Celebrated Australian director Barrie Kosky joins forces with conductor Antonio Pappano in a bold new imagining of the first chapter of Wagner's Ring cycle, a work which boasts some of the greatest music ever written for the opera stage. When a precious hoard of gold is stolen from the river Rhine, it unleashes a chain of destructive events, pitting gods and mortals against one another for generations. Join us for a spectacular journey into the world of myth, dream and memory, with the figure of Erda (Wiebke Lehmkuhl) – Mother Earth herself – at its centre. The outstanding cast includes Christopher Maltman as Wotan, Marina Prudenskaya as Fricka and Christopher Purves as Alberich. Antonio Pappano conducts Barrie Kosky’s bold new imagining of Wagner’s Das Rheingold – which marks the start of a new Ring cycle for The Royal Opera – with an outstanding cast including Christopher Maltman (Wotan) and Christopher Purves (Alberich).