WASHINGTON RING CYCLE
Tuesday, May 17th through Sunday, May 22nd, 2016
The Washington National Opera (WNO) will be the next major company to mount Richard Wagner’s towering Der Ring des Niebelungen. During a concise six-night period of May (2016), Great Performance Tours will host old and new friends for the four performances of the Ring Cycle at Washington’s prestigious Kennedy Center Opera House. May is an ideal month to enjoy the warm spring weather of our nation’s capitol.
Wagner ‘aficionados’ will not want to miss this important production of the Ring. We have carefully selected the third cycle because it is the only one starring Swedish soprano Nina Stemme as Brünnhilde. Ms. Stemme is today’s reigning dramatic soprano and has not yet been heard in this career-defining role at the MET.
The WNO has already earned its Wagnerian spurs with recent stagings of ‘Das Rheingold’, ‘Die Walküre’, ‘Siegfried’, and this season’s gripping ‘Der Fliegende Holländer’. Now we look forward to the completion of the Ring Cycle to be directed by the company’s dynamic Artistic Director Francesca Zambello and conducted by the French Music Director Philippe Auguin. The concept of this “American Ring draws on settings from U. S. history to explore Wagner’s greed, ambition and betrayal.” (Huffington Post). The scenic designs reflecting this original vision are by Michael Yeargan, resident set designer of the Yale Repertory Theatre.
Our top-price tickets for Cycle III will be in the Orchestra. The principal artists for Cycle III are as follows:
Brünnhilde: Nina Stemme
Wotan/The Wanderer: Alan Held
Siegfried: Daniel Brenna
Siegmund: Christopher Ventris
Sieglinde: Meagan Miller
Fricka: Elizabeth Bishop
Alberich: Gordon Hawkins
Loge: William Burden
Mime: David Cangelosi
Waltraute: Jamie Barton
Gunther: Ryan McKinny
Hagen: Eric Halfvarson
Fafner: Soloman Howard
Fasolt: Julian Close
Erda: Lindsay Ammann
Our accommodations for six nights will be at the traditional Georgetown Inn, located in the heart of Washington’s prestigious Georgetown neighborhood. The comfortable guest rooms have been recently renovated, and the public spaces are tastefully furnished in classic style. Fine dining is offered in the Inn’s The Daily Grill, and there is a convenient fitness center on the premises. In addition, the nearby ‘sister hotel’, the Latham, offers the gourmet dining room of Citronelle and complimentary access to Georgetown’s only outdoor rooftop swimming pool. There are many other restaurants and attractive shops (Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, Abercrombie & Fitch) within easy walking distance of this sought-after property.
Price Per Person (based on Double Occupancy): $5,250
Price Per Person (based on Single Occupancy): $6,220