The Pescadero Opera Society presents Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen Summer Season 2012 June 9th and 23rd, July 7th and 21th, August 4th The Pescadero Opera Society is extending its 2012 opera season by offering a summer course on Wagner’s Ring Cycle. This is the fourth time this course has been offered; previous courses were given rave reviews. The Ring consists of four operas: Das Rheingold, Die Walküre, Siegfried and Gotterdämmerung, an opera mini-series which are connected to each other by storyline, characters and music. It is considered to be the greatest work of art ever written with some of the most extraordinary music on earth. The operas will be presented in two-week intervals throughout the summer; a fifth week is added to offer “A Tribute to Wagner,” a special event you won't want to miss. The format for presenting these four operas will be a bit different than during the regular season. Because this work is so complex and has so many layers, both in story and in music, before each opera there will a PowerPoint presentation. Listen to the wonderful one-hour introduction of “The Ring and I: The Passion, the Myth, the Mania” to find out what all the fuss is about: http://www.wnyc.org/articles/music/2004/mar/02/the-ring-and-i-the-passion-the-myth-the- mania/. Der Ring des Nibelungen is based on Ancient German and Norse mythology. Das Rheingold begins with the creation of the world and Gotterdammerung ends with the destruction of the gods. It includes gods, goddesses, Rhinemaidens, Valkyries, dwarfs, a dragon, a gold ring, a magic sword, a magic Tarnhelm, magic fire, and much more. It also includes greed, love, incest, punishment, betrayal and murder. It is an extraordinary work, taking opera to a new level. Come with an open mind and you'll be swept away by the sheer magnitude of the performance and the extraordinarily rich and powerful music. We will be showing the wonderful 1990 Metropolitan Opera production conducted by James Levine, produced the way Wagner originally intended it to be shown. As usual, the operas will all be shown on our giant-sized movie screen in six-channel digital surround-sound, complete with English subtitles. Extensive information packets on The Ring will also be distributed. Schedule Saturday, June 9th Noon Das Rheingold 2½ hours Saturday, June 23rd Noon Die Walküre 4½ hours Saturday, July 7th Noon Siegfried 5 hours Saturday, July 21th Noon Gotterdämmerung 5½ hours 2 Saturday, August 4th Noon “A Tribute to Wagner” Socializing and pot-luck will begin at Noon. We will provide the main dish, large salad, drinks and snacks. Please bring a dish that you want to share for the pot luck. Ring Course: An Introduction to The Ring will begin at 1:00, followed by the opera. Prepare for a long day. The fifth week will be a German dinner celebration with a special “Tribute to Wagner” with a video of Anna Russell’s hilarious satire of The Ring, the entertaining “Stagehand’s Ring,” the prank played on Birgit Nilsson as she sung “The Immolation Scene,” as well as listening to some of Wagner’s glorious music. Ring Programs. Download the synopses of Wagner’s Ring, as well as other Ring information from the Pescadero Opera Society Yahoo! Group. Sign up at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PESCADERO_OPERA. It's FREE! Location: The address is 10350 Cabrillo Highway (Coast Highway) in Pescadero, 3 miles south of Pescadero Road, one-half mile south of Bean Hollow Beach, two miles north of the Pigeon Point Lighthouse. The driveway entrance marked by an American Flag on the east side of the highway. There is NO CHARGE for taking this course but, for planning purposes, I would appreciate knowing ahead of time if you are planning to attend. Please email me if you are interested, or if you have any questions. Phyllis Neumann [email protected] 650-879-0769 home 650-245-0604 cell .