• St James Cavalier on 28 November at 8pm

• Aula Magna on 1 December at 7.15pm

The Malta University Historical Society of the University of Malta will be holding this year’s Andrew P.Vella Memorial Lecture – 2007

Culture, History and politics; from Richard Wagner to Adolp Hitler by Gottfried Wagner at the Aula Magna, St Paul Street, Valletta on Saturday 1 December at 7.15pm. The public is invited to attend Wagner- the inside story.

Gottfried Wagner is no stranger to controversy. The great-great-grandson of Frans Liszt and the great-grandson of Richard Wagner, he has been at the centre of the great Wagnerian controversy ever since he published his autobiography The Twilights of the Wagners, in Germany in 1997.

This was the first time that a member of the Wagner family tackled head on the issue of Wagner’s anti-Semitism.

For years the Wagner family and many admirers of the German composer’s musical masterpieces have denied the connection. So it is not surprising that when Gottfried Wagner states bluntly in his book that his great- grandfather was a pivotal person in the anti-Semite movement of the late 19th century, the reaction from his family would be swift and brutal.

His immediate banishment from the hallowed halls of Bayreuth meant that he has lost contact with his family, and whilst his sister is getting ready to take over the reigns from her father in that Mecca of Wagner’s music, Gottfried has dedicated his life to understanding the reasons for one of the greatest tragedies of the 20th century and making reparation for this immense crime against humanity.

Gottfried Wagner will be tackling some of these issues at the annual Andrew P. Vella Memorial lecture organised by The Malta University Historical Society, which he will be giving at the Aula Magna on1 December at 7.15pm.

However Gottfried Wagner is also a well respected musicologist and composer and in this role he will be presenting a special edition of Meet The Composer at St James Cavalier on the 28 November at 8pm.

In this unique lecture Mr Wagner will compare and contrast the songs of Richard Wagner with his great contemporary Giuseppe Verdi.

Wagner and Verdi never met although they were always pitted against each other by the general public. Seen as the two great avant-gardists of 19th century opera, they carved unique paths for their art. And yet there was much they had in common, each connected to apolitical movement and each determined to change the art form they inhabited.

This multimedia presentation will also include rendition of several pieces by these two composer by Venice born Alessandra Vavasori, Soprano and Nicola Tumicioli on piano who hails from Verona

The evening will concentrate on Richard Wagner’s compositions to the

poems by Mathilde Wesendonck as well as the transition from these poems to Wagner’s sublime Transfiguration of Isolde founding the last part of his Opera Tristan and Isolde.

These will then be compared to Verdi’s lesser known but incredibly beautiful Arie e Romanze da Camara.

This bringing together of the two greatest opera composers of the turn of the century is a unique opportunity for opera lovers to get to know better these two giants of the Classical Operatic world.

This event is being held in collaboration with the German and Italian embassies, and the support of the Corinthia Group of Companies and Air Malta. Ticket reservations: 21223200 or [email protected]