The Ring Cycle 2020
Join Us for an Extraordinary Journey
Wagner’s Ring cycle
is one of the greatest achievements in Western culture and an immersive
adventure that every opera lover should experience. Lyric is proud to
present a brand-new Ring — a rare and monumental undertaking that will attract audiences from all over the world to the city of Chicago.
Das Rheingold
By Richard Wagner
In the first chapter of the Ring,
we meet the Rhinemaidens, guardians of magical gold that can be
transformed into a ring that grants its owner unlimited power. When
Alberich steals the gold, the struggle among the legendary characters
begins, as Wotan, king of the gods, vies with him for supreme power.
Immerse yourself in thrilling drama and music of vast proportions.
Language - Performed in German with projected English translations
Running Time - 2 hours 30 minutes
Die Walküre
By Richard Wagner
Die Walküre's
riveting, devastating drama involves complex relationships between
brother and sister, husband and wife, father and daughter. Every
character is unforgettable—valiant Siegmund and Sieglinde, headstrong
Brünnhilde and mighty, tortured Wotan, determined Fricka and vengeful
Hunding. Wagner's music drama burns itself in our memories, exciting us
with the emotional intensity of its lyrical outbursts and its incredible
power and majesty.
Language - Sung in German with projected English translations
Running Time - 4 hours, 55 minutes with 2 intermissions
Siegfried
By Richard Wagner
Siegfried
is fearless. Follow him on his valiant, adventurous path through the
opera. Watch as he vanquishes the dragon Fafner and gets the better of
his own wickedly devious guardian, Mime. Will our hero heed the warnings
of his wise grandfather, Wotan, disguised as the Wanderer? And what
happens when he braves the magic fire, awakens the sleeping Brünnhilde,
and is enraptured by love for the very first time? In this, the third
opera of Wagner’s Ring cycle, the characters are extraordinary, and the music utterly exhilarating.
Language - Sung in German with projected English translations
Running Time - 5 hours with 2 intermissions
Götterdämmerung
By Richard Wagner
When it comes to musical and theatrical grandeur, the fourth of the Ring operas
is in a class by itself. At the center of it all is heroic Brünnhilde,
who experiences horrific betrayal, desperate revenge, and finally
profound understanding and acceptance. As her emotional journey
concludes in the overwhelming Immolation Scene, Wagner remarkably brings
to life the end of the old world and the beginning of a new one.
Nothing less will suffice for the climax of the Ring cycle, opera’s most stupendous and monumental achievement.
Language - Sung in German with projected English translations
Running Time - 5 hours, 15 minutes with 2 intermissions