wagners-ring-cycle-first-performed

"On this day in 1876, German composer, conductor, and director Wilhelm Richard Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen, more popularly known as Wagner’s Ring Cycle, was first performed.

The Ring Cycle is a series of four epic operas Wagner wrote over the course of about 26 years, from 1848 to 1874. The works are based on characters from the Norse sagas and the Nibelungenlied or Song of the Nibelungs, an epic poem in Middle High German based on pre-Christian Germanic traditions. Wagner wrote both the libretto and music of the four operas that constitute the Ring Cycle, including Das Rheingold, or The Rhine Gold; Die Walkure, or The Valkyrie; Siegfried; and Gotterdammerung, or Twilight of the Gods. Intended to be performed in series, the sheer scale of the Ring Cycle is impressive: a full performance of the cycle takes place over four nights at the opera, with a total playing time of about 15 hours.

The scope of the story is epic as well. It follows the struggles of gods, heroes, and mythical creatures over an eponymous magic Ring that grants the owner dominion over the entire world. The epic struggle continues through three generations of protagonists, told via the separate operas, until the final cataclysm in the final part, Gotterdammerung.

The music is no less extraordinary. Though all of Wagner’s later works are known for their complex texture, rich harmonies, beautiful orchestration, and elaborate use of leitmotifs, or musical themes, his Ring Cycle is perhaps the grandest. Its music is thick and richly textured, growing ever more complex as the cycle advances. In fact, Wagner even had a theatre constructed expressly for this work, the Bayreuth Festspielhaus, which has a special stage that blends the huge orchestra with the singers’ voices, allowing them to sing at natural volumes and not strain their voices during the long performance.

Though portions of the Ring Cycle had been performed prior to the Bayreuth Festspielhaus’s opening, the first complete performance of the epic opera took place from 13 August to 17 August 1876. The Ring Cycle is today considered among the most tremendous, epic operatic productions in history and Wagner’s work continues to influence modern art, including most recently, the fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings, which shares elements with Der Ring des Nibelungen."