The Palau de les Arts brings to the streets the universe created by La Fura dels Baus for The Ring of the Nibelung

Plácido Domingo will bring Siegmund to life in The Valkyrie on June 24. On June 25 and 28, with the show Anell de llum, the Valencian arts center will bring to the streets the universe created by La Fura dels Baus for Wagner's masterpiece.
Valencia (21-05-09).- The Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía begins tomorrow the second and final cycle of Richard Wagner's tetralogy, The Ring of the Nibelung, which the Valencian arts center has co-produced with the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino and which features the staging of La Fura dels Baus and the musical direction of Zubin Mehta.

The four operas that comprise Richard Wagner's masterpiece (Das Rheingold, Die Walküre, Siegfried, and Götterdämmerung) have received unanimous praise from national and international critics, as well as enthusiastic audiences who have given standing ovations of more than fifteen minutes to each performance of the first cycle of the Ring Cycle. The co-production has also garnered significant international acclaim, including the Franco Abbiati Prize from Italian music critics and the award for best production of the year at the Campoamor Theater Lyric Awards.

For this second cycle of The Ring of the Nibelung, the Palau de les Arts once again boasts a top-level cast, featuring the great tenor Plácido Domingo, who will bring Siegmund to life in the performance of The Valkyrie on June 24.

Domingo joins a cast of renowned Wagnerian performers, including Finnish bass Matti Salminen, a regular on the world's finest stages; baritone Franz-Josef Kapellmann; bass Stephen Milling; Dutch soprano Eva-Maria Westbroek, one of the great triumphs of the last Bayreuth Festival; and Canadian tenor Lance Ryan, one of the most acclaimed Siegfrieds of recent times. Also featured are singers who, after their debut at the Palau de les Arts, have established international careers within the Wagnerian musical world, such as American soprano Jennifer Wilson and Finnish bass-baritone Juha Uusitalo.

A full program of activities

The Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía will offer this week a full program of activities around Richard Wagner's tetralogy The Ring of the Nibelung.

Javier Perianes, a pianist from Huelva and one of the most exciting new talents in Spanish musical performance, will close the series of recitals exploring the world of Wagner on June 23. Perianes will perform Three Intermezzi, Op. 117 by Johannes Brahms, Four Impromptus, Op. 90 by Franz Schubert, and Piano Sonata No. 3 in B minor, Op. 58 by Fryderyk Chopin.

In addition, on June 25 and 28, at 10:30 p.m., the Valencian cultural enclave will bring to the streets the scenic universe created by La Fura dels Baus for the Valencian production of The Ring of the Nibelung with the open-air show Anell de llum, which will take place on the access walkway to the emblematic building by Santiago Calatrava.

Finally, on June 26th at 8:00 pm, Zubin Mehta, President of the II Festival del Mediterrani, will conduct the Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana in the concert 'Haydn, 200 Years' at the Auditori of the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía, commemorating the bicentenary of the death of Austrian composer Joseph Haydn. The Palau de les Arts' resident orchestra will perform Haydn's Symphony No. 22 in E-flat major, "The Philosopher," Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 27 in B-flat major, K. 595, and Franz Schubert's Symphony No. 9 in C major, D. 944, "The Great." Mehta and the Orchestra will be joined by the young Chinese pianist Jue Wang, winner of the sixteenth Paloma O'Shea International Piano Competition in Santander. Those interested can purchase tickets on the website www.lesarts.com, by phone at 961 975 900 or at the Palau de les Arts box office during its usual opening hours; Monday to Friday from 12 noon to 8 pm without interruption.