Concert 7: Wagner’s Ring for people who can’t be bothered to sit through it

The Ring Cycle by Richard Wagner is arguably the greatest artistic achievement by a single person working alone but, apart from a few vague plot lines mostly mistaken from Lord of the Rings, the average punter has no idea what it’s about. Wagner’s ground-breaking score is an acknowledged masterpiece but, apart from the Ride of the Valkyries (No. 38 in the Classic FM Hall of Fame), most people wouldn’t recognise it.

Well, at over 15 hours, taken over four days, who’s got the time, right?

Rainer Hersch is on a mission to change that. With the aid of no more than a piano, a funny slide show and his own wit (see below), he is going to boil the whole wobbling edifice of Richard Wagner’s TotalArtWork down to just 60 minutes – boom, finished, now get on with your day. And whether you are a dyed-in-the-wool Wagnerian or a total first timer, we guarantee you will get the jokes.

Praise for Rainer Hersch:

'Rainer Hersch is a wickedly funny man, who needs nothing more than a piano and his own wit to leave you desperate for more,' Edinburgh Evening News

'Better than Borge,' London Time Out

'At last, a musical comedian with a difference, he is actually funny,' Daily Telegraph