Cast and Dates Set For THE RING CYCLE at Royal Opera

The Royal Opera has announced casting and performance dates for the complete cycle of Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung) in Barrie Kosky's acclaimed production, conducted by Music Director of The Royal Opera, Jakub Hrůša. This once-in-a-decade event celebrates its 150th anniversary in 2026 and brings together all four operas of Wagner's monumental masterpiece - Das Rheingold, Die Walküre, Siegfried and Götterdämmerung – in a single theatrical experience.

The complete cycle crowns a remarkable artistic journey for the Company. Since the premiere of Das Rheingold in 2023, each instalment of Barrie Kosky's visionary new Ring has been met with critical acclaim, establishing the productions as one of the defining interpretations of the age. The cycle now comes together for the first time, allowing audiences to experience the full sweep of Wagner's epic narrative as it was intended to be seen: 15 hours of incredible music over the course of a week.

It also marks a significant moment in the musical life of The Royal Opera. Following his acclaimed leadership of the individual instalments, Conductor Laureate of The Royal Opera Antonio Pappano hands the baton to Hrůša, to conduct the complete cycle.

With many singers from the original casts returning, Kosky's production reimagines Wagner's mythic world with psychological insight, theatrical imagination and striking visual storytelling, bringing fresh perspective to a work that continues to captivate audiences 150 years after its completion. Singers returning include Christopher Maltman, Elisabet Strid, Andreas Schager, Stanislas de Barbeyrac and Natalya Romaniw.

Oliver Mears, Director of Opera, The Royal Opera, said, 'To present a complete Ring cycle is one of the great milestones for any opera company. Following the astounding success of each chapter of Barrie Kosky's extraordinary new production, it is thrilling to bring the full saga together for audiences to experience Wagner's masterpiece in its entirety. With a generation of world-class Wagnerian performers bringing these roles to life, and under the musical leadership of Jakub Hrůša, this promises to be an unmissable journey through one of the most gripping, powerful and transformative dramas ever written for the stage.'

Jakub Hrůša, Music Director of The Royal Opera said, “The opportunity to conduct the complete Ring of the Nibelung in Barrie Kosky's production represents one of the greatest challenges of my artistic life. I have a profound love for Wagner's musical language and for the extraordinary artistic and theatrical power of his work. It is a tremendous honour and source of deep personal fulfilment for me to conduct it. At the same time, I approach it with a real sense of trepidation and anticipation: doing the Ring cycle in a House I love, with artistic colleagues both on and off stage for whom I have the highest respect gives me both courage and confidence. Above all, I am enormously excited and cannot wait to embark on this extraordinary journey.”