Several weeks following the announcement that Richard Mills has quit Opera Australia’s $15m (Aus) Melbourne Ring Cycle, the company has appointed Finnish conductor Pietari Inkinen to lead the production. The 33-year-old had been scheduled to conduct the final operas of Wagner’s epic cycle at Teatro Massimo in Palermo, Italy, but those performances were postponed due to financial problems, leaving Inkinen free to conduct all four cycles of the Australian Ring from November 18 to December 13. Mills resigned from the Neil Armfield production in early June following initial rehearsals, citing a lack of ‘unity of vision’.

‘Pietari is firstly an outstanding musician,’ said Opera Australia artistic director Lyndon Terracini. 'He is an impressive conductor with terrific stick technique and he really demonstrates an innate understanding of and affinity with Wagner’s music. His passion for the piece is palpable.’

Inkinen was appointed music director of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra in 2008 and has made several recordings with the ensemble of Sibelius, Rautavaara and Wagner for Naxos and EMI. He is also principal guest conductor of the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, a position he has held since September 2009.