“They are rushing toward their own ruin, they who are so confident of their own existence,” prophesies Loge at the end of Rheingold. And then, in Walküre, Wotan becomes painfully aware that he’s borrowed more than he can afford in order to build Valhalla, and confides in his daughter Brünnhilde that his plans have foundered – and that he wishes only for the end. Time and again, Alberich’s curse strikes, always demanding a new sacrifice: Love or power — but never both. Siegmund and Sieglinde, the twin lovers, tasted the power of the Ring, and fell victim to its curse. But one final hope remains, one final chance to win the Ring of the Nibelungs back from Fafner. Siegfried, a new hero, who never learned to be afraid. But this naive child of nature is bound to fall victim to the ice-cold machinations of an ever-coarsening society, in which love, friendship, truth, and loyalty are increasingly disregarded. In the end, a complete collapse of the existing world is the only way to guarantee a new beginning. Wagner’s The Twilight of the Gods describes the transition from nature to civilization, from the world of gods to the world of men, from legend to reality – until the apocalyptic moment when nature returns, with all of her force. The myriad musical motives coalesce in this, the final part of Wagner’s tetralogy. They culminate in Brünnhilde’s immolation scene, when once again the entire world of the Ring passes before our eyes. The Twilight of the Gods is perhaps the most exciting story that Wagner ever wrote: A thrilling psychological tale of love, power, and betrayal, and performing the opera is a tour de force for soloists, choir and orchestra. Ulf Schirmer, former managing director and general music director of the Oper Leipzig, leads the Gewandhausorchester.

The Twilight of the Gods

Oper Leipzig

DIE MEISTERSINGER VON NÜRNBERG was Richard Wagner’s only light-hearted opera and remains one of his most popular works. This notwithstanding, MEISTERSINGER is also the musical manifesto of a German national art movement and, as such, has accumulated so much baggage over the years that people are apt to lose sight of the opera’s essence – a jolly and coherent comedy with its helter-skelter storyline centring on illusion and reality, love, ageing and the plying of one’s art – and this despite the core theme of a life dominated by music determining not only the cast of characters but also the action of the piece. The members of the master-singers guild have convened to make music in accordance with their strict rulebook. One of the singers, the wealthy Veit Pogner, has granted his daughter Eva the freedom to choose which suitor she will marry – with the proviso that it be a master singer, in other words the winner of a public singing competition. A pity, then, that Eva is in love with Walther von Stolzing, who is talented but devoid of formal training. Nonetheless he takes part in the competition, aided and abetted by master singer Hans Sachs, who has to forego his love for Eva in the process.

Ulf Schirmer

Events

Past events

10 - 25 Jan, 2026

The Twilight of the Gods · Oper Leipzig

12 - 27 Apr, 2025

The Mastersingers of Nuremberg · Deutsche Oper Berlin

Future and recently performed repertoire

Conductor in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg by Wagner

Deutsche Oper Berlin

Conductor in Götterdämmerung by Wagner

Oper Leipzig

About

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