It is the most monumental work of art ever created: epic in scope, towering in its creative vision, majestic in its imaginative power. Larger than life yet poignantly human, it engages the mind even as it thrills the senses with pure visceral excitement.
It is Richard Wagner's The Ring of the Nibelung (Der Ring des Nibelungen), arguably the pinnacle of operatic art and a theatrical experience like no other. The artistic ancestor of such epics as The Lord of the Rings and Star Wars, this four-opera cycle combines exciting storytelling with a score that remains unmatched in its sweep and grandeur.
Over the course of four magnificent music dramas, Donald Runnicles, one of the world's leading Wagner interpreters, will conduct a spectacular international cast and the renowned San Francisco Opera Orchestra and Chorus. Audiences will ride a wave of stunning sounds through a mythical land of giants and dragons, magic fire and mystical waters.
The lust for power, the lure of gold, the sacred beauty of nature and the destructive impulses of man: these timeless themes dominate both the Ring and American history. Director Francesca Zambello's production, which will be staged for the first time in its entirety, uses subtle yet astute analogies to convey the countless ways this stirring story reflects our own society.
San Francisco Opera will present three complete Ring cycles, each beginning on a Tuesday evening and concluding on a Sunday afternoon. Audiences will see this astonishing work the way its creator intended: in its entirety, over the course of a single week. Please join us as we take an incredible journey—one that, like all great sojourns, will leave you thinking differently about the world we share.
Don't miss this rare opportunity to immerse yourself in this magnificent marriage of music and myth.
