Proust & Wagner

Marcel Proust was deeply influenced by Richard Wagner, integrating Wagnerian concepts like leitmotifs, endless melody, and Gesamtkunstwerk (total work of art) into his novel In Search of Lost Time, using musical structures to explore memory, time, & seeing parallels between Wagner's mythical quests (like Parsifal) and Proust’s own take on the Wagnerian Liebestod (Love/Death) theme from Tristan & Isolde in his main characters relationships throughout his 7 volume masterpiece.

Our first session will concentrate on Wagner's life and music before Tristan und Isolde so that a familiarity with his early period can be established.

We will listen (and watch) excerpts from Rienzi, Tannhäuser, Lohengrin and Wesendonck songs.

Tristan und Isolde will be the focus of our next session - we will watch, listen and talk about this opera as it was Proust's favorite, most cited, and most discussed Wagner's work.