For the first time in its nearly 140-year history, the Hungarian State Opera is staging the tetralogy Der Ring des Nibelungen on four consecutive days, according to Wagner's original intention. The productions staged by Géza M. Tóth can be seen between 9 & 12 and 16 & 19 November 2023 at the historic Opera House in Budapest. The ensembles of the OPERA are conducted by the renowned János Kovács.
Géza M. Tóth, Béla Balázs Award recipient and Oscar nominee animated film director began re-staging the entire Ring cycle at the Opera House in 2015 based on a unified concept, following a year of preparatory work. Accompanied by spectacular projections, the production, which also carries sci-fi motifs, the production approaches the story based on Germanic and Scandinavian mythological elements from the social issues of modernity. The OPERA presented the first three instalments of the tetralogy in 2015, 2016, and 2017, while the premiere of Götterdämmerung could only take place in May 2022 due to the renovation of the historic Opera House.
The productions feature costumes by Ibolya Bárdosi, sets by Ildi Tihanyi and Gergely Z Zöldy, choreography by Marianna Venekei, and animations by KEDD Animation Studio. The Hungarian State Opera Orchestra and Chorus (chorus director: Gábor Csiki) are conducted by János Kovács, the dance sequences are performed by the Hungarian National Ballet and students of the Hungarian Dance University.
In the main roles, the audience can enjoy performances almost entirely by leading soloists of the Hungarian State Opera, all acclaimed in Wagner roles. Wotan is performed by Krisztián Cser (Das Rheingold, Seigfried) and Renatus Mészár (Die Walküre), partly of Hungarian lineage, who joined last year's cast in the last minute to save the performance. Szilvia Rálik reprises her role as Brünnhilde in Die Walküre and Götterdämmerung partnering István Kovácsházi as Siegfried and Siegmund, and for the first time, she is also to sing the role in Siegfried partnering Zoltán Nyári Further cast includes Erika Gál as Fricka, Austrian baritone of Hungarian origin Adrian Eröd as Loge, Eszter Sümegi as Sieglinde, Atala Schöck as Erda, Péter Kálmán as Alberich, Tivadar Kiss as Mime, András Palerdi and István Rácz as Fasolt und Fafner, and Géza Gábor takes on the characters of both Hunding and Hagen.
For complete cast consult the production pages.
