List of Bayreuth Festival productions of Der Ring des Nibelungen

This list provides details of all the performances of Richard Wagner's opera cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen produced at the Bayreuth Festival, from the festival's inception in 1876 up to 2022. For differing reasons, no festivals were held between 1877 and 1881, 1915 to 1923, and 1943 to 1950. There were a few other years when the festival was "rested", and some in which it was dedicated to other Wagner operas.

The Bayreuth Festival Orchestra has always been involved in these productions, and apart from some productions, the festival has since 1876 been under the overall control of a member of the Wagner family.

Since the revival of the festival after the Second World War, a general principle has been developed in which new productions are introduced to the festival at regular intervals, each such production being staged for five years followed by a "rest" year.

There have been 222 performances of the Ring cycle performed at Bayreuth from 1876 to 2017.

List of performances

YearStage directorConductor(s)Notes1876Richard WagnerHans Richter3 cycles of Wagner's original production were performed.1896Cosima WagnerFelix MottlHans RichterSiegfried Wagner29 cycles of this production were performed under Cosima and Siegfried Wagner. Cosima's involvement was largely symbolic after 1908.1897Hans RichterSiegfried Wagner1899Siegfried Wagner1901Cosima Wagner, Siegfried WagnerHans RichterSiegfried Wagner19021904Hans RichterFranz Beidler1906Hans RichterSiegfried Wagner1908Hans Richter1909Michael Balling1911191219141924Siegfried Wagner14 cycles of this production were performed under Siegfried Wagner.19251927Franz von Hoesslin1928Franz von HoesslinSiegfried Wagner1930Karl Elmendorff19311933Heinz TietjenFirst Bayreuth Ring not directed by a Wagner family member 18 cycles of this production were performed under Tietjen. 1934Karl ElmendorffHeinz Tietjen1936Heinz TietjenWilhelm Furtwängler1937Wilhelm Furtwängler1938Heinz Tietjen19391940Franz von Hoesslin1941Heinz Tietjen1942Karl Elmendorff1951Wieland WagnerHans KnappertsbuschHerbert von Karajan16 cycles of this production were performed under Wieland Wagner.1952Joseph Keilberth1953 Joseph KeilberthClemens Krauss1954Joseph Keilberth19551956Joseph KeilberthHans Knappertsbusch1957Hans Knappertsbusch19581960Wolfgang WagnerRudolf Kempe11 cycles of this production were performed under Wolfgang Wagner.1961196219631964Berislav Klobučar1965Wieland WagnerKarl BöhmWieland died in October 1966; his production continued under Wolfgang until 1969. 12 cycles of this production were performed.1966Karl BöhmOtmar Suitner1967Wolfgang Wagner1968 Lorin Maazel19691970Horst Stein16 cycles of this production were performed under Wolfgang Wagner.197119721973197419751976Patrice ChéreauPierre BoulezCentenary Ring production 16 cycles of this production were performed under Chéreau.19771978197919801983Peter HallGeorg Solti12 cycles of this production were performed under Hall.1984Peter Schneider198519861988Harry KupferDaniel Barenboim15 cycles of this production were performed under Kupfer.19891990199119921994Alfred KirchnerJames Levine15 cycles of this production were performed under Kirchner.19951996199719982000Jürgen FlimmGiuseppe Sinopoli15 cycles of this production were performed under Flimm.2001Ádám Fischer2002200320042006 Tankred DorstChristian Thielemann15 cycles of this production were performed under Dorst.20072008200920102013Frank CastorfKirill Petrenko15 cycles of this production were performed under Castorf.201420152016Marek Janowski20172018Plácido Domingo3 performances of Die Walküre, also directed by Castorf, were presented in 2018. This is the first time in the festival's history where it was performed apart from the rest of the cycle.2022Valentin Schwarz Cornelius Meister The production was originally scheduled for 2020 but was postponed to 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.2023 Pietari Inkinen2024Simone Young20252026Marcus LobbesChristian ThielemannTo celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Bayreuth Festival, a traditional staging was dispensed with. Instead, AI projections were used, which displayed images synthesised from many previous productions.

Notes

References