Co-Sponsorship Between
The Wagner Society of Washington DC
& The Arts Club of Washington
Thursday, March 9, 2023 at 7:30 pm
OPEN TO MEMBERS & GUESTS - FREE
Friedrich Nietzsche and Richard Wagner shared a deep friendship until they had a terrible quarrel and Nietzsche walked away from the relationship. Share a viewing and discussion of the Julian Doyle film that explores what happened between these intellectual giants.
Join us for a screening of the Julian Doyle movie Twilight of the Gods, popcorn and all. This is a highly compelling fantasy of an imaginary conversation between Nietzsche and the ghost of Richard Wagner during Nietzsche's last days in the Turin asylum. The film is set on Nietzsche’s first day in a lunatic asylum in Turin, where he spent a year beginning in January 1889. He hallucinates (fictitiously) that Wagner’s ghost is visiting, and carries on an intense debate with him. The movie evokes the two men’s early shared enthusiasm for the work of Schopenhauer, the role of Cosima in both their lives, and – most of all – their love of music. The 90-minute film was directed by British filmmaker Julian Doyle, and features British actors Jud Charlton as Nietzsche and Richard Franklin as Wagner.
Following the movie, Saul Lilienstein and Bill Pastor will share their insights and facilitate a discussion. If you would like to read up on Wagner and Nietzsche, Bill recommends I am Dynamite!; A Life of Nietzsche by Sue Prideaux, particularly the first chapter. The podcast Entitled Opinions also offers an illuminating episode on this love-hate relationship.
Popcorn will be available throughout the evening!
Read more about film maker Julian Doyle and see a trailer here.
The Arts Club of Washington is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. located at 2017 I Street N.W., Washington D.C. 20006
