Organization

Rotterdam Philharmonic Gergiev Festival (Discontinued)

Singer

Baritone

Michael Volle

Wotan

Tenor

Gerhard Siegel

Loge

Mezzo-soprano

Karen Cargill

Fricka

Soprano

Christiane Karg

Freia

Contralto

Wiebke Lehmkuhl

Erda

Bass

Mikhail Petrenko

Fafner

Stephen Milling

Fasolt

Samuel Youn

Alberich

Thomas Ebenstein

Mime

Jacqueline Echols

Woglinde

Iris van Wijnen

Wellgunde

Maria Barakova

Flosshilde

Alfred Walker

Donner

Issachah Savage

Froh

Conductor

Yannick Nézet-Séguin

Yannick Views: Das Rheingold

Baden-Baden

Germany

Festspielhaus Baden-Baden

Dortmund

Konzerthaus Dortmund

Paris

France

Théâtre des Champs-Elysées

Rotterdam

Netherlands

De Doelen

Grote Zaal

Fasten your seatbelts and join the prodigious Yannick Nézet-Séguin, the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, and a cast of operatic all-stars including Michael Volle, Samuel Youn, and Wiebke Lehmkuhl, in this unique and thrilling live concert!

Das Rheingold  is the first volume of Wagner's epic tetralogy  Der Ring des Nibelungen (though the final libretto of the four to be written). A depiction of the decline of the gods, led by Wotan, this prologue recounts the theft of the titular gold of the Rhine, first by the dwarf Alberich, lord of the Nibelungs—and then by Wotan himself, who steals it from Alberich in order to help pay for Valhalla, the grandiose palace he has enlisted the giants to build as a symbol of his supremacy. A devastated Alberich places a curse on his golden ring, vowing that it will bring misery to all until it is returned to him…

The action of this iconic masterpiece unfolds—without interruption—through the exposition, recurrence, and recombination of leitmotifs , each of which evokes a particular character, situation, or feeling. Their shifting modulations eventually give way to a blur of tonality, a bold and intoxicating chromaticism. Wagner repurposed his disparate sources—especially the Scandinavian Eddas, which recounted the adventures of Norse gods—to realize a profoundly personal work, imbued with his overarching philosophy.

Photo: Yannick Nézet-Séguin © Jan Regan

Yannick Nézet-Séguin appears courtesy of Deutsche Grammophon.

Yannick Views: Das Rheingold: Das Rheingold Wagner,Richard

Public

The Rhinegold

Approved

Production booklet

Further reading