With the new production of Richard Wagner's "Der Ring des Nibelungen" at the Berlin State Opera Unter den Linden, the opera season is approaching one of its highlights. After years of preparation, the house is bringing all four premieres of "Rheingold", "Valkyrie", "Siegfried" and "Götterdämmerung" to the stage from Sunday (6 p.m.) within a week. Beyond Bayreuth, this mammoth work - the work lasts around 16 hours - is usually divided into several seasons.

The new "ring" was also intended as a symbolic birthday present for Daniel Barenboim, who will be 80 in November. However, the General Music Director of the State Opera has to clear the desk due to illness. Conductor Christian Thielemann, who grew up artistically alongside Barenboim, stepped in at short notice. The 63-year-old is also seen as a potential successor when Barenboim's contract expires in 2027.

The compact presentation is also due to the concept of Russian director Dmitri Tcherniakov, who tells the story of gods, giants, dwarves, humans and the end of the world as a whole. The 52-year-old Tcherniakov, celebrated for his productions from Bayreuth to Munich, Paris or New York to Moscow, has already realized "Parsifal" or "Tristan and Isolde" with Barenboim.

Info about the ring