Salzburg Easter Festival: Wagner: Das Rheingold

Upcoming production 1-6 April 2026

A new chapter in the history of the Salzburg Easter Festival will be opened in 2026. 
Director Kirill Serebrennikov is staging a new, intercultural ”Ring”, and at the same time a return awaits us, that many observers have long expected and that others have eagerly longed for. From 2026 onwards the Berliner Philharmoniker will again be holding their traditional Easter Festival in Salzburg.  
Das Rheingold, the prelude to Richard Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen cycle, sets in motion a dark story of power and intrigue. Wagner’s music vividly depicts both the dramatic plot and the inner conflicts of the characters, with Christian Gerhaher appearing as Wotan for the first time.
Kirill Serebrennikov : “(…). My production will take place in a post-apocalyptic world in the wake of a major disaster. Humankind is slowly beginning to regenerate and is finding ways of going on living. This means discovering a new form of existence. »Das Rheingold« is set in a region that could be called Africa. The other three parts of the cycle will all take place in other parts of the world. Each will involve a different continent and a different culture. Wagner will be global."