Music / “Der Ring des Nibelungen”, Opera Australia. At QPAC Lyric Theatre, Brisbane, December 15. Reviewed by SARAH EC BYRNE.

WAGNER’S “Ring Cycle” is on the bucket list of many an opera aficionado, and I am no exception. 

Having learned that post-covid, the waiting list for the Bayreuth Festival has blown out from seven years to more than 10, my rapidly ageing self was thrilled to discover Opera Australia would be staging the “Ring” in Brisbane, and booked tickets a year in advance, as did Wagnerites around the world. 

While the Sydney Opera House might be considered a more intuitive choice for this epic cycle of four grand operas of 16-plus hours in total, staged over alternate days, the orchestra pit will not accommodate the 82 musicians required. This was no disappointment for me, as QPAC is where I first learned to love opera, and the Lyric Theatre is a worthy venue.

“The Ring”, as it’s known, is infamous for its length, density and complexity, but also thoroughly worth the commitment. It also has an irreplaceable part in history, with the Wagnerian tuba and the orchestra pit (presumably to hide the tubas) just some of the composer’s innovations. The story, while grounded in Norse myths, is Wagner’s own epic invention, inspiring many future writers, most notably Tolkein.

Part 1 of the “Cycle” is the most approachable at a snappy 2.5 hours (no interval) and more humour than many have been misled to expect. 

I am not a fan of electronic scenery (I didn’t love it in the OA’s “Aida”, also now running at QPAC), but I make a grand exception for this extraordinary production by Chen Shi-Zheng. 

The opening scene especially, staged beneath the Rhine, is magnificent, with digital effects by Leigh Sachwitz and flora&faunavisions creating an extraordinary impression of underwater, with the beautiful Rheinmaidens (including Canberra’s own Lorina Gore as Woglinde) swimming joyfully about the rock housing the eponymous Rhinegold – before it is filched by the Niebelung Alberich, played by perennial favorite Warwick Fyfe in peak form, comic and monstrous in turns in an outstanding performance.

This scene, almost as Arthur Rackham might have drawn it, gives way to a more modern scene of the Gods, costumed in white satin trench coats reminiscent of last year’s OA “Lohengrin” (and later, “The Matrix”). The male gods, in general, are more muted than I’d have liked – Froh is a handsome cipher; Daniel Sumegi’s Wotan sounds magnificent but shows little of the moral conflict that should be surging in his godlike breast. 

Things amp up when giants Fasolt (David Parkin) and Fafner (Andrea Silvestrelli) arrive, having just built Valhalla, in outfits from “Mad Max” in lieu of hi-vis, to claim as payment, the goddess Freia Mariana Hong (in Veronica Lake mode). They amp up further when fire god Loge careens in (an excellent performance by Hubert Francis, giving full chaotic neutral vibes even when merely lounging louchely over sacks of gold).

The massive orchestra, brilliantly conducted by Philippe Auguin is, on its own, worth the considerable price of admission, including not only the glorious Wagnerian horns but even tuned anvils, heralding the Nibelung miners. Part 2, “Die Walkure” kicks off on Sunday night… to be continued.