{"id":160601,"date":"2026-07-15T03:51:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T00:51:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/balticguide.ee\/?p=160601"},"modified":"2026-07-14T16:57:24","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T13:57:24","slug":"wagners-complete-ring-cycle-to-be-performed-on-saaremaa-by-estonian-forces","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/balticguide.ee\/en\/wagners-complete-ring-cycle-to-be-performed-on-saaremaa-by-estonian-forces\/","title":{"rendered":"Wagner\u2019s Complete Ring Cycle to Be Performed on Saaremaa by Estonian Forces"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Opera lovers, take note and get your calendars ready if you have not heard this elsewhere yet! Richard Wagner<\/b>\u2019s monumental opera tetralogy \u201cDer Ring des Nibelungen\u201d will be performed in Estonia in its entirety for the first time, featuring leading Estonian soloists who are also building international careers on major stages.<\/p>\n

This four-year grand production by the Saaremaa Opera Days festival, Eesti Kontsert and the Vanemuine Theatre begins this week, on 18 July, when the first part of the cycle, \u201cDas Rheingold\u201d, will be performed in the courtyard of Kuressaare Castle. The performance has already long been sold out. However, fans of the work need not be disappointed. The remaining parts of the approximately 15-hour opera cycle will be performed on the following summer dates: \u201cDie Walk\u00fcre\u201d on 17 July 2027, \u201cSiegfried\u201d on 22 July 2028, and \u201cG\u00f6tterd\u00e4mmerung\u201d on 21 July 2029 \u2013 each as a unique special production.<\/p>\n

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The musical director of the production is Risto Joost<\/b>. The direction, set design and lighting design are handled by Dutch director Michiel Dijkema<\/b>, whose contract covers the entire four-year project. According to Vanemuine Theatre director Aivar M\u00e4e<\/b>, presenting the performances over consecutive years is the only realistic way to realise the project, as Wagner\u2019s music requires a much larger orchestra than usual, making it impossible to keep such a large-scale work in the repertoire of even Estonia\u2019s biggest opera theatre on a permanent basis.<\/p>\n

Risto Joost\u2019s ambition has been to bring as many Estonian singers as possible to the stage, particularly performers with experience in Wagner\u2019s demanding roles at international venues. The cast includes Annely Peebo<\/b>, who is returning from Vienna to the Estonian opera scene for the first time, Monika-Evelin Liiv,<\/b> who has performed at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, Sandra Laagus<\/b> from the Berlin State Opera, Estonia Opera soloists Kadri K\u00f5rvek<\/b> and Rauno Elp<\/b>, Roland Liiv<\/b>, who performs at the Finnish National Opera, as well as Ain Anger<\/b>, Annaliisa Otsa<\/b>, Mati Turi<\/b>, Kristjan H\u00e4ggblom<\/b>, and many others.<\/p>\n

According to Joost, the themes of \u201cThe Ring of the Nibelung\u201d remain relevant not only to him personally but also to today’s audiences. \u201cAt the centre of the work are the thirst for power and the abuse of power\u2014themes that are particularly topical today,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

A documentary film is also being made about the production, following the four-year process from rehearsals and backstage preparations to the final performances. One unusual detail is that \u201cDas Rheingold\u201d is the first production in Saaremaa Opera Days history to make use of the entire width of the festival stage. Collectors may also be interested to know that the programme booklets for the four performances will eventually form a unified work of art.<\/p>\n

So where can tickets for the performances in future years be purchased? Exact sales dates have not yet been announced, but it may already be worthwhile contacting opera travel organisers around the time of next winter\u2019s Helsinki Travel Fair, just as travel packages<\/span><\/a><\/span> were announced earlier this year.<\/p>\n

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Opera lovers, take note and get your calendars ready if you have not heard this elsewhere yet! Richard Wagner\u2019s monumental … Read more<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":160584,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[291,13583,16062,22506,27860,27861,27862,27863,27864,27865],"class_list":["post-160601","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","tag-events","tag-saaremaa-2","tag-vanemuine-theatre","tag-annely-peebo","tag-richard-wagner","tag-opera-travel","tag-risto-joost","tag-the-ring-of-the-nibelung","tag-opera-days","tag-travel-agency"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t