded by exceptional Jewish musicians who championed his career and supported his artistic vision, Wagner publicly encouraged the growing political racism of the time. Yet, his actions and personal relationships often belied this position.

As lovers of his music, how do we reconcile this racist and small thinking with the vast inspiration of his musical imagination?
Is there more to understand about Wagner as revealed by his personal relationships?
Does art transcend prejudice and bigotry? 

Join the Atlanta Opera, The Breman Museum, and the Goethe Zentrum of Atlanta to explore this perplexing dichotomy in the life of Richard Wagner in Hilan Warshaw’s documentary Wagner’s Jews.

The screening will be followed by a panel discussion with Tomer Zvulun (Carl W. Knobloch, Jr. General & Artistic Director, Atlanta Opera), Hilan Warshaw (filmmaker and President, Overtone Films), Arthur Fagen (Music Director, Atlanta Opera), and Rabbi Joe Prass (Director of the Weinberg Center for Holocaust Education at The Breman Museum).

Germanic mythology is the starting point for worlds of imagination that surround us today. Stories of The Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia, and even the current crop of Marvel superheroes grow from these roots. However, before any of these, the world of gods, dwarves, dragons, and a ring of power was created by Richard Wagner in his epic cycle of operas, Das Ring des Niebelungen. The first of the four-opera cycle, Das Rheingold, will be performed by The Atlanta Opera this spring (April 29 – May 7).

Join Arthur Fagen, music director and conductor of The Atlanta Opera, as he discusses how the music dramas of Richard Wagner changed the face of music and had a staggering influence on the path of the 20th century.