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Modern productions

The Ring is a major undertaking for any opera company: staging four interlinked operas requires a huge commitment both artistically and financially; hence, in most opera houses, production of a new Ring cycle will happen over a number of years, with one or two operas in the cycle being added each year. The Bayreuth Festival, where the complete cycle is performed most years, is unusual in that a new cycle is almost always created within a single year.

Early productions of the Ring cycle stayed close to Wagner's original Bayreuth staging. Trends set at Bayreuth have continued to be influential. Following the closure of the Festspielhaus during the Second World War, the 1950s saw productions by Wagner's grandsons Wieland and Wolfgang Wagner (known as the 'New Bayreuth' style), which emphasised the human aspects of the drama in a more abstract setting.

Perhaps the most famous modern production was the centennial production of 1976, the Jahrhundertring, directed by Patrice Chéreau and conducted by Pierre Boulez. Set in the Industrial Revolution, it replaced the depths of the Rhine with a hydroelectric power dam and featured grimy sets populated by men and gods in 19th and 20th century business suits. This drew heavily on the reading of the Ring as a revolutionary drama and critique of the modern world, famously expounded by George Bernard Shaw in The Perfect Wagnerite. Early performances were booed but the audience of 1980 gave it a 45-minute ovation in its final year.

Seattle Opera has created three different productions of the tetralogy: Ring 1, 1975 to 1984: Originally directed by George London, with designs by John Naccarato following the famous illustrations by Arthur Rackham. It was performed twice each summer, once in German, once in Andrew Porter's English adaptation. Henry Holt conducted all performances. Ring 2, 1985–1995: Directed by Francois Rochaix, with sets and costumes designed by Robert Israel, lighting by Joan Sullivan and supertitles (the first ever created for the Ring) by Sonya Friedman. The production set the action in a world of nineteenth-century theatricality; it was initially controversial in 1985, it sold out its final performances in 1995. Conductors included Armin Jordan (Die Walküre in 1985), Manuel Rosenthal (1986) and Hermann Michael (1987, 1991 and 1995). Ring 3, 2000–2013: the production, which became known as the "Green" Ring, was in part inspired by the natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest. Directed by Stephen Wadsworth, set designer Thomas Lynch, costume designer Martin Pakledinaz, lighting designer Peter Kaczorowski; Armin Jordan conducted in 2000, Franz Vote in 2001 and Robert Spano in 2005 and 2009. The 2013 performances, conducted by Asher Fisch, were released as a commercial recording on compact disc and on iTunes.

In 2003 the first production of the cycle in Russia in modern times was conducted by Valery Gergiev at the Mariinsky Opera, Saint Petersburg, designed by George Tsypin. The production drew parallels with Ossetian mythology.

The Royal Danish Opera performed a complete Ring cycle in May 2006 in its new waterfront home, the Copenhagen Opera House. This version of the Ring tells the story from the viewpoint of Brünnhilde and has a distinct feminist angle. For example, in a key scene in Die Walküre, it is Sieglinde and not Siegmund who manages to pull the sword Nothung out of a tree. At the end of the cycle, Brünnhilde does not die, but instead gives birth to Siegfried's child.

San Francisco Opera and Washington National Opera began a co-production of a new cycle in 2006 directed by Francesca Zambello. The production uses imagery from various eras of American history and has a feminist and environmentalist viewpoint. Recent performances of this production took place at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C. in April/May 2016, featuring Catherine Foster and Nina Stemme as Brünnhilde, Daniel Brenna as Siegfried and Alan Held as Wotan.

Los Angeles Opera presented its first Ring cycle in 2010 directed by Achim Freyer. Freyer staged an abstract production that was praised by many critics but criticized by some of its own stars. The production featured a raked stage, flying props, screen projections and special effects.

The Metropolitan Opera began a new Ring cycle directed by French-Canadian theater director Robert Lepage in 2010. Premiering with Das Rheingold on opening night of the 2010/2011 Season conducted by James Levine with Bryn Terfel as Wotan. This was followed by Die Walküre in April 2011 starring Deborah Voigt. The 2011/12 season introduced Siegfried and Götterdämmerung with Voigt, Terfel and Jay Hunter Morris before the entire cycle was given in the Spring of 2012 conducted by Fabio Luisi (who stepped in for Levine due to health issues). Lepage's staging was dominated by a 90,000 pound (40 tonne) structure which consisted of 24 identical aluminium planks able to rotate independently on a horizontal axis across the stage, providing level, sloping, angled or moving surfaces facing the audience. Bubbles, falling stones and fire were projected on to these surfaces, linked by computer with the music and movement of the characters. The subsequent HD recordings in 2013 won the Met's orchestra and chorus the Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording for their performance. In 2019, the Metropolitan Opera revived the Lepage staging for the first time since 2013 with Philippe Jordan conducting, Greer Grimsley and Michael Volle rotating as Wotan, Stefan Vinke and Andreas Schager rotating as Siegfried and Met homegrown Christine Goerke as Brünnhilde. Lepage's "Machine", as it affectionately became known, underwent major reconfiguration for the revival in order to dampen the creaking that it had produced in the past (to the annoyance of audience members and critics) and to improve its reliability, as it had been known to break down during earlier runs including on the opening night of Rheingold. Unlike its beloved predecessor directed by Viennese opera director Otto Schenk which played at the house over 22 years, the Met has confirmed that this controversial and expensive production will not return again, having lasted just shy of ten years at the house with only three complete cycles having been given. They announced it would be replaced by a new production in 2025, however though originally in partnership with the English National Opera the future of that partnership is uncertain due to budgetary cuts and poor audience response. Other options are being explored.

The Lyric Opera of Chicago has staged three complete Ring Cycles in the past four decades, with a cycle in the 1990s, the 2000s, and in the late 2010s.

The mid-1990s production by August Everding with choreography by Cirque du Soleil's Debra Brown was conducted by Zubin Mehta, with James Morris a Wotan and Eva Marton as Brünnhilde, Siegfried Jerusalem as Siegmund, and Tina Kiberg as Sieglinde.

The 2000s Ring cast included "James Morris as Wotan, Jane Eaglen as Brünnhilde, Plácido Domingo as Siegmund, and Michelle DeYoung as Sieglinde." Lyric music director Andrew Davis conduct. The company... revived the August Everding production that it presented nine years, restaged by Herbert Kellner with minor changes... The bungee-jumping Rhinemaidens and the Valkyries on trampolines from the original production, choreographed by Cirque du Soleil's Debra Brown... returned. Sets and costumes by John Conklin; lighting by Duane Schuler."

The most recent production's Das Rheingold premiered in 2016, with subsequent Ring operas Die Walküre, Siegfried, and Götterdämmerung staged between 2017 and 2019. The subsequent "full Ring" performances in the spring of 2020 were cancelled due to the COVID-19 global pandemic and has never been staged at the Lyric as the complete cycle. This production was an "Inviting and imaginative production" that returned the narrative to its theatrical roots that a Chicago Sun-Times reviewer of Das Rheingold called "eye-popping" The new production was "created by Sir David Pountney, with original set designs by... Johan Engels overseen by Robert Innes Hopkins, costumes designed by Marie-Jeanne Lecca, lighting by Fabrice Kebour, and choreography by Denni Sayers." The production starred "Christine Goerke as Brünnhilde, Burkhard Fritz as Siegfried, Eric Owens as Wotan and the Wanderer, Samuel Youn as Alberich, Tanja Ariane Baumgartner as Fricka and Waltraute, Elisabet Strid... and Laura Wilde... as Sieglinde, Brandon Jovanovich as Froh/Siegmund, Stephen Milling as Hunding/Hagen, Ronnita Miller as Erda/First Norn, Stefan Margita... and Robert Brubaker... as Loge, Matthias Klink as Mime, Soloman Howard as Fafner, Henning von Schulman as Fasolt." Audio for the complete opera Die Walküre is available on YouTube Music, Amazon Music, SoundCloud, Deezer, and Spotify.

Opera Australia presented the Ring cycle at the State Theatre in Melbourne, Australia, in November 2013, directed by Neil Armfield and conducted by Pietari Inkinen. Classical Voice America heralded the production as "one of the best Rings anywhere in a long time." The production was presented again in Melbourne from 21 November to 16 December 2016 starring Lise Lindstrom, Stefan Vinke, Amber Wagner and Jacqueline Dark.

It is possible to perform The Ring with fewer resources than usual. In 1990, the City of Birmingham Touring Opera (now Birmingham Opera Company), presented a two-evening adaptation (by Jonathan Dove) for a limited number of solo singers, each doubling several roles and 18 orchestral players. This version was subsequently given productions in the USA. A heavily cut-down version (7 hours plus intervals) was performed at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires on 26 November 2012 to mark the 200th anniversary of Wagner's birth.

In a different approach, Der Ring in Minden staged the cycle on the small stage of the Stadttheater Minden, beginning in 2015 with Das Rheingold, followed by the other parts in the succeeding years and culminating with the complete cycle performed twice in 2019. The stage director was Gerd Heinz, and Frank Beermann conducted the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie, playing at the back of the stage. The singers acted in front of the orchestra, making an intimate approach to the dramatic situations possible. The project received international recognition.