SIEGFRIED / PROGRAM / Bastille / January / 2026

Description

With Siegfried, staged in Calixto Bieito's new production, the Paris Opera presents the third part of Richard Wagner's extraordinary undertaking, the Ring of the Nibelung. Siegfried, the son of Sieglinde and Siegmund, has become a dauntless young man who knows no fear.

Armed with his sword Notung, he sets off on an adventure, defeating the dragon Fafner before seizing the ring, unaware of its power. Crossing the flames that encircle Brünnhilde, he awakens her from her long sleep, ushering in a mutual love that will profoundly transform them.

To describe the initiatory journey of this free and instinctive hero, representing the hope of a new world, Richard Wagner's orchestral writing unfolds with impressive scope. Murmuring forests, horns and dramatic dialogues build to a crescendo until the final duet between Siegfried and Brünnhilde, one of the pinnacles of the Ring.