The Met & NCM Fathom Events Present New Documentary Series this Spring

Related: The Met, NCM Fathom Events, Ring Cycle

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NCM Fathom Events and the Metropolitan Opera will present Robert Lepage's new production of Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen, as well as Wagner's Dream, a new documentary chronicling the creation of this ambitious new staging this May. The series will begin Monday, May 7 with the documentary and continue on Wednesday, May 9 with Das Rheingold, the first opera in the cycle.

"Kicking off the series is the documentary, 'Wagner's Dream,' which chronicles the challenges of making the Met's landmark production – certainly a must-see for opera fans."
Tickets are available at participating theater box offices and online at www.FathomEvents.com. For a complete list of theater locations and schedule, please visit the website (theaters and participants are subject to change). Ticket prices vary by location.

Wagner's Ring Cycle series will be presented in more than 400 U.S. movie theaters through NCM's exclusive Digital Broadcast Network. The series follows the successful sixth season of the Emmy® and Peabody award-winning The Met: Live in HD series for the 2011-12 Met season which featured 11 live operas broadcast to 167 U.S. markets.

The Ring Cycle series planned schedule* is as follows:

Monday, May 7 - 6:30 p.m. local time

Wagner's Dream – Met premiere of documentary by Susan Froemke

The stakes could not be higher as visionary director Robert Lepage, some of the world's greatest operatic artists, and the Metropolitan Opera tackle Wagner's Ring cycle. An intimate look at the enormous theatrical and musical challenges of staging opera's most monumental work, the film chronicles the quest to fulfill Wagner's dream of a perfect Ring.

Wednesday, May 9 - 6:30 p.m. local time

Das Rheingold (The Rhine Gold)

In the first opera in the Ring cycle, the gods of Valhalla clash with underworld dwarves and brawny giants, with disastrous consequences. The evil Alberich (Eric Owens) steals gold from the Rhine and uses it to forge a ring of unimaginable power. Wotan (Bryn Terfel), the king of the gods, uses magic to steal the Ring, but Alberich places a curse that guarantees misery for whoever wears it. Wotan's unwillingness to part with the ring leads him to break a contract with the giants who have built the gods' new castle in the sky, setting in motion a chain of events that will end in his own destruction. James Levine conducts.

Original live broadcast: October 9, 2010

Monday, May 14 - 6:30 p.m. local time

Die Walküre (The Valkyrie)

The mysterious hero Siegmund (Jonas Kaufmann) finds shelter in the strangely familiar arms of a lonely woman named Sieglinde (Eva-Maria Westbroek). Their forbidden love leads Wotan's daughter, the warrior maiden Brünnhilde (Deborah Voigt), to defy morality and intervene on behalf of the hero. Brünnhilde's transgression forces her father to choose between his love for his favorite daughter and his duty to his wife, the formidable goddess Fricka (Stephanie Blythe). Overcome with grief, Wotan takes away Brünnhilde's godlike powers and puts her to sleep on a mountaintop, surrounded by a ring of magic fire that can only be crossed by the bravest of heroes. James Levine conducts.

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