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 *Rheingold*.
Just like last time, the evening will consist of two parts, each taking place at a different venue.
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 will present this with our chamber orchestra, the Bergson Phil’, in Jonathan Dove’s much-acclaimed 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 move to our atrium, the 25-meter-high former boiler hall of the heating plant. There—just as Wagner intended—you can engage 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 in limbo here—a situation without a beginning or a resolution that evolves throughout the evening.
A special afterglow, then—a connection between students from various disciplines in Salzburg and Munich—an evening fully in the spirit of 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, the father of the gods, also falls under the spell of the ring: to pay off his debt to the giants for the construction of the magnificent castle Valhalla, he allows Alberich to 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.
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: 3:30 pm
Start: 4:00 pm
End: approx. 5:50 pm
Following the concert:
“Rheingold” installation in the atrium
Ticket price: 69.00 EUR
U14 ticket price: 19 EUR