Robert Lepage’s much-debated ‘Ring’ cycle at Met Opera to be released on DVD on Sept. 11

NEW YORK, N.Y. – Robert Lepage’s much-debated staging of Wagner’s “Ring” cycle will be released on DVD and Blu-ray next month ahead of the 200th anniversary of the composer’s birth in May.

Deutsche Grammophon said Monday it will issue the Metropolitan Opera’s staging of “Der Ring des Nibelungen” in sets of eight DVDs and five Blu-ray discs on Sept. 11.

Lepage’s production features a 45-ton set of 24 planks that form the scenery.

Alex Ross wrote in The New Yorker that “pound for pound, ton for ton, it is the most witless and wasteful production in modern operatic history.” Anthony Tommasini wrote in The New York Times that while “the machine represents a breakthrough in stage technology,” it was “the most frustrating opera production I have ever had to grapple with.”

Conducted by James Levine and Fabio Luisi, the cycle stars Bryn Terfel, Deborah Voigt and Jonas Kaufmann.

The suggested retail price is $147.98 on DVD and $159.98 on Blu-ray.