The Ring of the Nibelung — or the Ring Cycle, as it's known — is not often performed in concert by symphony orchestras. Together, Richard Wagner's four operas stretch 15 hours. They require top-notch singers plus a larger than normal array of musicians.
But DSO music director Fabio Luisi has been acclaimed for his operas-in-concert. It's one of the initiatives Luisi has brought to the Dallas Symphony, recently performing Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin, which was digitally recorded and, the DSO announced, is now available on its YouTube channel.
As for the Ring Cycle, Luisi has conducted it six times already, three in Dresden and three with the Metropolitan Opera. The recordings of the 2012-13 performances in New York won Luisi his first Grammy Awards.
The DSO's Cycle will begin in May 2024 with performances of the operas Das Rheingold and Die Walküre. October 2024 will see both the performances of the operas Siegfried and Gotterdammerung — and the end of the cycle with a week-long presentation of all four operas.
Full press release:
DALLAS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA AND MUSIC DIRECTOR FABIO LUISI ANNOUNCE PERFORMANCES OF WAGNER’S COMPLETE RING CYCLE IN 2024
DSO WILL MOUNT AN OPERA-IN-CONCERT VERSION OF DER RING DES NIBELUNGEN BEGINNING IN MAY 2024
Recent Opera-in-Concert Performance of Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin Available Today as Part of the DSO’s Next Stage Digital Concert Series, Presented by PNC Bank
Dallas, Texas (May 11, 2022) – Today, from the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center’s Eugene McDermott Concert Hall, Music Director Fabio Luisi (Louise W. & Edmund J. Kahn Music Directorship) and Ross Perot President & CEO Kim Noltemy announced plans for a complete Ring cycle presented by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. Beginning in May 2024, the DSO, under the direction of Luisi, will present an opera-in-concert version of Richard Wagner’s complete Der Ring des Nibelungen with internationally renowned singers. The Dallas Symphony is the first US orchestra to perform a full Ring cycle in concert in recent history. This project is generously supported by Mercedes T. Bass, Joanne Bober, Diane and Hal Brierley, Joe Hubach and Colleen O’Connor, Holly and Tom Mayer, The Eugene McDermott Foundation, The Morton H. Meyerson Family Foundation, Sarah Titus and Jean Ann Titus, and Kern and Marnie Wildenthal.
Luisi and Noltemy were joined by Mark Delavan and Lise Lindstrom via Zoom. American bass-baritone Delavan will portray Wotan and American soprano Lindstrom will sing Brünnhilde. Delavan portrayed Wotan in the 2012/13 Metropolitan Opera production of Der Ring des Nibelungen with Luisi. Dallas audiences last saw him in the 2020 performances of Strauss’s Salome as Jochanaan when he made his DSO debut. Lindstrom made her DSO debut in 2020 in Samuel Barber’s Andromache’s Farewell under the direction of Luisi. She recently sang the role of Brünnhilde at Staatsoper Hamburg with Kent Nagano conducting.
“Performing opera-in-concert is part of my artistic plans at the DSO. Opera is an important part of the repertoire, and in addition, by presenting opera, we learn to listen closer and develop even further as an ensemble,” said Luisi. “We have performed both Salome and Eugene Onegin here in Dallas. Wagner’s Ring is a leap forward from those works in scale and complexity, but it is a project that will be beautiful and important for the orchestra and for the audiences.”
The project will debut on May 1, 2024, with Das Rheingold and Die Walküre premiering on consecutive nights. Soprano Sara Jakubiak and tenor Christopher Ventris will portray Sieglinde and Siegmund respectively. Both will be making their DSO debuts. The cycle will continue in Fall 2024. Luisi and the DSO will perform Siegfried on October 5, 2024, and Götterdämmerung on October 8, 2024, followed by a week-long presentation of the full Ring cycle beginning on Sunday, October 13, 2024.
Luisi received his first GRAMMY® Award for his leadership of the last two operas of Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen with The Metropolitan Opera. The Deutsche Grammophon DVD release of the full cycle recorded live, was named Best Opera Recording of 2012. Luisi’s work in opera is extensive, with nine years at the helm of the Zurich Opera and six years as Principal Guest Conductor of The Metropolitan Opera. Luisi also led three complete Ring cycles in Dresden (Semperoper) 2006-2008.
“We are thrilled to be able to present a project of this scale under the direction of Fabio Luisi,” said
Noltemy. “Since the launch of his tenure, we have all witnessed a transformation of the sound of the orchestra. We are looking forward to welcoming opera-lovers from North Texas and from around the world to experience what we are building here at the DSO.”
The Dallas Symphony’s Ring cycle will be complemented with private dinners with cast members, lectures with cultural experts on Wagner and opera and invitations to rehearsals and views behind the scenes. These private events will be available only to supporters of the project. To learn more about becoming a supporter of the DSO’s Ring cycle, contact James Leffler, Vice President of Development at j.leffler@dalsym.com.
The DSO’s performances of Wagner’s complete Der Ring des Nibelungen will be recorded as part of the DSO’s Next Stage Digital Concert Series, Presented by PNC Bank. Video performances will be made available in January 2025 at watch.dallassymphony.org.
In addition to the announcement of the opera cycle, Luisi and Noltemy announced the release of the concert video of the DSO’s latest opera-in-concert. Luisi led the DSO and internationally renowned singers in a performance of Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin on April 1, 3 and 5, 2022. The concert video, stage direction by Alberto Triola and video direction by Andrew Alden, stars Nicole Car as Tatyana, Etienne Dupuis as Eugene Onegin, Melody Wilson as Olga and Pavol Breslik as Lensky is available for free as part of the DSO’s Next Stage Digital Concert Series, Presented by PNC Bank. Viewers may access the video at watch.dallassymphony.org or on the DSO’s YouTube channel at
