A six-part course , “Wagner: Questions of Influence and Originality,” poses the question: To what degree is any artist original? What role do the achievements of other artists, earlier and contemporary, play in influencing a composer as “original” as Richard Wagner?  Wagner occupies a special position in the history of music, both for his body of work and for his influence. Wagner’s own development was not linear; the past, present, and future of opera are present in all his works.