The Essential Ring

By distilling Richard Wagner’s four full-length Ring Cycle operas into two three-hour evenings, composer and conductor McPhee’s “The Essential Ring” makes it easy for regional symphony orchestras and opera companies to program a more manageable version of the masterpiece. “The Essential Ring” maintains Wagner’s original dramatic structure, keeping the story and essential vocal selections intact while maintaining the powerful, unique and thrilling soundscape. It has all the beloved orchestral passages and the essential vocal passages. Masterful transitions cover the cuts for an extraordinarily listenable work.

​For each opera, Boosey & Hawkes has a newly engraved Piano/Vocal Score for sale. Click the Button for information on purchasing the score and for rental information for orchestra score and parts.  For each opera, these newly engraved score and parts are available in Wagner's original orchestration as well as a reduced orchestration version by Jonathan McPhee.