Saaremaa stages landmark opening to Wagner’s Ring cycle

Richard Wagner’s opera Das Rheingold has launched a landmark production of the composer’s Ring cycle in Saaremaa, ERR reported. The performance, staged by Vanemuine National Theatre and Eesti Kontsert, took place on July 18 at the Kuressaare Castle opera house during the Saaremaa Opera Days.

The production is the first part of Wagner’s four-opera Ring cycle, The Ring of the Nibelung. It was led by music director and conductor Risto Joost and directed, designed and lit by Dutch theatre artist Michiel Dijkema.

The review, published in Sirp, describes the production as an exceptional and unique event and says it could become one of the major achievements of Estonian music theatre this century. The reviewer compares it with the 2008 theatre marathon based on A. H. Tammsaare’s Truth and Justice at Vargamäe and the legendary 1969 Suitsu evening, Ühte laulu tahaks laulda, which was performed four times.

The production was presented as a full-scale undertaking rather than a semi-staged version. Joost said the team had decided to commit fully to the project, investing in the music, staging, costumes and technical production as if it were a regular production, and in some respects doing even more because the conditions and dimensions were different.

Although the performance’s one-off nature disappointed those who could not attend or would have liked to see it again, the reviewer says its uniqueness was also part of its appeal. In an era when much media and entertainment can be paused, replayed, rewound and accessed on demand, the strictly one-time nature of the live theatre event made it especially valuable.

ERR recorded the performance, and Vanemuine has indicated that a documentary programme will be made about the completion of the cycle, including the rehearsal process and work behind the scenes. Until the recording is edited and made publicly available, however, Das Rheingold cannot be viewed again. The review says this has increased the value of the premiere and helped promote future performances. By the time the article was written, the 2027 production of Die Walküre had already sold out.

Interest before the premiere was also fuelled by rehearsal photographs showing a pool on stage. Ain Anger, the artistic director of the Saaremaa Opera Days, said in a post-performance interview that he had initially been sceptical about whether bringing 40 tonnes of water onto the stage was necessary. The review says fears that the production might become a spectacle built around a single large effect were ultimately unfounded.

The cast included Hrólfur Sæmundsson as Wotan, Annely Peebo as Fricka, Liene Kinča as Freia, Roland Liiv as Froh, Taavi Tampuu as Donner, Mati Turi as Loge, Monika-Evelin Liiv as Erda, Rauno Elp as Alberich, Juhan Tralla as Mime, Ain Anger as Fasolt and Kristjan Häggblom as Fafner. The Rhine maidens were performed by Kadri Raalik, Sandra Laagus and Annaliisa Pillak.

The production also featured the Vanemuine symphony orchestra and opera choir, as well as children Brita Rusalepp, Matilda Regensperger, Irene-Maya Käppa, Marleen Varres, Johannes Valter Sõõro, Riki Mändoja, Nikita Ossõpiv and András Dijkema.