Opera North launches Ring Cycle project

Opera North has announced its plan to perform Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen in concert over four years, beginning with Das Rheingold in 2011. Die Walküre, Siegfried and Götterdämerung will follow in 2012 to 2014. The operas are to be performed at Leeds Town Hall, The Sage Gateshead, Symphony Hall Birmingham and The Lowry Salford Quays.

This is the first time Opera North has tackled these challenging works, and will be a rare and exciting opportunity for audiences in the North and Midlands to hear them live, 200 years since Wagner's birth. The Ring will mark a continuation in Opera North's focus on ‘Opera in Concert'. Since 2005, they have performed Duke Bluebeard's Castle , Nabucco , Salome and Elektra in the concert hall.

Opera North will offer coaching to singers and public masterclasses in Leeds, Birmingham, Gateshead and London during the preparation period for each opera. Opera North Music Director Richard Farnes, who will conduct The Ring, comments that the venture ‘reaffirms our commitment to the development of talent and to providing opportunity for emerging artists'. New talent will perform alongside more experienced artists. Wagner expert Sir John Tomlinson will act as Artistic Consultant on the project.