In I've taken quite a fancy to opera in the last few years, particularly to the works of Germany's greatest opera composer, Richard Wagner. Of course, his magnum opus [and perhaps the greatest opera of all time] is the four related opera's of The Ring, the quest for a magical golden ring. The tetralogy is a mythic odyssey of life, death and resurrection in the overlapping worlds of gods, human mortals and subterranean beings. Its production is often the subject of wonder and controversy in itself, so mammoth is its scope. Wagner took 40 years to complete the work and personally designed the theater at Bayreuth, his vision of a national theater dedicated to summer Ring performances in Germany. The photos on this page are from the Seattle Opera's 1995 Ring, which featured a post-modern, industrial production concept.

I've seen four Ring performances so far, including the New York Metropolitan Opera in 1997, the Arizona/Phoenix Opera's 1998 and 1997 performances in Flagstaff, the 1995 production in Seattle (with the 2001 production on deck). This summer, the Ring will be performed by the San Francisco Opera, which should be a truly memorable production.

The Bay Area is blessed with outstanding performing arts, and I'm an avid San Francisco Symphony and SF Ballet subscriber as well as the fine Berkeley Repertory company in the East Bay. Though I'm a bit prejudiced, it's generally acknowledged San Francisco usually has the best performing arts companies on the West Coast!