Loriot / Richard Wagner (1992)
Too carelessly the Rhinemaidens have betrayed a well-kept secret to Alberich: Endless power over the world falls to the one who renounces love and forges the Rhinegold into a ring. Alberich does not hesitate, he curses love and snatches the gold from his daughters. The consequence is three more elaborate operas and a good fifteen hours of music.
Loriot, one of opera's greatest connoisseurs and lovers, has shortened Richard Wagner's tetralogy Der Ring des Nibelungen by some twelve hours and enriched it with his inimitable humor. With a twinkle in his eye, he leads us through Wagner's heroic epic from the famous prelude at the bottom of the Rhine to Siegfried's duel with the dragon and the burning of Valhalla, the castle of the gods. In the process, he also tells of Wotan's marital crisis, introduces Brünnhilde with her eight half-sisters and shows that "the perpetrators in the most powerful drama in music history are actually quite nice people". This is accompanied by moments from Richard Wagner's scores, sung by members of the opera ensemble.
The Philharmonic State Orchestra performs under the baton of General Music Director Hermann Bäumer, with Max Hopp taking on the role of narrator. The Berlin actor works both in theatre and for film and television. Important works were created with directors such as Dimiter Gotscheff, Frank Castorf, Christof Marthaler and in recent years also in musical theatre with Barrie Kosky.
Text source and further information about this event: http://www.staatstheater-mainz.com/web/veranstaltungen/oper18-19/der-ring-an-einem-abend
