The Ring, by Wagner

It is possibly that I accidentally giggled with absolute and joyous delight when I saw that the Metropolitan Opera produced all four parts of Wagner's Ring. For epic opera fans out there, this is better than Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy being so brilliantly produced in movie format. Some may call that blasphemous, but for those who do, I would question their intimate knowledge of the opera's content, especially given the clear influence of Wagner's opera in Tolkien's literary work. This sixteen hour operatic production involves four major parts, Das Rheingold, Die Walkure, Siegfried, and Gotterdammerung. If you are familiar with this particular opera, you are also aware of the immense challenge of producing this, especially in the live operatic format that is the most expensive form of entertainment to produce. With Europe's recent de-prioritisation of the cultural arts, our civilisation stands to lose even more operatic work. Speech aside, The Met is great about getting operas provided in select theatres for those of us who cannot randomly hit the Met for the live performances. All four parts of The Ring are being provided in local theatre! Do I have sixteen hours to spend sitting in a theatre? A better question is, could I ever forgive myself if I didn't?

I would love to watch the movie that is being shown before the four parts that covers the massive logistics of producing this intensely complex opera, but my job, doctorate, and consulting work is making this challenging enough, so I'm forgoing it. However, I would be remiss to not share it with those who have the time to attend it as well as the four productions.

Wagner's Dream - Monday, 7 May (2 hours)

Das Rheingold - Wednesday, 9 May (3 hours)

Die Walkure - Monday, 14 May (4.5 hours)

Siegfried - Wednesday, 16 May (4.5 hours)

Gotterdammerung - Saturday, 19 May (5 hours)

Click on each link to check out the details and description from Fathom Events where you can put in your zip code and figure out the theatre nearest you that will be hosting these. If you are already aware of and in love with The Ring, I know you have stopped reading and are in the links now. If you don't know about it, please please take the time out of your life and remember, work won't recall what you are doing to sacrifice for the organization a year or even months from now. However, you'll never forget this if you take the time to do it.