'Der Ring des Nibelungen' lands in Shanghai

“Der Ring des Nibelungen,” also known as “The Ring,” recounts an epic war between Norse gods and mortals for control of the Earth. If it sounds like something out of a J.R.R. Tolkien, it is. Tolkien admittedly took inspiration from the opera when he penned his novels.

“Der Ring des Nibelungen” begins the first part of its two-part Shanghai run on the Shanghai Grand Theatre stage today, courtesy of the award-winning Cologne Opera House.

This is the first time this update of the 15-plus hour “Der Ring des Nibelungen” has been shown outside of Germany.

“I first heard ‘Der Ring des Nibelungen,’ when I was 15 years old ... I told myself ‘one day I’ll direct it,’ and I have,” says Uwe Eric Laufenberg, president of Cologne Opera House.

A four-night epic

“Der Ring des Nibelungen” is based on “Edda,” a Northen European myth and “Nibelungenlied,” a German folk epic. The show is one of the standards in the opera world, and took Richard Wagner 26 years to write.

The Cologne Opera House on average re-arranges Wagner’s classic every 20 years, now bringing the most modern version, shown for the first time in Germany in June 2010, to Shanghai audiences.

The opulent drama consists of four parts, Das Rheingold (The Rhinegold), Die Walküre (The Valkyrie), Siegfried and Götterdämmerung (The Twilight of the Gods), which are performed over four consecutive nights. Although you can see just one, to enjoy the full arc of the show you need to see all four parts.

“This is an opera leading the audience into another world. It’ll take one night to draw them totally into the plot, and then three days to push the story to the climax,” says Uwe Eric Laufenberg, president of Cologne Opera House. “After seeing one night, people will be only thinking about going back home and sleeping so they can store energy for the show next evening.

“At its heart, 'Der Ring des Nibelungen' is a story about struggle, desire, power, betrayal and love. It shows audiences how the world starts and also ends,” says Laufenberg.

“I first heard ‘Der Ring des Nibelungen’ when I was 15 years old. It deeply touched me with its melodies. I told myself ‘one day I’ll direct it,’ and I have.”

Although a classic opera, director Robert Carsen took the opportunity presented with the opera’s update to weave modern issues into the plot.

This remake of the show pulls in environmental themes, integrating the concept of the “green ring” into the opera. Gold mining on the Rhine symbolizes the decline of the environment and soon after it, civilization.

The challenges of 'Der Ring des Nibelunge'

This is an opera leading the audience to another world. It’ll take one night to draw them totally into the plot, use three days to push the story to the climax."— Uwe Eric Laufenberg, president of Cologne Opera House

Laufenberg describes the prep and rehearsal for the Shanghai debut of “Der Ring des Nibelungen” in one word: “tough.”

Even today, “Der Ring des Nibelunge” is rarely performed without a mistake, and a perfect performance is hailed by critics as a huge success.

“Cologne Opera is going to bring a complete and smooth performance of ‘Der Ring des Nibelunge’ to Shanghai with the power of a unified group,” promises Laufenberg.

Many actors in the Shanghai show have already had success once, performing “Der Ring des Nibelunge” this past June in Germany. So what does it take to have a perfect performance? Laufenberg makes it seem so simple.

“The actress playing Brynhild must have a pair of good shoes, for she’s going to stand there and sing for a long time,” he jokes. “And playing Wotan needs to have a voice like steel.”

Although the show presents many challenges, merely getting it to Shanghai was an issue in itself.

Cologne citizens spoke out against the local government's plan to bring the opea to Shanghai in the middle of a time of economic hardship in Germany.

“We did our utmost to hold our ground so we could take ‘Der Ring des Nibelunge’ to Shanghai,” says Laufenberg. “Earlier versions of ‘Der Ring des Nibelunge’ were huge successes in Japan and Korea before, so I had to convince people that our Chinese friends will like it too, and it was an important piece of German culture to show them.”