UAO Kicks Off Free Wagner Lecture Series Tonight

Union Avenue Opera kicks off its Wagner Lecture Series this evening, beginning with the first of two free educational series presented by Scott Stearman, Senior Pastor of Kirkwood Baptist Church. 

Thursday, August 9 at 7:00 p.m.: Sublime, Beauty from a Sinister Soul? Wagner’s music, his Anti-Semitism, and his relationship to Nietzsche

In this interactive presentation, Scott Stearman will begin by discussing why, 199 years after Wagner’s birth, Wagner is still one of the most venerated composers of all time and one of the most despised. He has been rightly honored for transforming the operatic and classical music world. Wagner has been blamed for contributing to what happened in Germany in the 1930s and 1940s. His reputation suffered because of his relationship with a much younger Friedrich Nietzsche – Nietzsche ultimately rejected Wagner on philosophical principles. Their relationship gives us insight into what Wagner came to believe and what ultimately he was attempting to do with his unparalleled compositions.

Attendees will be given a first look at the set and treated to a guest performance* by the cast of Das Rheingold (*August 9 only).

Scott Stearman

About Scott Stearman
Scott Stearman has been Senior Pastor of Kirkwood Baptist Church since 2003. He has served churches in Oklahoma, Athens, Greece, and Paris, France (1995-2003). He is an adjunct faculty member at Webster University in religion and Missouri Baptist University in humanities. Stearman earned a Bachelor of Arts from Oklahoma Baptist University with majors in religion and history, a Masters of Divinity in biblical languages from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and a doctor of Philosophy in ancient philosophy from the University of Oklahoma. His interest in Wagner dates back to his “Tristan transformation” in his late 20s. in recent years he has been privileged to see the Ring cycle at Lyric Opera and Metropolitan Opera in addition to making the pilgrimage to Bayreuth, Germany twice.

Stearman will be presenting a second lecture On God, Gods, and Ecstatically Singing for Sex: Wagner’s Love of Love in the Ring Cycle on August 16 at 7:00 p.m. Stay tuned to Operatic Saint Louis for more information.

Das Rheingold opens August 17 and runs August 18, 24, 25 at Union Avenue Opera, 733 N. Union Blvd. All performances begin at 8:00pm. Production sung in German with projected English supertitles. Tickets may be purchased online at www.unionavenueopera.org or by calling 314-361-2881.