The Melbourne Ring Cycle

Editorial

Melbourne will host its first ever staging of Wagner's four-part epic, Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring Cycle) when Opera Australia presents the Holy Grail of opera in the State Theatre in 2013.

Wagner's magnum opus, The Ring Cycle draws from Teutonic and Norse mythology, and took some 30 years to complete. The plot revolves around a magic ring, forged from gold stolen by the mermaid-like Rhine Maidens, which grants its wearer the power to rule the world. Chief among the many mythic figures scheming to obtain the ring is the god Wotan, but it is his grandson, the dragon-slayer Siegfried, who finally wins the Ring, only to be promptly betrayed and murdered. After his death, the Valkyrie Brünnhilde - Siegfried's lover and Wotan's estranged daughter - returns the Ring to the Rhine Maidens, sparking the death of the Gods and the flaming destruction of their home, Valhalla, in the process.

This grandiose, 15-hour story of gods, demigods, dragons and destiny will be played out across four consecutive nights; a test of skill for Opera Australia, and a test of stamina for its audience, many of whom will have travelled from across Australia, and even internationally, to see this new production.

A stage spectacle like no other, The Melbourne Ring Cycle will be directed by one of Australia's finest directors, Neil Armfield, conducted by Richard Mills, and will feature more than 350 singers, dancers, designers, costume-makers and backstage staff, along with up to 100 technicians behind the scene. The sets alone are expected to take 14 months to build.

An operatic event of Everest-like status, this local production of Wagner's Ring Cycle is absolutely not to be missed.

Richard Watts, Citysearch