In 2019, Opera Australia announced an ambitious new production of Richard Wagner’s four-opera cycle Der Rings des Nibelungen, commonly known as the Ring Cycle, for Queensland in 2020. Of course, like so many other plans for 2020, the production fell victim to COVID-19 related health restrictions around live performance. The production was subsequently postponed until 2021. However, the reinstatement of those restrictions due to the rise of the Delta variant meant that the production had to be postponed, again. Now, OA has announced new dates for the production to make its debut in December 2023.
Image supplied by Opera Australia.
“As disappointing as it was to have to postpone again this year, I’m heartened that this pandemic and all its restrictions will be well and truly behind us when we open in 2023, when international audiences will again be able to visit Brisbane,” said Opera Australia Artistic Director Lyndon Terracini. “It’s clear this spectacular new digital production of the Ring has captured the imagination of many fans around the world, so it’s very comforting to know it will now be available to everyone.”
The production was to be the first completely digital staging of the 16-hour epic, making use of huge LED screens suspended from above the stage, directed by Chinese director Chen Shi-Zheng (known to Australian audiences for his 2016 production of Turandot for Handa Opera on the Harbour).
The production will be conducted by French conductor Philippe Auguin, with renowned German Wagnerian heldentenor Stefan Vinke returning to Australia to sing the role of Siegfried. (Vinke previously sang the role in Neil Armfield’s glittery 2013 production, and its revival in 2016). Limelight International Artist of the year 2021 nominee American soprano Lise Lindstrom (who was also in OA’s 2016 cycle) will play Brünnhilde, the fiery Valkyrie, in the first two cycles. Australian soprano Anna-Louise Cole will make her role debut as Brünnhilde in the third cycle, after playing Sieglinde in cycles one and two, while Australian bass Daniel Sumegi makes his Australian debut as Wotan, a role he understudied in Los Angeles a decade ago.
Chen Shi-Zheng with a set model for his new production of Wagner’s Ring Cycle for Opera Australia. Photo © Rhiannon Hopley.
The production is presented by OA in association with Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) and Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University, and supported by the Queensland Government and Brisbane City Council.
“We’d like to thank our good friends at Tourism and Events Queensland, the Brisbane Economic Development Agency, QPAC and our artistic partner Opera Queensland for all their support over the past two years. We’re looking forward to continuing the journey and finally bringing this innovative production to the stage,” said Terracini.
The season will contain three full cycles of the four operas (Das Rheingold, Die Walküre, Siegfried and Götterdämmerung). The first cycle will run 1–7 December, 2023, the second will run 8–12 December, and the final cycle takes place 15–21 December. Each cycle will run with one day’s break between each opera.
The season will run in repertory with Davide Livermore’s production of Verdi’s Aida (6–20 December), which also uses the LED screens.
More information about Opera Australia’s new Ring Cycle can be found here.
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Opera Australia announces 2023 dates for Brisbane Ring Cycle - Limelight Magazine
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