Location
Approximate timings
This performance will last for approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes with no interval.
Guidance
Suitable for ages 12+
This production contains scenes of nudity and depictions of blood and violence
Language
Sung in German with English surtitles
Synopsis
When a precious hoard of gold is stolen from the river Rhine, it unleashes a chain of destructive events, pitting gods and mortals against one another for generations. Wagner’s Ring cycle boasts some of the greatest music ever written for the opera stage. Join us as we embark on a spectacular journey into the world of myth, dream and memory, with the figure of Erda – Mother Earth herself – at its centre.
Creatives
The artists and creatives behind the production
Composer
Libretto
Conductor
Director
Set Designer
Costume Designer
Lighting Designer
Discover
Originally described as a Vorabend (or preliminary evening), Das Rheingold is the first opera in Wagner’s Ring cycle. Das Rheingold introduces the central characters and arc of the cycle, featuring the ring of power, and the curse laid upon it by the greedy dwarf, Alberich, whose effects ripple down through the subsequent three operas. The cast consists entirely of gods, dwarves and other supernatural beings, with no mortals introduced until the second opera in the cycle, Die Walküre.
A lucky encounter with King Ludwig
Wagner’s fortunes improved dramatically when the young King Ludwig II ascended to the throne in Bavaria in 1864. Captivated by Wagner’s operas, the King employed him on a permanent basis, settling the composer’s debts, and installing him in a state of luxury at the Villa Tribschen on Lake Lucerne, where Wagner composed the famous Tristan und Isolde. Wagner subsequently founded the Bayreuth Festspielhaus: a theatre specially constructed for the demands of the Ring cycle, which hosts annual festivals of Wagner’s music to this day.
Totalling fifteen hours of music, Wagner’s Ring cycle is a colossal masterpiece composed over the course of 26 years, from 1848 to 1874. It consists of four epic operas which fuse ancient Norse mythology with German and Scandinavian folk tales to tell the story of an all-powerful ring, and its pursuit by the leader of the gods, Wotan. It is the culmination of Wagner’s ambition to create opera that unified text, music and drama in a Gesamtkunstwerk, or ‘total work of art’.
Barrie Kosky and Antonio Pappano in conversation for The Royal Opera's Das Rheingold
Reviews
Accessibility and resources
There is lift access and there are step-free routes to over 100 seats in the Stalls Circle, Balcony and Amphitheatre. Some seats in the Stalls Circle, Balcony, Amphitheatre and the Donald Gordon Grand Tier are accessed by 9 steps or fewer. There are 10 steps or more to access seats in the Orchestra Stalls.
You can use the assistive listening systems in our auditoriums. Surtitles, captions and translations in English are displayed on screens above the stage and around the auditorium.
Join our Access Scheme for priority access to tickets and to inform us of your access requirements.
See our Accessibility page for more information or view a visitors guide (PDF, 12.0 MB).
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