San Francisco Opera: Das Rheingold

The lust for power, the lure of gold, the sacred beauty of nature, the destructive impulses of man: These timeless themes dominate both American history and Wagner's Ring.

Provocative parallels are promised in Artistic Adviser Francesca Zambello's imaginative new staging of the massive, four-opera cycle, which begins with this mythic tale of mountaintop chicanery. This co-production with Washington National Opera uses imagery from various eras of American history—including, in this first installment, the California gold rush and the Roaring Twenties. Donald Runnicles conducts a cast headed by three great American singers: mezzo-soprano Jennifer Larmore and baritones Mark Delavan and Richard Paul Fink.