About the Show

This production of Die Walküre is part of the “Bayreuth in Shanghai” Opera Project (2025–2027), bringing a new staging directed by Katharina Wagner, Artistic Director of the Bayreuth Festival. The work is the second opera in Wagner’s four-part cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen.

The story follows the intertwined fates of Siegmund and Sieglinde, twin siblings who reunite and fall in love, defying both social and divine laws. Their relationship provokes the wrath of the gods, leading to tragedy. Brünnhilde, a Valkyrie and daughter of Wotan, chooses to protect Sieglinde and her unborn child, defying her father and accepting the consequences.

The opera is known for its large-scale musical structure and dramatic intensity, and this new production aims to remain faithful to Wagner’s original vision while introducing a new narrative and stage approach.

Cast & Creatives

• Conductor - Xu Zhong
• Director - Katharina Wagner
• Dramaturge - Daniel Weber
• Stage Design - Karlheinz Beer
• Lighting Design - Peter Younes
• Costume Design - Dorothea Niclolai
• Production Assistant - Hendrik Arns
• Orchestra - Suzhou Symphony Orchestra
• Guest Artists - Musicians of the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra

Cast

• Siegmund – Vincent Wolfsteiner、
• Hunding – Wilhelm Schwinghammer
• Wotan – Shen Yang
• Sieglinde – Manuela Uhl
• Brünnhilde – Catherine Foster
• Fricka – Anna Maria Chiuri

Why Go

This is one of those productions that doesn’t come around often: a full-scale Wagner opera, staged as a world premiere by Katharina Wagner herself, and part of a multi-year project tied directly to Bayreuth. For anyone curious about what a modern Wagner production looks like at this level, or just ready to commit to a five-hour deep dive into myth, music, and spectacle, this is about as big as it gets in Shanghai’s opera calendar.