Opera Scotland

Imaginary Theatre of Music 2014Wagner Society of Scotland

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You don't have to be a member of the Wagner Society of Scotland to enjoy this illustrated talk in the rooms of the Edinburgh Society of Musicians at No 3 Belford Road, Edinburgh on Sunday night. Come along and introduce yourself!

Professor Michael Downes of St Andrews University is to talk on "Tristan and Isolde and the Imaginary Theatre of Music".

Michael is a conductor, musicologist and full-time Director of Music at the University of St Andrews, where he has quite revitalised the musical scene.  Leaving aside his work for the University, he has been involved in the launch of the St Andrews Voices festival each autumn, and is integral to the success of St Andrews Opera, one of the recent bright spots in Scotland's operatic landscape.

His academic interest in Wagner began as a result of his doctoral research at the University of Sussex into the music and ideas of Debussy, much of which focused on the reception of Wagner in France. Michael collaborated closely with Nike Wagner, great-granddaughter of Richard, on the English edition of her book, The Wagners: Dramas of a Musical Dynasty (Weidenfeld, 2000). His own publications include a study of the British composer Jonathan Harvey (Ashgate, 2009).

He describes his subject thus: Perhaps more than any of Wagner's other dramas, Tristan und Isolde invites an interpretation that evades dramaturgical specifics in favour of a focus on the pure essence of music. My lecture will pursue some of the implications of this line of thinking, with particular emphasis on the French reception and interpretation of Wagner, both literary (Baudelaire, Champfleury, Mallarmé, Wyzewa) and musical (Debussy, Chausson, Fauré).

Read more about the first performance in Scotland of Tristan und Isolde here and go on to read about the opera itself here.

Members £7/non-members £10.  As usual the evening starts at 7.30pm and will be over by 9.30 - there will be a break for refreshments.

All welcome.  For more information contact the Society secretary on 0131 443 1152