St James Cavalier is presenting the Metropolitan Opera production of Robert Lepage’s re-imagining of Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen, as well as Wagner’s Dream, a new documentary chronicling the creation of this ambitious new staging.
Malta joins other countries for the complete screening of this monumental work. These include Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Chile, Colombia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
The Metropolitan Opera’s new production of Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen features a cast of today’s greatest Wagnerian singers, led by Bryn Terfel (Wotan), Deborah Voigt (Brünnhilde), Jay Hunter Morris (Siegfried), and Jonas Kaufmann (Siegmund). The four-opera epic is directed by Robert Lepage and conducted by Met music director James Levine and the company’s principal conductor Fabio Luisi. The production premiered at the Met over the course of the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons.
German composer Richard Wagner (1813-1883) was one of the most influential figures of 19th century music. His idea of the Gesamtkunstwerk, or “total work of art”, combining music, theatre, literature, architecture and other disciplines, has had an impact far beyond the world of opera. The Ring Cycle is his masterpiece and took an astounding 26 years to complete. Its story is loosely based on the medieval Icelandic Edda epics and the German Nibelungenlied. The protagonists, Wotan, the king of the gods, his warrior daughter Brünnhilde, and the hero Siegfried, are caught up in the struggle over a magical ring that gives unlimited power.
The four operas will be screened from 4 to 8 July with a break on the 6th. They will be preceded by a two-hour documentary that looks at the creation of the work from conception to realization – a truly fascinating journey. The screening of Wagner’s Dream will be held on 27 June.
Tickets are €7 (€5 concessions) for the documentary ‘Wagner’s Dream’ and €15 (€10 concessions) for each of the operas. Alternatively see all five for just €50 (€35 concessions)