The Mariinsky Theatre has unveiled a focused celebration of the works of German composer Richard Wagner, marking the 210th anniversary of his birth with a dedicated Wagner Month. The program highlights the ensemble of Wagner’s most influential operas and related productions, aiming to offer audiences a deep dive into his monumental contributions to opera and dramatic music.
Throughout the month, performances will be steered by Valery Gergiev, the theatre’s general director, who has long been associated with the company’s musical leadership. A centerpiece of the festival is the three-act opera The Mastersingers of Nuremberg, set to premiere on July 21. The production promises to bring Wagner’s comic-romantic satire to life with a contemporary staging that respects the work’s original wit and musical complexity.
In addition to the premiere, the theatre will present a sequence of Wagner’s works on screen and in stage productions. The opera Tannhäuser is scheduled for July 17, followed by the drama Tristan and Isolde on July 24, and the mystery opera Parsifal on July 25. Each performance is designed to showcase Wagner’s ability to fuse myth, philosophy, and intense emotion with a grand musical landscape.
As part of the Wagner Month, the company will stage selections from the Ring Cycle, Der Ring des Nibelungen. Audiences will encounter the powerful pieces Gold of the Rhine and Valkyrie as they follow Wagner’s panoramic mythic narrative through successive evenings, underscoring the scale and ambition that define the cycle.
Earlier in the year, it was announced that on September 23, a separate Wagner program would be presented at the Bastille Opera in Paris. Russian director Kirill Serebrennikov will helm the premiere of Wagner’s Lohengrin there. The production is a three-act evening, lasting about four hours and twenty minutes, performed in German with French and English subtitles to guide international audiences. The cast includes mezzo-soprano Ekaterina Gubanova, South Korean bass Kwanchul Yun, and Polish tenor Piotr Beczala in the title role, delivering scholarship-level performances alongside a highly anticipated staging.
Earlier touring movements connected to Wagner’s repertoire have also drawn attention in regional theatres. A separate show that previously faced cancellation in one region and was later staged in another illustrates the shifting landscape of opera presentations and the broader reach of Wagner’s music in both the national and international theatre circuits.