Opera

Wagner's Die Walküre

The complete Ring Cycle at the Zürich Opera

Live
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Cast

Andreas Homoki — Producer

Christian Schmidt — Set and costume design

Florian Schaaf — Assistant artistic stage designer

Franck Evin — Lighting designer

Werner Hintze — Dramaturgy

Beate Breidenbach — Dramaturgy

Eric Cutler — Siegmund

Christof Fischesser — Hunding

Tomasz Konieczny — Wotan

Daniela Köhler — Sieglinde

Claudia Mahnke — Fricka

Camilla Nylund — Brünnhilde

Sarah Cambidge — Helmwige

Ann-Kathrin Niemczyk — Gerhilde

Barbara Senator — Ortlinde

Anna Werle — Waltraute

Simone McIntosh — Siegrune

Program notes

Discover The Ring—Wagner’s epic four-part opera saga—just as the composer intended! After being presented separately at the Zürich Opera House over the course of the past four years, Wagner’s monumental cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen is now being performed live in its entirety in a once-in-a-lifetime event Bachtrack describes as "dramatic music-making at its finest". In the hands of General Music Director Gianandrea Noseda and Stage Director Andreas Homoki, Wagner's myth is represented as "a dysfunctional family of gods" (The Independent) in a polished yet unpretentious production that underscores the humanity of the characters, who are performed by the same exceptional cast of singers across all four operas.

Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen draws inspiration from Norse mythology and Germanic legend. With this original cycle, he crafted a grand operatic universe filled with extraordinary tales about a powerful, cursed ring and its role in the conflict between gods and mortals. Die Walküre, the second opera in the cycle, includes one of the most iconic moments in all of classical music: the Ride of the Valkyries! The amazing warriors—and sisters!—who ride courageously into battle are led by Brünnhilde, Wotan's favorite daughter, who faces punishment for helping two young lovers in defying ancient rules and sacred laws to be together. Angering the gods, she is condemned to sleep surrounded by a ring of eternal fire until a true hero “who knows no fear” arrives to awaken her…

A closer look: featured composers

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