Wagner's Ring returns to La Scala with two accompanying exhibitions

Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen, the four-opera cycle based on Nordic mythology, returns to Teatro alla Scala in Milan after a decade. The production is conducted by Simone Young and Alexander Soddy, directed by David McVicar. The Ring first premiered in Bayreuth in August 1876 and arrived at La Scala in 1926, exactly one century ago. A controversial 1970s production, initially assigned to Luchino Visconti and completed by Luca Ronconi with sets by Pier Luigi Pizzi, caused scandal by recontextualizing the opera within Wilhelmine bourgeoisie and criticizing capitalism and industrialization. That production remained unfinished at La Scala but was realized at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. Two exhibitions accompany the return: "La rivoluzione del Ring – Visconti Ronconi Chéreau" at the Museo Teatrale alla Scala, curated by Giovanni Agosti and designed by Margherita Palli, runs until May 3 and revisits the 1970s production along with Patrice Chéreau's 1976 Bayreuth staging, featuring magazines, videos, costumes, books, and oils by Mariano Fortuny. The second exhibition, "Risonanze Wagner – Visioni intorno al Ring" in the Ridotto Toscanini, curated by Gianluigi Colin and Mattia Palma, presents eight contemporary works by four female artists—Antonella Benanzato, Flaminia Veronesi, Chiara Calore, and Federica Perazzoli—who reinterpret key themes of power, conflict, and transformation from the Ring.