THE FIGHT IN BRIEF
Wagner’s Ring is an iconic boxing match between good and evil, spread over four operas with a total playing time of almost 20 hours. With The Ring, Wagner revolutionised the opera genre with a new compositional approach, carried by powerful,ng soundscapes without aria hits. You have to experience The Ring at least once in your life.
RHINGULDET
The supreme god Wotan has got a couple of clumsy giants to build Valhalla, but cannot pay the bill. The problem escalates when a family member is taken hostage. The dwarf Alberich tricks the Rhine maidens and steals the Rhine gold. The stage is set for all the trouble Wotan has to deal with in the rest of the Ring.
VALKYRIE
The siblings Sieglinde and Siegmund meet unexpectedly and begin a sexual relationship. Wotan mobilises his Valkyries, who ride to the battlefield and bring slain heroes home to Valhalla. Wotan punishes his favourite daughter Brünnhilde for disobedience by imprisoning her in a ring of fire on a cliff top.
SIEGFRIED
Sigfried, the child of incest, forges the heroic sword Notung. The boy knows no fear and slays the dragon Fafner, who guards the cursed Ring. With dragon’s blood on his lips, Siegfried understands the language of birds and is led to the mountain top, where he frees Brünnhilde and love immediately blossoms.
GÖTTERDÄMMERUNG
A flashforward predicts how the disillusioned Wotan will burn down Valhalla and bring about the end of the world. Siegfried is lured into a trap and killed. Brünnhilde secures the Ring and removes the curse. She rides into the flames of Siegfried’s funeral pyre as the world ends, so that a new one can be reborn.
