In the organizer's words:

WAGNER AS A STRANGER IN PARIS. FRENCH INFLUENCES IN WORD AND SOUND As a young composer, Richard Wagner sought artistic recognition in Paris - and encountered a rich musical world there that had a lasting influence on his future work. The music of Meyerbeer and Berlioz left clear traces in his work, and his encounter with Franz Liszt led to a lifelong artistic connection. The program of the Advent matinée is dedicated to Wagner's rarely performed French-language songs, framed by compositions by his French role models Meyerbeer, Berlioz and his later father-in-law Liszt - a resounding testimony to the exchange between German and French Romanticism.

The event is organized by the Richard Wagner Verband Hamburg in cooperation with the Gustav Mahler Vereinigung Hamburg.