Der Ring (or De Ring in Dutch) is a shortened title for two theatrical works:

1 A play by Friedrich Ludwig Schröder (1783).

A comedy in four acts by Friedrich Ludwig Schröder (1744–1816)[1] , a German translation and adaptation of The Constant Couple, or A Trip to the Jubilee by George Farquhar.

The German version was first performed in 1783 in Vienna. Later translated into Dutch as De Ring by an anonymous author.

For South African performances, see The Constant Couple, or A Trip to the Jubilee

2 An opera cycle by Richard Wagner (written 1848-1876)

A shortened title for Der Ring des Nibelungen, a cycle of four epic operas by Richard Wagner (1813–1883). Also referred to as The Ring in English.

The cycle

The four operas that constitute The Ring cycle are Das Rheingold (The Rhine Gold), Die Walküre (The Valkyrie), Siegfried and Götterdämmerung (Twilight of the Gods).

The works are based loosely on characters from the Norse sagas and the Nibelungenlied. It is often referred to as the Ring Cycle, Wagner's Ring, or simply The Ring.

Written over the course of 26 years (1848-1874), The Ring was first performed as a cycle as opening production for the first Bayreuth Festival in 1876.

Performance history of the operas in South Africa

1913: Die Walküre presented by the Quinlan Opera Company for the Wagner Festival in both Cape Town and Johannesburg.

1948: Die Walküre presented between 20 November and 11 December 1948 in the Cape Town City Hall, conducted by Albert Coates.

Sources

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Der_Ring_des_Nibelungen

Sjoerd Alkema. 2012. "Conductors of the Cape Town Municipal Orchestra, 1914-1965: a historical perspective". University of Cape Town. Unpublished PhD thesis.

Hilde Roos. 2012. 'Indigenisation and history: how opera in South Africa became South African opera'. Acta Academica Supplementum. 2012(1).

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