First performed as a cycle of four operas in 1876, Wagner’s visionary Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung) is one of the greatest works of art. Centred around a ring which offers its bearer ultimate power and the attempts of various people to acquire it, the Ring cycle explores the relationship between love and earthly power and the themes of yearning and loss, all within a setting of medieval legend. The Prologue Das Rheingold depicts the theft and subsequent surrender of the ring forged from the Rhinemaidens’ gold by the Nibelung dwarf Alberich.

Recorded in January 2015 live in concert at the Cultural Centre in Hong Kong.

“Wagner’s Ring Cycle is at the pinnacle of our art form. Bringing it for the first time to the Hong Kong Philharmonic, and working together with the orchestra on this great music, will be a central pillar of my tenure as Music Director. I am thrilled that this first installment, Das Rheingold, has been so faithfully and beautifully captured by the recording team. This release will serve as a document of a cast which would be the envy of any stage in the world, and of a great orchestra, making thrilling music together.” – Jaap van Zweden

Amsterdam-born Jaap van Zweden has been Music Director of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra since 2012, and is also Music Director of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Honorary Chief Conductor of the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra and Conductor Emeritus of the Radio Chamber Philharmonic. Prestigious orchestras with which he has worked include the Chicago and London Symphony Orchestras, the Cleveland and Philadelphia Orchestras, and the New York and London Philharmonic Orchestras. He made highly acclaimed débuts with the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonic Orchestras in 2013 and 2014 respectively. Jaap van Zweden’s recording activities have included the complete Beethoven (Residentie Orchester), Brahms (Netherlands Philharmonic) and Bruckner (Netherlands Radio Philharmonic) symphonies, and his Wagner repertoire – in addition to the Ring cycle – features Lohengrin, Parsifal and Tristan und Isolde, and includes staged performances of Lohengrin at the Vienna State Opera.