San Francisco Opera Presents Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung)

SAN FRANCISCO (February 9, 2011)––San Francisco Opera presents Richard Wagner’s epic four-opera cycle, Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung), May 29–July 3, 2011 at the War Memorial Opera House. The four operas in this new production by San Francisco Opera artistic adviser and internationally celebrated director Francesca Zambello—Das Rheingold, Die Walküre, Siegfried and Götterdämmerung—are presented for the first time as a complete cycle. One of the greatest works ever conceived for the operatic stage, Der Ring des Nibelungen is presented in three complete cycles (June 14–19, June 21–26, and June 28–July 3) in addition to stand-alone performances of Siegfried (May 29) and Götterdämmerung (June 5).In conjunction with the Ring cycles, a diverse array of cultural and educational institutions have partnered with San Francisco Opera to present lectures and symposia, exhibits, musical performances, film screenings and other events throughout the Bay Area for audiences who desire to connect with the Ring in new and compelling ways. Maestro Donald Runnicles, one of the world’s most acclaimed Wagner conductors and fo rmer San Francisco Opera music director, will lead the San Francisco Opera Orchestra and Chorus in these performances that feature an international roster of singers, including Nina Stemme (Brünnhilde), Mark Delavan (Wotan), Ian Storey (Sie gfried), Gordon Hawkins (Alberich), Larissa Diadkova (Fricka), David Cangelosi (Mime), Anja Kampe (Sieglinde), Brandon Jovanovich (Siegmund and Froh), Stefan Margita (Loge), Gerd Grochowski (Donner and Gunther) and Andrea Silvestrelli (Fasolt and Hagen). Of last June’s performances of Die Walküre, The Associ ated Press wrote “Sensational [vocal] performances, along with superb orchestral playing under the baton of Donald Runnicles, make this second installment in the company's four-part Ring cycle a memorable event likely to be talked about for years.” The San Francisco Chronicl e selectedDie Walküre as the best classical music event of 2010 and The Wall Street Journal stated: “Ms. Zambello has come up with impeccable staging to match the music and plot, and—what is much rarer in opera—persuaded every singer to act. For 4½ hours (minus intermissions), I could not take my eyes off the stage, my ears from the music, my mind from the plights of these doomed characters.” Three complete cycl es will be presented each in their entirety over the course of one week as the composer originally intended. These cycles each begin on a Tuesday evening and conclude on a Sunday afternoon, and they will take place June 14-19, June 21–26, and June 28–July 3. All performances are presented at the historic Beaux Arts style War Memorial Opera House. Preceding the Ring cycles, San Francisco Opera will pre sent one performance of Siegfried on May 29 and one performance of Götterdämmerung on June 5. Das Rheingold, Die Walküre, and Siegfried are co-productions with Washington National Opera;Götterdämmerung is a new San Francisco Opera production premiere. An internationally renowned cast featuring som e of the greatest Wagnerian singers of our time has been assembled for San Francisco Opera’s highly anticipated new presentation of Der Ring des Nibelungen. The cast for this completeRing cycle varies from that of San Francisco Op era’s previous productions of Das Rheingold in June 2008 and Die Walküre in June 2010. Swedish soprano and Wagner specialist Nina Stemme sings Brünnhilde in her complete Ringcycle role debut after her role debut in June 2010’s Die Walküre, of which Bloomberg News wrote: “From the moment Stemme strides onstage, dressed as a 1930s aviatrix in long coat, scarf and high boots, she projects a tomboy’s brash energy and enthusiasm. Her singing is clean and bright, strong enough to balance the lush, rich sound of the orchestra.” Baritone Mark Delavan returns to sing his complete Ring cycle debut as Wotan after his triumphant role debut with the Company in 2008’s Das Rheingold and 2010’s Die Walküre. Of his recent Wotan portrayal, The Wall Street Journal reported: “The range of emotions Mr. Delavan can com municate with his half-divine, half-human voice appears limitless.” Tenor Ian Storey makes his Company debut and his Ring cycle role debut as Siegfried and Gordon Hawkins also makes his Company debut as Alberich, a role he sang to great acclaim at Washington National Ope ra. Russian mezzo-soprano Larissa Diadkova appears as Fricka and David Cangelosi returns as Mim e. Soprano Anja Kampe makes her Company debut as Sieglinde, a role she recently sang in Die Walküre at Washington National Opera and Los Angeles Opera, and American tenor Brandon Jovanovich make s his role debut as Siegmund and also appears as Froh. Former Adler Fellow Heidi Melton will sing Sieglinde on the June 29 performance of Die Walküre as well as the Third Norn in Götterdämmerung. Stefan Margita returns to the Company as Loge following his critically acclaimed performances of the rolein 2008’sDas Rheingold. German bass-baritone Gerd Grochowski appears as Gunther and Hagen, and Andrea Silvestrelli returns to San Francisco Opera as Fasolt and will also sing the role of H agen. Merola Opera Program alumni Ronnita Miller (Erda and the First Norn) and Melissa Citro (Freia, Ortlinde and Gutrune) make their Company debuts. Former Adler Fellow and Merola alumnus Daniel Sumegi sings Fafner and Hunding, and former Adler Fellow Daveda Karanas sings Waltraute as well as the Second Norn. Director Francesca Zamb ello and set designer Michael Yeargan use imagery from various eras of American history to illuminate Wagner’s legend in which human virtue and nature’s sanctuary fall prey to greed and lust. The talented creative team also includes costume designer Catherine Zuber, lighting designer Mark McCullough, projectio n designers Jan Hartley with S. Katy Tucker, choreographer Lawrence Pech and Chorus Director Ian Robertson. San Francisco Opera has long been regarded as one of the world’s leading companies to present the entire Ringcycle, with past acclaimed presentations at the War Memorial Opera House in 1935, 1972, 1985, 1990 and 1999. The Company presented a partial Ring cycle in 1936, omitting Siegfried. The City of San Francisco played host to two other presentations of the Ring in 1900 by the Metropolitan Opera at the Grand Opera House, led by famed conductor Walter Damrosch, and a partial Ring cycle in 1931 (omitting Das Rheingold) by the Grand German Opera Company in Civic Auditorium. Ticket sal es for this highly anticipated presentation have already reached 78% of capacity. SAN FRANCISCO RING FESTIVAL In conjunction with San Francisco Opera’s presentation of Richard Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung), a diverse array of cultural and educational institutions have partnered with San Francisco Opera to present the San Francisco Ring Festival, a Bay Area-wide celebration that includes lectures and symposia, exhibits, musical performances, film screenings and other events for audiences who desire to connect with the work in new and compelling ways. The festival also provides opportunities for patrons to interact with fellow Ring cycle subscribers, both those new to the work and those who have experienced it before. Ring Festival partners include the Asian Art Museum; California Academy of Sciences; Commonwealth Club; Contemporary Jewish Museum; Fromm Institute for Lifelong Learning at the University of San Francisco; Goethe-Institut; Humanities West; Jewish Community Center of San Francisco; Los Medanos College; Mills College; Museum of Performance & Design; The New School Commonweal; Opera Frontier; OPERA America; Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at San Francisco State University and UC Berkeley; San Francisco Conservatory of Music; St. Mary’s Cathedral; University of San Francisco: The Center for the Pacific Rim; San Francisco Opera Center; Stanford University and Stanford Lively Arts; and the Wagner Society of Northern California. Each organization will provide its own unique point of view on the Ring, providing opportunities to learn more about Wagner’s masterpiece and explore a fascinating spectrum of related issues. In addition, San Francisco Opera will present three Ring symposia as well as pre-opera talks prior to each performance, and San Francisco Opera Guild will present preview lectures and discussions throughout the Bay Area. Festival events will run prior to and concurrently throughout each cycle. A 2011 Ring Festival schedule is attached; please visit sfopera.com/ringfestival for on-going festival updates and additional information. ABOUT DER RING DES NIBELUNGEN The plot of Wagner’s epic music-drama Der Ring des Nibelungen revolves around a ring made from gold stolen from the Rhine River—the ring can only be forged by one who renounces love forever, and it gives its possessor unlimited power. The ring carries a deadly curse that determines the destiny of all who come in contact with it. Throughout the cycle, various mythic figures struggle to obtain the ring; chief among them is Wotan, ruler of the gods. Wotan strives to undo the curse by fathering a pure-of-heart hero, but events spin out of control as his offspring—the half-mortal twins Siegmund and Sieglinde and the Valkyrie Brünnhilde—defy his will. The ring is eventually won by the hero Siegfried, son of Siegmund and Sieglinde, and he braves a circle of fire to awaken the sleeping Brünnhilde, after which the two fall ecstatically in love. Siegfried gives the ring to Brünnhilde as a token of their union and leaves for new adventures, but he is ultimately slain and Brünnhilde sacrifices herself to return the ring to its natural home in the Rhine, thus ending the rule of the gods. Composed from 1853 to 1874, Richard Wagner’s epic masterpiece Der Ring des Nibelungen is arguably the pinnacle of operatic art. The composer, who also wrote the libretto, drew inspiration for hismagnum opus from early Germanic and Norse mythology and from the poem Nibelungenlied, which was written by an anonymous German poet in the 13th century. In 1848 Wagner drafted a prose outline for his drama, and throughout the next five years he wrote the librettos for Das Rheingold, Die Walküre, Siegfried and Götterdämmerung in reverse order. While Das Rheingold and Die Walküre received their premieres in Munich in 1869, the first performance of the complete Ringcycle was in 1876 in Bayreuth, Germany. Der Ring des Nibelungen is regarded by many as the artistic ancestor of such 20th-century epics as The Lord of the Rings and Star Wars. Common themes such as the lust for power, the lure of wealth, the sacred beauty of nature and the destructive force of man remain relevant today.