Wagner’s visionary Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung) was first performed as a cycle of four operas in 1876. Its mythic plot examines the relationship between love and earthly power through the agency of a ring which confers ultimate power on its bearer. One of the most sustained and remarkable achievements in all music, the tetralogy is performed by an all-star cast, conducted by the new music director of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Jaap van Zweden, in performances that have been critically acclaimed worldwide for their ‘thrilling sense of drama’ (The Sunday Times, London).

Jaap van Zweden has risen rapidly in the past decade to become one of today’s most distinguished conductors. Starting with the 2018–19 season, he will be the music director of the New York Philharmonic. He has been the music director of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra since 2008, and the music director of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra since 2012. Van Zweden was named Musical America’s 2012 Conductor of the Year.

Gramophone wrote about the project: ‘Naxos’s engineers continue to gain a mastery of Wagner’s orchestra/cast balance in the city’s Cultural Centre Concert Hall.’ American Record Guide also wrote: ‘Van Zweden is a master of refinement and tonal balance. The Hong Kong Philharmonic plays with lush brilliance, beautiful portamentos in the strings, and exceptional transparency that allows Wagner’s motifs to interweave seamlessly with the vocal lines, as the composer intended.’

All-star international Wagner cast with Stuart Skelton as Siegmund in Die Walküre, who won the 2014 International Opera Awards for Best Male Singer, and was selected as one of the ‘20 Greatest Wagner Singers of all Time’ by Australia’s Limelight Magazine.

Matthias Goerne was awarded the 2018 Prix Bayreuth from the Académie du Disque Lyrique for his performance of Wotan in Die Walküre, and adjudged by the Academy ‘The Best Performance on a Wagner Recording’.

Michelle DeYoung is a multi-GRAMMY® Award-winner and a regular performer at the Met in New York.