Robert Lepage’s acclaimed new production of Wagner’s "Der Ring des Nibelungen" will air on GREAT PERFORMANCES AT THE MET. The operas – "Das Rheingold" (Sept. 23rd), "Die Walküre" (Sept. 30th), "Siegfried" (October 7th) and "Götterdämmerung" (October 14th) — will be preceded by the broadcast of award-winning filmmaker Susan Froemke’s documentary "Wagner’s Dream," which chronicles the backstage story of the creation of this ambitious new staging.
The Story Of The Ring
Opera synopses of "Das Rheingold," "Die Walküre," "Siegfried," and "Götterdämmerung"—the four epic operas that make up Richard Wagner’s "Ring" cycle. Courtesy of The Metropolitan Opera.
This is the third time a complete "Ring" cycle has been aired on PBS. In 1983, GREAT PERFORMANCES aired Patrice Chereau’s production of the "Ring" conducted by Pierre Boulez from the Bayreuth Festival, and in 1990, LIVE FROM THE MET (the precursor of GREAT PERFORMANCES AT THE MET) presented Otto Schenk’s Metropolitan Opera production, conducted by James Levine.
Both the operas and the documentary will be screened in movie theaters throughout the U.S. and Canada this spring and summer, and in more than 20 other countries, including Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Chile, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Japan, Malta, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
"Wagner's Dream" airs Friday, Sept. 21 at 9 p.m. - The stakes could not be higher as visionary director Robert Lepage, several of the world’s greatest operatic artists and the Metropolitan Opera tackle Wagner’s "Ring" cycle. An intimate look at the enormous theatrical and musical challenges of staging opera’s most monumental work, Susan Froemke’s documentary chronicles the quest to fulfill Wagner’s dream of a perfect "Ring."
“A highly entertaining outing for operaphiles and operaphobes alike.” (Variety)
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