Korean National Opera launches four-year Wagner cycle — Korea Herald

In Seoul, South Korea, the Korean National Opera will present Richard Wagner’s “Das Rheingold” on Thursday, the first part of a four-year project to stage all operas in the “Der Ring des Nibelungen” cycle. As reported by the Korea Herald, no Korean opera company has yet staged all four works of the cycle independently.

The first production of the cycle

Performances of “Das Rheingold” will run through Sunday at the Opera Theater of the Seoul Arts Center. The remaining three operas in the cycle are planned to be presented by 2029. The project begins 150 years after the first complete performance of “Der Ring des Nibelungen” in 1876.

The company’s general and artistic director, Park Hye-jin, said that each production would have a Korean character close to local audiences. The plot of “Das Rheingold” begins with the dwarf Alberich renouncing love, stealing the Rhine maidens’ gold and forging a ring that grants unlimited power.

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A contemporary reading of the myth

Director Lorenzo Fioroni shifts the myth’s focus into the present, addressing themes of real estate, loans, contracts, labor exploitation and the cult of youth. In the production, the underground realm of Nibelheim appears as a city of boxes, packaging and garbage, while Valhalla is a wood-paneled hall where banknotes fall. The performers’ faces will be broadcast on a large screen using cameras.

Lothar Koenigs will conduct the Korean National Symphony Orchestra. The role of Wotan will be sung by Oleksandr Pushniak and Lee Sang-min, Alberich by Samuel Youn and Yang Jun-mo, and Freia by Daniela Köhler and Lim Se-kyung. Pushniak, Youn and Köhler will perform on Thursday and Saturday, while Lee, Yang and Lim will perform on Friday and Sunday.