Rhinegold

RECORDINGS OF THE WORKS

Richard Wagner: Rhinguldet

Watch in the DR archive (2011)More recordings on Kulturbase

Videos from Kulturbase

Address

Kirsten Flagstads Plass 1,
0150 Oslo

Rhinegold

Description

The price of power. The promise of love. Wagner's great Ring of the Nibelung opens with a single note from the depths, slowly growing in the orchestra. This is how a universe begins. In the coming years, mighty music will open up a whole world for us. The prelude to it all is ready - it is time for Rhinegold. In January 2027 we begin our journey with Richard Wagner's monumental work The Ring of the Nibelung - and invite you along on an operatic adventure you will never forget. The Ring of the Nibelung consists of three music dramas: The Valkyrie, Siegfried and Ragnarok, plus a prelude: Rhinegold. From 2027 to 2029 you can experience the works one by one. In 2029 we will also perform the whole cycle over the course of one week, twice. But first, then - the prelude. What is Rhinegold about? Deep down on the muddy bed of the Rhine, something tempting glitters. The gold is guarded by the Rhinemaidens, who tease the dark elf Alberich. Whoever owns the gold, they say, will gain power over the world. Alberich is both provoked and tempted. He steals the gold - despite the Rhinemaidens' warning that whoever takes it will never know love. In the world of the gods, Wotan has built himself a palace he cannot really afford. In desperation he has promised away his sister-in-law, Freia, as payment. His wife, Fricka, is, to put it mildly, not very enthusiastic. It is then that the cunning Loge tells of the gold Alberich has forged into a ring that grants all the power in the world ... Wotan and Loge travel to Nibelheim, seize the treasure and the ring, but the primeval mother Erda persuades Wotan to give it up. It does not take long before both we and Wotan see the ripple effects of the curse, which will follow generations - a struggle between power without love and love without power. A Ring for our time It is the acclaimed director Tatjana Gürbaca who has been entrusted with staging the National Opera's new Ring of the Nibelung. The director is known for her psychologically precise interpretations of human relationships and for sharp, complex portrayals, particularly of the female characters. With the Opera's music director Edward Gardner on the conductor's podium and a top-class cast of Norwegian and international vocal soloists in the roles, an epic experience of the rarest kind awaits. Artistic team and performers Music and libretto Richard Wagner Original title Das Rheingold Musical direction Edward Gardner Director Tatjana Gürbaca Set design Henrik Ahr Costume design Barbara Drosihn Lighting design Stefan Bolliger Performers Operaorkestret Wotan Yngve Søberg Donner Aleksander Nohr Froh Eirik Grøtvedt Loge Magnus Staveland Alberich Johannes Weisser Mime Ya-Chung Huang Fasolt Nicolai Elsberg Fafner Jens-Erik Aasbø Fricka Astrid Nordstad Freia Margrethe Fredheim Erda Anna Kissjudit Woglinde Erin O’Rourke Wellgunde Sandra Bendrik Flosshilde Frida Lund-Larsen