👉🏽 Download your free RhineGold digital programme.

The Lord of the Gods, maker of laws is in trouble. To shore up his own delusional ambitions and hang on to the Gods’ fading glory he chooses to break the very law which holds all races in balance. Mother Nature warns that greed for power will bring its own destruction. No-one listens.

Birmingham Opera Company’s eagerly awaited production of Wagner’s RhineGold came to Symphony Hall in Summer 2021. Performed in English, with its full musical forces: an orchestra of 87 players from the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, a stellar international cast plus local volunteers. As ever, it was opera for our times. 

Nominated for a South Bank Sky Arts Award for Opera July 2022.

"Ecstasy from Birmingham Opera Company... incontestably the most artistically significant force in British opera this century"- The Spectator 

★★★★★ "A triumph" - The Telegraph 

★★★★★ "A fantastic show imbued with the spirit of Graham Vick" - The Times

★★★★ "Music-drama at the highest level" - The Arts Desk 

---

Image: Alpesh Chauhan © Adam Fradgley

Continuing the company’s ongoing collaboration with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the cast were accompanied on stage by CBSO musicians, enjoying the world-renowned acoustics at the orchestra’s home venue. The CBSO was conducted by Music Director and winner of the 2021 International Opera Award (Newcomer of the Year), Alpesh Chauhan. 

Director - Richard Willacy

Designer- Stuart Nunn 

Lighting Designer- Matthew Richardson 

The Cast 

Wotan	Eric Greene
Loge	Brenden Gunnell
Fricka	Chrystal E Williams
Freia	Francesca Chiejina
Froh	Amar Muchhala
Donner	Byron Jackson
Erda	Gweneth-Ann Rand
Alberich	Ross Ramgobin
Fasolt	Keel Watson
Fafner	Andrew Slater
Mime	John-Colyn Gyeantey
Woglinde	Zoe Drummond
Wellgunde	Felicity Buckland
Flosshilde	Georgia Mae Bishop

Image: Chrystal E Williams (Fricka) © Adam Fradgley

Image: Eric Greene (Wotan) © Adam Fradgley

Image: L-R Eric Greene (Wotan); Ross Ramgobin (Alberich); Brenden Gunnell (Loge) © Adam Fradgley 

Watch a clip from the show

Production Images

 

Not what you expect....

We're normally known for staging productions in large warehouses and former factories in which the cast, volunteers and audience freely mingle in ways which have been impractical under current conditions. With uncertainties over changes to the Covid Road Map present throughout rehearsals, we decided to move the production from its intended venue at Port Loop, part of a major redevelopment site by Urban Splash.

Banner Image: L-R: Brenden Gunnell (Loge); Eric Greene (Wotan); Chrystal E Williams (Fricka) © Adam Fradgley

---

Make a donation

This work is only possible with the support of people like you. Help shape the future of opera with a small donation - your support creates world-class work that inspires thousands from Birmingham and beyond.