Read also our companion back story about the “Valhalla Machine” with exclusive photo gallery showing its creation, installation and the final dazzling results. (Link)

Once the Metropolitan Opera decided to create a whole new staging of Wagner’s Ring Cycle to replace the one that had served them well for decades, tongues have been wagging.

There simply is nothing more hideously expensive, frustratingly complex and musically daunting in all of the performing arts. It makes accountants go bald, sopranos retire, musicians go deaf, and set builders go into general contracting.

The Ring stands alone, too, with some of the most expensive ticket prices to help pay for the hundreds of people and years of work that go into creating four very long operas from scratch. And without underwriters, generous patrons. grants and contributions large and small, it not only would, but has, bankrupted opera companies with less than deep, down to your toenails deep, pockets.

But Wagner’s legendary operas are simply so gigantic in scope and overwhelming in depth that any opera company worth its salt has to do it at least once a century. The Metropolitan Opera did it, re-staging two operas one year, and two the next, and this Spring is presenting them in succession several times. You can pay from $95 a ticket for seats up in the nosebleed section, to $900 for one of the best seats in the house.

That’s for just one seat for one performances, by the way. And it doesn’t even cover half the costs.

That is one advantage of enjoying the upcoming Ring operas on the big screen via a state of the art digital transmission. You can see all four operas, plus the documentary, Wagner’s Dream for only $85 at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center in Great Barrington. www.mahaiwe.org

In addition to the Mahaiwe these telecasts can be enjoyed at the Beacon Cinemas in Pittsfield, and The Clark Art Museum in Williamstown.

If you are game for the idea of devoting 15+ hours to the greatest opera ever written, I recommend that you start with the backstory which is included in the documentary of this production called Wagner’s Dream.

You can read the Berkshire on Stage take on each of the four operas that constitute the Ring cycle. They are, in sequence:

Das Rheingold (The Rhine Gold)
Die Walküre (The Valkyrie)
Siegfried
Götterdämmerung (Twilight of the Gods)

We also offer our take on the Valhalla Machine, complete with video and gallery of photos taken during its creation. For that use this link. It’s a fascinating story that will enhance your viewing of these monumental operas.

The Dates in the US and Canada (Other Countries Below)

In the United States and Canada, the series will begin May 7 with a screening of the documentary, directed by award-winning filmmaker Susan Froemke, and continue on May 9 with Das Rheingold, the first opera in the cycle. The entire four-part Ring cycle and documentary will be screened in many countries this spring and summer, including Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Chile, Colombia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

 More details on the screenings are below. Please note that showtimes in some markets may vary. Tickets go on sale in the U.S. on Friday, March 30 and in Canada on Friday, April 6. To order tickets or get more information on screening times and locations, please visit www.metopera.org/liveinhd.

 

Wagner’s Dream

A documentary by Susan Froemke

U.S./Canada Screenings: Monday, May 7 at 6:30 p.m. local time

Running time: 1 hour, 52 minutes

Premiere

The stakes could not be higher as visionary director Robert Lepage, some 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, the film chronicles the quest to fulfill Wagner’s dream of a perfect Ring.

Das Rheingold  (The Rhine Gold)

Conducted by James Levine

Starring Wendy Bryn Harmer (Freia), Stephanie Blythe (Fricka), Patricia Bardon (Erda), Richard Croft (Loge), Gerhard Siegel (Mime), Bryn Terfel (Wotan), Eric Owens (Alberich), Franz-Josef Selig (Fasolt), Hans-Peter König (Fafner)

U.S./Canada Screenings: Wednesday, May 9 at 6:30 p.m. local time

Running time: 168 minutes; no intermission

Original live transmission: October 9, 2010

In the first opera in the Ring cycle, the gods of Valhalla clash with underworld dwarves and brawny giants, with disastrous consequences. The evil Alberich steals gold from the Rhine and uses it to forge a ring of unimaginable power. Wotan, the king of the gods, uses magic to steal the Ring, but Alberich places a curse that guarantees misery for whoever wears it.  Wotan’s unwillingness to part with the ring leads him to break a contract with the giants who have built the gods’ new castle in the sky, setting in motion a chain of events that will end in his own destruction.

Die Walküre (The Valkyrie)

Conducted by James Levine

Starring Deborah Voigt (Brünnhilde), Eva-Maria Westbroek (Sieglinde), Stephanie Blythe (Fricka), Jonas Kaufmann (Siegmund), Bryn Terfel (Wotan), Hans-Peter König (Hunding)

U.S. Screenings: Monday, May 14 at 6:30 p.m. local time

Canada Screenings: Saturday, May 12 at 10 a.m. local time

Running time: 259 minutes, including 1 intermission

Original live transmission: May 14, 2011

The mysterious hero Siegmund finds shelter in the strangely familiar arms of a lonely woman named Sieglinde. Their forbidden love leads Wotan’s daughter, the warrior maiden Brünnhilde, to defy morality and intervene on behalf of the hero. Brünnhilde’s transgression forces her father to choose between his love for his favorite daughter and his duty to his wife, the formidable goddess Fricka. Overcome with grief, Wotan takes away Brünnhilde’s godlike powers and puts her to sleep on a mountaintop, surrounded by a ring of magic fire that can only be crossed by the bravest of heroes. 

Siegfried

Conducted by Fabio Luisi

Starring Deborah Voigt (Brünnhilde), Patricia Bardon (Erda), Jay Hunter Morris (Siegfried), Gerhard Siegel (Mime), Bryn Terfel (The Wanderer), Eric Owens (Alberich)

U.S. Screenings: Wednesday, May 16 at 6:30 p.m.

Canada Screenings: Thursday, May 17 at 6:30 p.m.

Running time: 258, including one intermission

Original live transmission: November 5, 2011

The young hero Siegfried grows up in the wilderness, raised by Alberich’s conniving brother Mime. He puts together the broken pieces of the sword Nothung, uses it to slay the fearsome dragon Fafner, and takes the Ring for himself. To fulfill his destiny, he must overcome one more opponent—Wotan, now disguised as the Wanderer, who knows the world of the gods is coming to an end—and cross through the magic fire to awaken his true love, Brünnhilde.

Götterdämmerung (Twilight of the Gods)

Conducted by Fabio Luisi

Starring Deborah Voigt (Brünnhilde), Wendy Bryn Harmer (Gutrune), Waltraud Meier (Waltraute), Jay Hunter Morris (Siegfried), Iain Paterson (Gunther), Eric Owens (Alberich), Hans-Peter König (Hagen)

U.S. Screenings: Saturday, May 19 at 12 p.m.

Canada Screenings: Saturday, May 19 at 10 a.m.

Running time: 287 minutes, including one intermission

Original live transmission: February 11, 2012

Siegfried and Brünnhilde’s love is torn apart by the curse of the Ring. A trio of scheming humans separates the two heroes in a desperate attempt to steal the Ring for themselves. Their villainous plan fails, but they succeed in murdering Siegfried. Heartbroken, Brünnhilde takes the Ring and leaps into the hero’s funeral pyre, causing a global cataclysm and the twilight of the gods.

The Ring Around The World

 

(Check www.metopera.org/liveinhd for additional and updated listings.)

 

Australia: June 2-3 (Wagner’s Dream), June 30-July 1 (Das Rheingold), July 14-15

(Die Walküre), July 28-29 (Siegfried), August 4-5 (Götterdämmerung)

Austria: July 28 (Das Rheingold), July 29 (Die Walküre), August 4 (Siegfried), August 5

(Götterdämmerung)

Belgium: May 7 (Wagner’s Dream), May 9 (Das Rheingold), May 14 (Die Walküre),

May 16 (Siegfried), May 19 (Götterdämmerung)

Canada: May 7 (Wagner’s Dream), May 9 (Das Rheingold), May 12 (Die Walküre),

May 17 (Siegfried), May 19 (Götterdämmerung)

Chile: May 19 (Wagner’s Dream), June 9 (Das Rheingold), June 16 (Die Walküre),

            June 23 (Siegfried), June 30 (Götterdämmerung)

Colombia: May 26 (Das Rheingold), May 27 (Die Walküre), June 2 (Siegfried), June 3

(Götterdämmerung)

Estonia: May 7 (Wagner’s Dream), May 9 (Das Rheingold), May 14 (Die Walküre),

May 16 (Siegfried), May 19 (Götterdämmerung)

Finland: May 7 (Wagner’s Dream), May 9 (Das Rheingold), May 14 (Die Walküre),

May 16 (Siegfried), May 21 (Götterdämmerung)

France: May 14 (Wagner’s Dream), June 5 (Das Rheingold), June 7 (Die Walküre),

June 12 (Siegfried), June 14 (Götterdämmerung)

Germany: July 28 (Das Rheingold), July 29 (Die Walküre), August 4 (Siegfried),

August 5(Götterdämmerung)

Ireland: July 2 (Wagner’s Dream), July 3 (Das Rheingold), July 5 (Die Walküre), July 7

(Siegfried), July 8(Götterdämmerung)

Japan: August 11-17 (Das Rheingold and Die Walküre), August 18-24 (Siegfried and

Götterdämmerung)

Mexico: May 21 (Wagner’s Dream), May 26 (Das Rheingold), May 27 (Die Walküre),

June 2 (Siegfried), June 3 (Götterdämmerung)

New Zealand: June 7 (Wagner’s Dream), June 14 (Das Rheingold), June 21

(Die Walküre), June 28 (Siegfried), July 5 (Götterdämmerung)

Norway: May 6 (Wagner’s Dream), May 12 (Das Rheingold), May 13 (Die Walküre),

May 26 (Siegfried), May 27 (Götterdämmerung)

Peru: May 24(Wagner’s Dream), May 26 (Das Rheingold), May 27 (Die Walküre),

June 2 (Siegfried), June 3 (Götterdämmerung)

Spain: May 7 (Wagner’s Dream), May 10 (Das Rheingold), May 14 (Die Walküre),

May 17 (Siegfried), May 19(Götterdämmerung)

Switzerland: May 14 (Wagner’s Dream), June 5 (Das Rheingold), June 7 (Die Walküre),

June 12 (Siegfried), June 14 (Götterdämmerung)

UK: June 20 (Wagner’s Dream), June 30 (Das Rheingold), July 1 (Die Walküre), July 7

(Siegfried), July 8 (Götterdämmerung)

U.S.: May 7 (Wagner’s Dream), May 9 (Das Rheingold), May 14 (Die Walküre), May 16

(Siegfried), May 19 (Götterdämmerung)