Events include marching Siegfrieds and a light show at Griffith Observatory.
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Ring Festival LA officially begins next week with hundreds of cultural events over 10 weeks spread across much of Los Angeles County. The sprawling schedule can seem daunting, so here’s a sampling of some of the events to provide a better idea of the festival’s breadth and diversity.
‘INVISIBLE SIEGFRIEDS MARCHING SUNSET BOULEVARD’
Various outdoor locations
April 17-20
A group of helmeted “Siegfrieds” will pull a cart carrying opera singer Christina Ascher as part of a four-day procession from downtown L.A. to the ocean. This homage to the “Ring” was conceived by artist-composer Georg Nussbaumer.
DAEDELUS REMIXES THE ‘RING’
The Broad Stage, Santa Monica
April 17
Experimental electronica musician Daedelus will offer his own live remix of music from the “Ring,” accompanied by live video artwork.
‘DAS LIEBESVERBOT’ AND ‘DIE FEEN’
Bing Theatre, USC / South Pasadena MiScA
April 21 -25 / June 11-12, 17 and 19
This is a rare chance to experience Wagner’s first two operas. “Das Liebesverbot” (“The Ban on Love”) is being produced by the USC Thornton Opera Program, while Wagner’s first completed opera, “Die Feen” (“The Fairies”), will be presented by the Lyric Opera of Los Angeles.
‘RICHARD AND FELIX: TWILIGHT IN VENICE’
The MET Theatre, Hollywood
Through April 25
Cornelius Schnauber’s drama recounts the sometimes contentious relationship between Richard Wagner and Felix Mendelssohn.
FRITZ LANG’S ‘DIE NIBELUNGEN’
L.A. County Museum of Art
May 7-8
Lang’s 1924 silent film version of the “Nibelungenlied” -- consisting of “Siegfried” and “Kriemhilde’s Revenge” -- will be screened over two nights. A co-presentation of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Goethe-Institut and LACMA.
‘LIGHT OF THE VALKYRIES’
May 18-Sept. 5
This live multimedia show will combine Wagner’s music with light effects on the dome of the Samuel Oschin Planetarium. Performances will be held daily.
JACARANDA: PRUSSIAN BLUES
May 22
The Santa Monica new-music series presents a concert featuring Wagner’s “Siegfried Idyll” as well as pieces by Schubert, Mahler and Paul Hindemith.
TONY PALMER / WAGNER FILM FESTIVAL
May 22-23
The British director will present his new documentary “The Wagner Family,” which chronicles the fights between the composer’s relatives. Also screening are “Parsifal -- The Search for the Grail,” featuring Plácido Domingo, and Palmer’s 1983 biopic “Wagner.”
GOTTFRIED WAGNER, ‘MUSIC OF AN ANTI-SEMITE’
American Jewish University
June 6
The great-grandson of Richard Wagner, will make an afternoon appearance as part of this daylong symposium exploring the composer’s anti-Semitic views.
‘BLOOD RED LOST HEAD DEAD FALCON: THE NIBELUNGEN’
Highways Performance Space and Gallery, Santa Monica
June 25-27
The performance-art group known as collision/theory presents a dark and disturbing multimedia piece based on the 12th century epic that served as the basis of Wagner’s “Ring” cycle.
For the full schedule, go to www.ringfestivalla.com.
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