The Ring Cycle, or Der Ring des Nibelungen by Richard Wagner, is a behemoth operatic cycle of sheer romanticism, excess, soaring orchestration and sensational vocal challenges based on Norse mythology. If we consider Wagner took 26 years to compose the work, then we begin to understand the enormity of this seminal work. It involves dwarfs, giants, gods, alluring Rhinemaidens and the vital stolen ring.
The orchestra itself is a force of nature, involving a vast array of instruments with extra colour from tam tams, Wagner tubas, 18 anvils and steerhorns, as well as creative on-stage instruments at key moments of drama. It truly is an all encompassing experience, and Wagner’s genius was to create a complete fusion of music and drama, a ‘Gesamtkunstwerk’ or Complete Artwork. The vocal lines, the orchestration, the dramatic narrative, the enormous sets and the enormous plot expansion are all significant inter-linked aspects of the whole experience.
Completed in 1874, the four individual operas that make up the cycle – Das Rheingold, Die Walküre, Siegfried and Götterdämmerung, total about 15 hours of music, so this lockdown perhaps provides the perfect opportunity to appreciate this time-enriching opera and to take in Wagner’s visionary experience!
BBC Sounds have just released The Ring Cycle with a sensational cast, as performed at the Royal Opera House, conducted by Antonio Pappano. Grab yourself a plot summary, a translation and enjoy this immersive recording of a 2018 production reminding us of the joys of live music on an international stage.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/series/m000svrs
Photo Credit:
Richard Wagner ‘s opera ‘Die Walküre’ – Act III, a group of Valkyries.
Lebrecht Music & Arts / Universal Images Group / Universal Images Group
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