Pappano's Essential Ring Cycle

To celebrate the bicentenary of Wagner's birth, Sir Antonio Pappano, the charismatic music director of the Royal Opera House, guides us through the epic composition which changed opera and the theatre for ever - the Ring of the Nibelungen. Pappano shares his insights into Wagner's music and the mythical world the composer created, visiting the extraordinary theatre at Bayreuth which was created for its performance. He also explores the life of Richard Wagner the man - the political, cultural and social forces that influenced him - and shows how the composer's personal convictions and experiences can be seen within the Ring Cycle.