Richard Wagner's "Rheingold" and an Evening of Light, Sound, and Music
Following the highly acclaimed performances of *Die Fledermaus*, the collaboration with the Mozarteum University in Salzburg will enter its next phase in 2027! This time, it will be an opera instead of an operetta—specifically, Richard Wagner’s *Das Rheingold*.
Just like last time, the evening will consist of two parts, taking place at different venues.
How does it work?
First, professors and students from the legendary Mozarteum—where Udo Jürgens, Herbert von Karajan, and Camilla Nylund once studied—will perform Richard Wagner’s “Das Rheingold.” We’ll present this with our chamber orchestra, the Bergson Phil’, in Jonathan Dove’s much-lauded arrangement, in Europe’s smartest concert hall. The concert performance will be complemented by a harmonious lighting design created by Bradley Leonard. The conceptual sound artist, musician, and sculptor is currently studying at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich and is also responsible for the second part of the evening.
After Wagner’s “Rheingold,” the audience will head to our atrium, the 25-meter-high former boiler room of the heating plant. There—just as Wagner intended—you can engage in conversation with others, reflect on and discuss the experience, and enjoy our special selection of food and drinks. You’ll also immerse yourself in an installation of light and sound that Bradley Leonard will design specifically for the atrium. The work is not intended as a commentary on the opera, but rather as a space of its own that opens up after the concert. What ends in the concert hall remains suspended here—a situation without a beginning or a resolution, one that evolves throughout the evening.
A special afterglow, then—a connection between students from various disciplines in Salzburg and Munich—an evening fully in keeping with Wagner’s credo: “Children, create something new!”
What is “Rheingold” about?
In “Das Rheingold,” the prologue to Richard Wagner’s “Ring of the Nibelung,” the struggle for power, love, and a mysterious treasure—the Rhine Gold—begins.
The Nibelung Alberich steals the gold from the Rhine Maidens and forges it into a ring that grants its owner immeasurable power—but only at the price of renouncing love forever. Wotan, father of the gods, also falls under the ring’s spell: to pay off his debt to the giants for the construction of the magnificent castle Valhalla, he has Alberich steal the ring.
But Alberich curses the ring and prophesies doom for every owner. In doing so, Wotan sets in motion a fateful chain of lust for power, betrayal, and violence. In the end, the gods move into Valhalla—seemingly triumphant, while disaster is already looming.
In cooperation with the Mozarteum University Salzburg, Department of Opera and Music Theater.
The opera “Rheingold” will also be performed on our alternate date, February 28.
Program
Richard Wagner: “Das Rheingold”
Arranged by Jonathan Dove
Cast
Wotan: Bernd Valentin
Loge: Christoph Strehl
Alberich: Andreas Schmidt
Fasolt: Andreas Macco
Additional professors and students from the Mozarteum University in Salzburg
Bergson Phil’
Installation and Lighting Design: Bradley Leonard
Musical Direction: Kai Uwe Röhrig
Admission and Tickets
Doors open for the concert hall: 6:30 p.m.
Start: 7:00 p.m.
End: approx. 8:50 p.m.
Following the concert:
“Rheingold” installation in the atrium
Ticket price: 69.00 EUR
U14 ticket price: 19 EUR