Der Ring der Nibelungen

The central theme of the myth - already in Wagner's work - is the plundering of nature by man. The robbery of gold by the Nibelung Alberich from the Rhine at the beginning of the Ring heralds the Twilight of the Gods and thus the end of the world.
150 years later, the Austrian author Thomas Köck has now rewritten Wagner's Ring for the Berliner Ensemble. He works with set pieces from the original text, which he interweaves with his own texts in an exciting way. Thomas Köck's text is juxtaposed with the music by Max Andrzejewski. The composer has written his own overtures for the four parts of the Ring for an unusual 12-piece chamber ensemble (classical instruments plus electric guitar, synthesiser, drumset and electronics) as a musical commentary on Wagner's overtures.Wagner's personage, the epitome of German history and supposed heroism, wanders through a mental asylum. A lobotomy is to be performed on the hero Siegfried; arch-enemy Hagen wants to erase his memory. As the end approaches, Siegfried loses himself more and more in the world of the Ring and the audience joins him in meeting the Nibelungs, giants, dwarves, Valkyries, Rhinemaidens and all the other mythical figures of Wagner's Ring, who - confronted with the present by Köck - discuss their own actions and the status quo of society, the economy, nature, the laws and power of the markets as well as Richard Wagner's anti-Semitism.

Photocredit: Birgit Hupfeld