List of Bayreuth Festival productions of Der Ring des Nibelungen

This list gives details of all the performances of Richard Wagner's opera cycle Der Ring Des Nibelungen produced at the Bayreuth Festival, from the festival's inception in 1876, down to 2017. For differing reasons, no festivals were held between 1877 and 1881, 1915 to 1923, and 1943 to 1950. There were a few other years when the festival was "rested", and some in which it was dedicated to other Wagner operas.

Since the revival of the festival after the Second World War, a general principle has developed in which new productions are introduced to the festival at regular intervals, each such production being staged for five years followed by a "rest" year.

Table

Year	Stage director^{[n 1]}	Conductor(s)	Notes
1876	Richard Wagner	Hans Richter	3 cycles performed of Wagner's original production, in first Bayreuth Festival

1896	Cosima Wagner	Felix Mottl Hans Richter Siegfried Wagner
1897	Cosima Wagner	Hans Richter Siegfried Wagner
1899	Cosima Wagner	Siegfried Wagner
1901	Cosima Wagner, Siegfried Wagner (co-directors)	Hans Richter Siegfried Wagner
1902	Cosima Wagner, Siegfried Wagner	Hans Richter Siegfried Wagner
1904	Cosima Wagner, Siegfried Wagner	Hans Richter Franz Beidler	Beidler was Cosima Wagner's son-in-law^[1]
1906	Cosima Wagner, Siegfried Wagner	Hans Richter Siegfried Wagner
1908	Cosima Wagner, Siegfried Wagner	Hans Richter
1909	Cosima Wagner, Siegfried Wagner	Michael Balling
1911	Cosima Wagner, Siegfried Wagner	Michael Balling
1912	Cosima Wagner, Siegfried Wagner	Michael Balling
1914	Cosima Wagner, Siegfried Wagner	Michael Balling	29 cycles performed of this production were performed between 1896–1914, under Cosima and Siegfried Wagner. Cosima's involvement was largely symbolic after 1908

1924	Siegfried Wagner	Michael Balling
1925	Siegfried Wagner	Michael Balling
1927	Siegfried Wagner	Franz von Hoesslin
1928	Siegfried Wagner	Franz von Hoesslin Siegfried Wagner
1930	Siegfried Wagner	Karl Elmendorff
1931	Siegfried Wagner	Karl Elmendorff	14 cycles of this production were performed under Siegfried Wagner, 1924–1931

1933	Heinz Tietjen	Karl Elmendorff	First Bayreuth Ring not directed by Wagner family member
1934	Heinz Tietjen	Karl Elmendorff Heinz Tietjen
1936	Heinz Tietjen	Heinz Tietjen Wilhelm Furtwängler
1937	Heinz Tietjen	Wilhelm Furtwängler
1938	Heinz Tietjen	Heinz Tietjen
1939	Heinz Tietjen	Heinz Tietjen
1940	Heinz Tietjen	Franz von Hoesslin
1941	Heinz Tietjen	Heinz Tietjen
1942	Heinz Tietjen	Karl Elmendorff	18 cycles of this production were performed under Tietjen, 1933–1942

1951	Wieland Wagner	Hans Knappertsbusch Herbert von Karajan
1952	Wieland Wagner	Joseph Keilberth
1953	Wieland Wagner	Joseph Keilberth Clemens Krauss
1954	Wieland Wagner	Joseph Keilberth
1955	Wieland Wagner	Joseph Keilberth
1956	Wieland Wagner	Joseph Keilberth Hans Knappertsbusch
1957	Wieland Wagner	Hans Knappertsbusch
1958	Wieland Wagner	Hans Knappertsbusch	16 cycles of this production were performed under Wieland Wagner, 1951–1958

1960	Wolfgang Wagner	Rudolf Kempe
1961	Wolfgang Wagner	Rudolf Kempe
1962	Wolfgang Wagner	Rudolf Kempe
1963	Wolfgang Wagner	Rudolf Kempe
1964	Wolfgang Wagner	Berislav Klobučar 11 cycles of this production were performed under Wolfgang Wagner, 1960–1964

1965	Wieland Wagner	Karl Böhm
1966	Wieland Wagner	Karl Böhm Otmar Suitner	Wieland died in October 1966; his production continued under Wolfgang until 1969^[2]
1967	Wolfgang Wagner	Karl Böhm Otmar Suitner
1968	Wolfgang Wagner	Lorin Maazel
1969	Wolfgang Wagner	Lorin Maazel	12 cycles of this production were performed, 1965–1969.

1970	Wolfgang Wagner	Horst Stein
1971	Wolfgang Wagner	Horst Stein
1972	Wolfgang Wagner	Horst Stein
1973	Wolfgang Wagner	Horst Stein
1974	Wolfgang Wagner	Horst Stein
1975	Wolfgang Wagner	Horst Stein	16 cycles of this production were performed under Wolfgang Wagner, 1970–1975

1976	Patrice Chéreau	Pierre Boulez	Centenary Ring production
1977	Patrice Chéreau	Pierre Boulez
1978	Patrice Chéreau	Pierre Boulez
1979	Patrice Chéreau	Pierre Boulez
1980	Patrice Chéreau	Pierre Boulez	16 cycles of this production were performed under Chéreau, 1976–1980

1983	Peter Hall	Georg Solti
1984	Peter Hall	Peter Schneider
1985	Peter Hall	Peter Schneider
1986	Peter Hall	Peter Schneider	12 cycles of this production were performed under Hall, 1983–1986

1988	Harry Kupfer	Daniel Barenboim
1989	Harry Kupfer	Daniel Barenboim
1990	Harry Kupfer	Daniel Barenboim
1991	Harry Kupfer	Daniel Barenboim
1992	Harry Kupfer	Daniel Barenboim	15 cycles of this production were performed under Kupfer, 1988–1992

1994	Alfred Kirchner	James Levine
1995	Alfred Kirchner	James Levine
1996	Alfred Kirchner	James Levine
1997	Alfred Kirchner	James Levine
1998	Alfred Kirchner	James Levine	15 cycles of this production were performed under Levine, 1994–1998

2000	Jürgen Flimm	Giuseppe Sinopoli
2001	Jürgen Flimm	Ádám Fischer
2002	Jürgen Flimm	Ádám Fischer
2003	Jürgen Flimm	Ádám Fischer
2004	Jürgen Flimm	Ádám Fischer	15 cycles of this production were performed under Flimm, 2000–2004

2006	Tancred Dorst	Christian Thielemann
2007	Tancred Dorst	Christian Thielemann
2008	Tancred Dorst	Christian Thielemann
2009	Tancred Dorst	Christian Thielemann
2010	Tancred Dorst	Christian Thielemann	15 cycles of this production were performed under Dorst, 2007–2010

2013	Frank Castorf	Kirill Petrenko
2014	Frank Castorf	Kirill Petrenko
2015	Frank Castorf	Kirill Petrenko
2016	Frank Castorf	Marek Janowski
2017	Frank Castorf	Marek Janowski	15 cycles of this production were performed under Castorf, 2013–2017

2020	Valentin Schwarz	Pietari Inkinen

Total number of Ring cycles performed at Bayreuth, 1876 to 2017: 222

Notes and references

Notes

^ Apart from the stage direction of the various productions, the festival has since 1876 been under the overall control of a member of the Wagner family: Richard Wagner until his death in 1883; Cosima from 1883 until 1908; her son Siegfried from 1909 until 1930; his wife Winifred from 1930 to 1945; her sons Wieland and Wolfgang from 1951 to 1966; Wolfgang alone from 1967 until 2008; his daughters Eva Wagner-Pasquier and Katharina Wagner since 2009.

Citations

^ Spotts 1994, p. 122.
^ Spotts 1994, pp. 246–248.

Sources

Spotts, Frederic (1994). Bayreuth: A History of the Wagner Festival. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-05777-6. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
"Der Ring des Nibelungen at the Bayreuth Festival - all the productions". Wagneropera.net. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
"Performance Database—Bayreuther Festspiele". Retrieved 3 February 2020.

[1] Apart from the stage direction of the various productions, the festival has since 1876 been under the overall control of a member of the Wagner family: Richard Wagner until his death in 1883; Cosima from 1883 until 1908; her son Siegfried from 1909 until 1930; his wife Winifred from 1930 to 1945; her sons Wieland and Wolfgang from 1951 to 1966; Wolfgang alone from 1967 until 2008; his daughters Eva Wagner-Pasquier and Katharina Wagner since 2009.

[FOOTNOTESpotts1994122-2] Spotts 1994, p. 122.

[FOOTNOTESpotts1994246–248-3] Spotts 1994, pp. 246–248.

[n 1]

[1]

[2]