A unique cultural event in the Cotswold calendar, Longborough Festival Opera is screening Wagner's full Ring Cycle, on the opening week of the 2025 festival — for the first time ever!
Taking place at the Cidermill Theatre in Chipping Campden from 26 May to 31 May 2025, audiences will watch the complete screenings of Wagner's epic Der Ring des Nibelungen — known as the Ring Cycle — and the UK premiere of Wahnfried in a single week, fully immersing crowds in the world of the Wagner family.
Described as the 'most epic of tales, a monumental work of art with a score that is searing, desperate and sublime', the Ring Cycle is a story of gods, giants and heroes and their struggles for power.
The screenings begin with the first instalment of the cycle, Das Rheingold, on 26 May 2025. Audiences will watch as the dwarf chieftain Alberich's eye is caught by the glint of gold, capable of creating a ring that will give its owner great power.
This is followed by Die Walküre on 28 May 2025. In this screening, Siegmund and Sieglinde find themselves drawn together during a storm. Unbeknown to them their father is Wotan, chief of the gods, who through Siegmund hopes to retrieve a ring of ultimate power.
On 30 May 2025, in Siegfried, the hero reforges his father’s shattered sword, embarking on a quest for the greatest prize of all — the love of the Valkyrie Brünnhilde, who lies trapped in a ring of fire.
The epic Ring Cycle concludes with Götterdämmerung on 31 May 2025. With a running time of five hours, including two intervals, the final screening demonstrates power struggles, betrayals and the downfall of gods, heroes and the world itself.
All productions in the 2024 cycle were created especially for Longborough by Amy Lane, artistic director of Copenhagen Opera Festival and Longborough’s music director and eminent Wagnerian, Anthony Negus.
For more information about Longborough Opera Festival or to book tickets, visit lfo.org.uk.
