The Ring of the Nibelung: Das Rheingold
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Saaremaa Opera Festival 2026
Richard Wagner’s Tetralogy “The Ring of the Nibelung” I part “Das Rheingold”
Followed by the remaining parts of the tetralogy in subsequent years at Saaremaa Opera Festival:
Die Walküre on July 17, 2027, Siegfried on July 22, 2028, and Götterdämmerung on July 21, 2029.
For the first time in Estonia, the full cycle of Richard Wagner’s The Ring of the Nibelung will be presented to local opera audiences through a collaboration between Eesti Kontsert and Theatre Vanemuine. The first part of the saga will be included in the programme of Saaremaa Opera Festival 2026.
Completed in 1874, Wagner’s Nibelung cycle is considered one of the most awe-inspiring works in the classical opera repertoire. It consists of four separate operas — Das Rheingold, Die Walküre, Siegfried, and Götterdämmerung.
The full musical material of the tetralogy spans around 15 hours. Its central figure is Wotan, the king of the gods, drawn from Germanic heroic mythology. The saga is a grand, otherworldly adventure, both in terms of its libretto and its musical complexity — a must-experience for every true opera connoisseur.
The opening opera, Das Rheingold, tells the origin story of the Ring of the Nibelung. Alberich, a Nibelung dwarf, steals enchanted gold from the bottom of the Rhine River and forges a powerful ring from it, proclaiming himself ruler of the Nibelungs. When the ring is stolen from Alberich, he curses it and all its future bearers. The following operas — Die Walküre, Siegfried, and Götterdämmerung — unfold a tense battle among gods, heroes, and mythical creatures over the ring, which grants the power to rule the world. The dramatic and intrigue-filled story spans three generations of characters.
Author Richard Wagner
Musical Director Risto Joost
Director, Scenographer and Lighting Designer Michiel Dijkema (Holland)
Cast Ain Anger, Koit Soasepp (Finnish National Opera), Annely Peebo (Wiener Volksoper), Monika-Evelin Liiv, Liene Kinča (Latvia), Sandra Laagus (Berlin State Opera’s Studio), Kadri Kõrvek (Estonian National Opera), Annaliisa Pillak, Mati Turi, Rauno Elp (Estonian National Opera), Juhan Tralla, Roland Liiv (Finnish National Opera), Taavi Tampuu, et al.
