Das Rheingold

In Das Rheingold, the “eve” of Richard Wagner’s operatic tetralogy, Der Ring des Nibelungen, the course is set for the apocalypse. It will be unleashed by two entirely opposing worldviews exploding into one another. The tragedy of Alberich, who, being mortal, believes he must take everything within his own lifetime. And the drama of Wotan, who in his, real or illusory, immortality must recognise the emptiness and sameness of being eternal.

With Das Rheingold, Tobias Kratzer will now stage the first part of Wagner’s Gesamtkunstwerk (synthesis of the arts), which will be completed in 2027. While the reception of Wagner’s music in recent decades tended to emphasise the human attributes of the gods and the entire Ring des Nibelungen often served as background for caustic critique of capitalism, the future General Manager of the Hamburg State Opera was especially interested in the motif of faith and its significance for today’s society. Because nowadays, gods tend to be relegated to a niche existence.

Having staged Weinberg’s The Passenger in the current season, Tobias Kratzer, born in Landshut (Bavaria) in 1980, now turns his talents to Wagner’s 15-hour Ring adventure. The theatre and opera direction graduate of the Theaterakademie August Everding, “Faust” award winner and multiple opera director of the year (Die deutsche Bühne) more recently stole the limelight with Wagner’s Tannhäuser at the Bayreuth Festival, among others. He has staged productions, among other venues, at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Komische Oper, Oper Frankfurt and at opera houses in Oslo, London, Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris. In the 2025/2026 season, he will assume office as General Manager of the Hamburg State Opera. Tobias Kratzer knows only too well how to contextualise entirely different narrative levels and therefore work out conceptual structures, which are as clear as they are powerful. His new productions in recent years have been created with a well-established team. Rainer Sellmaier is responsible for stage and costume, Manuel Braun is responsible for video, and with the Ring Jonas Dahl is also on board. Vladimir Jurowski, General Music Director of the Bayerische Staatsoper graces the podium for the new Ring, which will be his second collaboration with Tobias Kratzer.