This new production of Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen at the Bayreuth Festival was the opera event of the 2022 festival season. Young director Valentin Schwarz reimagines the mythical story in the present day and tells a gripping family saga in the world of the rich and powerful. The musical direction is in the hands of Cornelius Meister. In the second part of the tetralogy, Schwarz delves in particular into the relationship between Wotan, the father of the gods, and his “favorite daughter” Brünnhilde, showing it as especially unhappy and traumatic. Lise Davidsen and Klaus Florian Vogt prove themselves audience favourites for their portrayal of the siblings and lovers Sieglinde and Siegmund.
Bayreuth Festival 2022: Siegfried
This new production of Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen at the Bayreuth Festival was the opera event of the 2022 festival season. Young director Valentin Schwarz reimagines the mythical story in the present day and tells a gripping family saga in the world of the rich and powerful. The musical direction is in the hands of Cornelius Meister. In Siegfried, Schwarz underlines the tragicomic elements in the relationship between the title hero and his foster father, Mime. The production also finds original and novel images for Siegfried’s encounter with the dragon and Brünnhilde’s liberation from the circle of fire. As Siegfried, Andreas Schager makes light of the role’s legendary challenges.
Bayreuth Festival 2022: Götterdämmerung
This new production of Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen at the Bayreuth Festival was the opera event of the 2022 festival season. Young director Valentin Schwarz reimagines the mythical story in the present day and tells a gripping family saga in the world of the rich and powerful. The musical direction is in the hands of Cornelius Meister. The final part of the tetralogy sees Siegfried abandon his beloved Brünnhilde, allowing himself to be taken in by the Gibichungen and the unscrupulous Hagen and succumbing to the advances of Gutrune. Schwarz once more features the powerful symbol of a child and turns the horse Grane into a human companion of Brünnhilde, who also plays a central role in the shocking final image.
Bayreuth Festival 2022: Das Rheingold
This new production of Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen at the Bayreuth Festival was the opera event of the 2022 Festival summer. Young director Valentin Schwarz reimagines the mythical story in the present day and tells a gripping family saga in the world of the rich and powerful. The musical direction is in the hands of Cornelius Meister. In Das Rheingold, the antagonists Wotan and Alberich are hostile twin brothers and it is not the gold from the Rhine that is stolen at the outset, but a child, emphasizing the fact that dynasties are always overshadowed by the question of who will one day inherit power.
Kit Armstrong plays Wagner and Liszt
Bayreuth is not only the city of Richard Wagner, but also of his father-in-law Franz Liszt. Described by the New York Times as a “brilliant pianist” who combines “musical maturity and youthful daring in his exceptional playing”, Kit Armstrong performed at the famous Margravial Opera House Bayreuth, a masterpiece of Baroque theatre architecture, works by Wagner, Liszt and Mozart in a concert that was “technically sophisticated – and poetically poignant”. (Der Opernfreund) Alfred Brendel, who has guided Armstrong as teacher and mentor since 2005, ascribes to him “an understanding of the great piano works that combines freshness and subtlety, emotion and intellect”. PRPGRAM: Works by Franz Liszt, Richard Wagner and W.A. Mozart
Bayreuth Festival 2017: Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
The high-point of the 2017 Bayreuth Festival, Barrie Kosky’s “astonishingly entertaining and convincing” (Der Spiegel) new Meistersinger is “a triumph” (Berliner Morgenpost): “a production of enormous insight and great quality … that plumbs the depths of both the opera and its composer” (Opera News). The “exquisite cast” (Die Zeit) is headed by Michael Volle’s “eloquent” Hans Sachs (The New York Times). “Philippe Jordan’s supple conducting is moulded around Kosky’s staging… and the Bayreuth Orchestra and Chorus are superb” (The Guardian).
Bayreuth Festival 2018: Lohengrin
From the 2018 Bayreuth Festival, the acclaimed new production by American director Yuval Sharon, “one of the most interesting arrivals on the musical landscape” (Opernwelt). The New York Times praised “the outstanding Piotr Beczala” as Lohengrin, “Anja Harteros [making] her impressive Bayreuth debut” as Elsa, and Ortrud “played with dominant presence by the incomparable Waltraud Meier”. The distinguished artists Neo Rauch and Rosa Loy created “breathtaking visuals”, and the whole performance was guided with “enthralling musicality” by conductor Christian Thielemann.
Peltokoski conducts Wagner: The Ring – An orchestral adventure
Tarmo Peltokoski is at the helm of the Hong Kong Philharmonic for this concert featuring Henk de Vlieger’s “Orchestral Adventure” drawing together highlights of Wagner’s monumental Ring: a superb distillation of some of the most exciting, moving and thrilling music ever written, presented in concentrated orchestral form.
Das Rheingold
The Zurich Opera’s production of Das Rheingold, directed by Andreas Homoki and conducted by Gianandrea Noseda, presents the cosmic struggles between gods, giants, and Nibelungs over a cursed ring. Homoki emphasizes character and narrative, portraying these figures as reflections of human nature grappling with themes of love, power, and sacrifice. Noseda’s conducting, paired with Philharmonia Zürich, revitalizes Wagner’s score, while Christian Schmidt’s set design enhances the story’s timelessness. The cast, featuring Tomasz Konieczny as Wotan and Christopher Purves as Alberich, delivers powerful performances that bring the mythic characters to life.
Die Walküre
In Wagner’s Die Walküre, separated twins Siegmund and Sieglinde embark on a forbidden love that disrupts Wotan’s intentions to manipulate fate. Fricka demands Siegmund’s death due to marriage laws, prompting Wotan to command his daughter, Brünnhilde, to allow this. Defying Wotan, Brünnhilde aims to protect Siegmund, which leads to tragic consequences as Wotan intervenes, resulting in Siegmund’s demise. Andreas Homoki’s Zurich production highlights emotional depth, with Gianandrea Noseda’s conducting enhancing Wagner’s nuances. The performances by Eric Cutler, Daniela Köhler, and Camilla Nylund are exceptional, supported by Christian Schmidt’s evocative set designs that reflect the majesty of Wagner’s world.