Simone Young announces a new Ring for Hamburg
Simone Young, music director and general manager of the Hamburg State Opera announced today (February 9, 2007) her plans for a new Ring. Starting with Das Rheingold on March 16, 2009, the Hamburg State Opera will show all four operas of Richard Wagner’s Ring Cycleby 2010.
Die Walküre will open on October 19, 2008 , followed by Siegfried (October 18, 2009) and Götterdämmerung (October 17, 2010). Two complete Cycles are scheduled for 2010/2011.
Simone Young has engaged Claus Guth as stage director. His productions for Bayreuth (The Flying Dutchman) and the Salzburg Festival (Le Nozze di Figaro), and his first work for Hamburg, Simon Boccanegra, were great successes.
Designer Christian Schmidt, a long-time collaborator with Claus Guth, will do sets and costumes.
Simone Young intends to conduct all performances as well as the two complete Ring Cycles in 2010. The formidable cast includes Falk Struckmann as Wotan, Lisa Gasteen as Brünnhilde, Stuart Skelton/Christian Franz/Stig Anderson as Siegmund, Christian Franz as Siegfried, and Yvonne Naef as Sieglinde. Also featured are Wolfgang Koch as Alberich, Mikail Petrenko as Hunding and John Tomlinson as Hagen.
"For any opera house, the Ring is a "mission statement", a declaration of belief in the power of art," she says. "It's a great challenge and privilege to present this musical monument with my team here in Hamburg."
The Rings are supported by the foundation ZEIT Stiftung Gerd und Ebelin Bucerius and the Hamburg State Opera Foundation.
Eat your hearts out Sydney.
