Grange Park Opera has announced that it will begin a staging the complete Ring Cycle across four successive years, beginning in 2026. 

The Ring Cycle will be directed and designed by Charles Edwards, who last summer directed the companies production of Wagner's Tristan & Isolde. Conductors for the cycle will include Anthony Negus, one of the leading Wagnerian exponents of our day.  

Das Rheingold will open with David Stout as the dwarf Alberich, stealing the gold to rule the world. James Rutherford will portray Wotan, ruler of the Gods, married to the Fricka of Christine Rice. Her sister Freia will be played by Rachel Nicholls, our Brünnhilde for the remainder of the cycle. The UK cast will be completed by Matthew Rose and David Shipley as the giants, with tenor Nicky Spence as Loge, the god of Fire. 

Charles Edwards said of the news: ' In around 1980 I would visit my local library to borrow LPs: G&S, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Rigoletto … and then I heard scenes from The Ring. What was this? I became obsessed with Wagner and for 40 years, I’ve never stopped listening to it, thinking about it, dreaming up productions, imagining casts. I’ve listened to every great conductor plying his Wagnerian trade.'

Founder of Grange Park Opera, Wasfi Kani CBE said, 'We’ve been trying out Wagner for some time now – in our acoustic, in our pit and in audience reaction. Emboldened by the success of Die Walküre (2017), Flying Dutchman (2022) and Tristan & Isolde (2023), we took a deep collective breath and decided the time is ripe for the biggest challenge of all: his Ring Cycle. It is a hugely exciting development that we hope will move us to the next level of recognition. So, buckle up, Wagnerians!'

Grange Park Opera begins its 2024 season with Double Bryn Terfel: Aleko / Gianni Schicchi on 6 June, followed by productions of Donizetti’s Daughter of the Regiment sung in English, Janáček's Katya Kabanova and a reinvention of Shakespeare's Tempest with Island of Dreams by Anthony Bolton. grangeparkopera.co.uk