According to HAARETZ, the performance will be part of a program that includes "...
conductor Asher Fisch (who) will discuss the influence Wagner's opera "Tannhauser" had in inspiring Herzl during his first draft of his tract "The Jewish State," and the way the anti-Fascist Toscanini used Wagner's work to give expression to his humanistic outlook.
Dr. Meir Stern and musicologist Prof. Jehoash Hirshberg will also lecture on various musical, textual and cultural aspects of Wagner's works."
For the full article visit HAARETZ
However, it should be noted that for anyone that follows Wagner's works closely, this announcement might not be such a surprise. When the Wagner Society of Israel was formed in 2010 the head of the society Attorney Yonatan Livni said the following:
"It's time to allow those who desire to hear Wagner's music in Israel to be able to do so".
"Karl Orff and even Richard Strauss, who was president of the Reich's State Music Bureau, are played in Israel. So why is it prohibited to play Wagner, who died years before the Nazis came to power? This boycott no longer makes sense."
He went on: "It's true that he was a huge anti-Semite, however we are not talking about his speeches, but about the music he wrote as a great composer."
To read the full interview go here
