Götterdämmerung - Wagner in Vermont 2024
Aug
24
3:00 PM15:00

Götterdämmerung - Wagner in Vermont 2024

The OMEGA... Götterdämmerung
Götterdämmerung is a fierce, enthralling work with enormous implications. As the Gods approach their end, everything is at stake for the cosmos, and for humanity.

Brünnhilde consummates her love with Siegfried, only to be kidnapped from the circle of Magic Fire that Wotan had conjured to protect her. She finds herself on the banks of the Rhine in a decaying tribal court. Siegfried is already there: he has been ensnared and poisoned by his hosts. In a shocking sequence of betrayals, Brünnhilde learns what it is to be human. We meet Hagen: a dark, self-confident agent of evil in his slow and ruthless pursuit of the Ring.

The final scene, Brünnhilde's self-immolation with her horse Grane, closes the immense cycle with transcendent radiance. The music tells us that, as the Gods are toppled from their thrones, and the Ring is returned to its home in the depths of the Rhine, a woman saves the world to usher in a new era. The experience is beautiful and inspiring beyond description; for many people, it is life-changing.

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Das Rheingold - Wagner in Vermont 2024
Aug
23
7:00 PM19:00

Das Rheingold - Wagner in Vermont 2024

The ALPHA... Das Rheingold

The Gold sits deep in the River Rhine: primeval, and playfully tended by the three Daughters of the Rhine. We will meet the Dwarfs of Nibelheim who live below, the Gods who dwell above, and the Giants, who stride the surface of the earth. Any good order is shattered by a world-shaking transgression motivated by lust, greed, and alienation. Alberich - the Nibelung - is the transgressor: he has stolen the Gold from the Daughters of the Rhine, and forged an all-powerful Ring. He will in turn be robbed and humiliated, and imbue the Ring with a curse. The tribes and families continually reposition themselves, fighting to possess the Ring. Families and worlds are destroyed; warnings and interventions make no difference - nobody cares! We have to ask: do we care as audience witnesses to this confounding spectacle, saturated with self-absorption, mistrust and death, sprinkled with joy and comedy, and confronting us with such huge questions?

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Götterdämmerung - Wagner in Vermont 2024
Aug
17
3:00 PM15:00

Götterdämmerung - Wagner in Vermont 2024

The OMEGA... Götterdämmerung

Götterdämmerung is a fierce, enthralling work with enormous implications. As the Gods approach their end, everything is at stake for the cosmos, and for humanity.

Brünnhilde consummates her love with Siegfried, only to be kidnapped from the circle of Magic Fire that Wotan had conjured to protect her. She finds herself on the banks of the Rhine in a decaying tribal court. Siegfried is already there: he has been ensnared and poisoned by his hosts. In a shocking sequence of betrayals, Brünnhilde learns what it is to be human. We meet Hagen: a dark, self-confident agent of evil in his slow and ruthless pursuit of the Ring.

The final scene, Brünnhilde's self-immolation with her horse Grane, closes the immense cycle with transcendent radiance. The music tells us that, as the Gods are toppled from their thrones, and the Ring is returned to its home in the depths of the Rhine, a woman saves the world to usher in a new era. The experience is beautiful and inspiring beyond description; for many people, it is life-changing.

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Das Rheingold - Wagner in Vermont 2024
Aug
16
7:00 PM19:00

Das Rheingold - Wagner in Vermont 2024

The ALPHA... Das Rheingold

The Gold sits deep in the River Rhine: primeval, and playfully tended by the three Daughters of the Rhine. We will meet the Dwarfs of Nibelheim who live below, the Gods who dwell above, and the Giants, who stride the surface of the earth. Any good order is shattered by a world-shaking transgression motivated by lust, greed, and alienation. Alberich - the Nibelung - is the transgressor: he has stolen the Gold from the Daughters of the Rhine, and forged an all-powerful Ring. He will in turn be robbed and humiliated, and imbue the Ring with a curse. The tribes and families continually reposition themselves, fighting to possess the Ring. Families and worlds are destroyed; warnings and interventions make no difference - nobody cares! We have to ask: do we care as audience witnesses to this confounding spectacle, saturated with self-absorption, mistrust and death, sprinkled with joy and comedy, and confronting us with such huge questions?

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Siegfried
Aug
24
4:00 PM16:00

Siegfried

An orphaned boy, brought up deep in the forest, is growing up. He asks uncomfortable questions as he starts to seek independence from his foster-parent, Mime. The boy is Siegfried, who will fully emancipate himself from Mime (come and find out how!), slay a dragon, learn the speech of a spirit-bird to guide him, and unwittingly enter the cosmic struggle between immortals for the baleful Ring. Starting at 4.00pm, there will be breaks for dining and refreshment of 90 minutes and 25 minutes between acts.

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Die Walküre
Aug
22
4:00 PM16:00

Die Walküre

Wotan's favored daughter, Brünnhilde, has to deal with her father's controlling nature and malevolent actions. At great cost to herself, she asserts her values of love, freedom, and emancipation. This most serious work of the Ring Cycle starts in rough woodland homesteads, and ascends to epic, cosmological heights. Starting at 4.00pm, there will be breaks for dining and refreshment of 90 and 25 minutes between acts.

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Lecture: The Witch of It
Aug
22
11:00 AM11:00

Lecture: The Witch of It

"The Witch of It": A Historical Analysis of Witchcraft, Folklore, and Feminism in the the Evolution of Opera 
Witchcraft has historically been a taboo topic of Western European religion and culture. Focusing mainly on the 19th century, the lecture recital will explain how the ideas of witchcraft, feminism, and gender merged through political, religious, and secular influences throughout Europe.

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Siegfried
Aug
20
4:00 PM16:00

Siegfried

An orphaned boy, brought up deep in the forest, is growing up. He asks uncomfortable questions as he starts to seek independence from his foster-parent, Mime. The boy is Siegfried, who will fully emancipate himself from Mime (come and find out how!), slay a dragon, learn the speech of a spirit-bird to guide him, and unwittingly enter the cosmic struggle between immortals for the baleful Ring. Starting at 4.00pm, there will be breaks for dining and refreshment of 90 minutes and 25 minutes between acts.

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Lecture: Queering Wagner
Aug
20
1:00 PM13:00

Lecture: Queering Wagner

In this lecture, Professor Patrick Cheng will explore the historical connections between queerness and Richard Wagner.  Topics include gay male devotees to Wagner’s operas from the 19th century to today; the homosexuality of Wagner’s son Siegfried as well as his royal patron King Ludwig II of Bavaria; Wagner’s fetishism with respect to pink satin and rose perfumes; and the unorthodox sexual relationships in Wagner’s life and in his works, including Die Walküre and Siegfried.

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