Wagner’s Nightmare is a tongue-in-cheek musical celebration of Richard Wagner, his polemical personality, and the viola alta – the special type of viola Wagner had built for the Bayreuth Festival. Violist Daniel Orsen and Pierre-Nicolas Colombat, his collaborative pianist, will perform selected musical works, including pieces composed by Wagner himself and arranged for viola and piano. Click here for program details.

Wagner was keenly interested in modifications to existing instruments or new instruments in the orchestra to produce the kind of tonal colors that he imagined. He was dissatisfied with the tone color of the standard viola. When a musician introduced Wagner to a modified viola called the viola alta, Wagner preferred the sound of the viola alta and used the viola alta in his orchestra at the Bayreuth Festival. A significant body of solo music was written for the viola alta. However, contemporary opera house orchestras use the standard viola that Wagner disliked. Wagner’s Nightmare delves into the viola alta repertoire, music by composers that “Wagner would not like,” as well as transcriptions of music composed by Wagner.

Daniel Orsen joined the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra on September, 2022 (click here for his bio). Click here for Mr. Colombat’s bio.

The music that comprises Wagner’s Nightmare has been recorded, and the album was released in early February, 2023. This concert is one of several to celebrate the release of this album.

Registration

$15 Members and their guests

$20 Non-members and their guests

When registering, please proceed as far as the “review and confirm” page and click “confirm”! For assistance, please contact info@wagnertc.org.

Directions

The concert will be in the Thelma Hunter Recital Room, which is Room 205 on the second floor of Landmark Center in Saint Paul. The handicap-accessible entrance to Landmark Center is located on Market Street.

COVID-19 Protocol

To protect yourself and others, we encourage you to be fully vaccinated and boosted. You are welcome to wear masks at any time. Please do not attend if you have any COVID-19 symptoms.