    Array
(
    [0] => Array
        (
            [name] => France
            [parent] => Array
                (
                    [name] => Europe
                )

        )

)

Paris, France.

Notre Dame, Paris.

Paris, France, at nighttime.

Architecture detail of the Bastille opera - Paris, France. © ErickN

The Ring in Paris - Wagner in the French capital

10 days from

£9,140

Book today with a deposit of £1,371

14th - 23rd November 2026

Book Now

Add to wishlist Remove from wishlist

Overview Itinerary Expert speaker Practicalities Map

Section:

Tour highlights

Wagner’s monumental Ring cycle in a theatrical new production by Calixto Bieito.
First-rate cast including Christopher Maltman (Wotan), Tamara Wilson (Brünnhilde) and Andreas Schager (Siegfried).
Talks on the operas by Barry Millington, chief music critic for The London Standard and editor of The Wagner Journal.
Visit a selection of Paris’s finest museums and galleries, plus the magnificently restored Notre-Dame.

Opéra Bastille is one of the great opera houses of the world and a new production of Wagner’s Ring is sure to be something special. Moreover, this cycle is conducted by Pablo Heras-Casado, who established his Wagnerian credentials at the 2023 Bayreuth Festival with his highly acclaimed interpretation of Parsifal.

The exceptional cast is headed by Christopher Maltman (Wotan), Tamara Wilson (Brünnhilde) and Andreas Schager (Siegfried), with Stanislas de Barbeyrac as Siegmund, Elsa van den Heever as Sieglinde, Günther Groissböck (Hunding) and Mika Kares (Fafner and Hagen).

The production is by the Spanish director Calixto Bieito, whose stagings sometimes cause controversy but are always highly theatrical and thought-provoking.

There are daily talks and discussions with the accompanying musicologist and time to visit the city’s outstanding galleries and museums. However, plenty of time is allowed to rest and to prepare for experiencing the greatest achievement of music drama.

Itinerary

Travel by Eurostar at c. 11.30am from London St Pancras to Paris. Settle into the hotel before dinner.

A morning lecture introduces this afternoon’s first opera. Matinée performance at the Opéra Bastille of Das Rheingold. Pablo Heras-Casado (conductor), Calixto Bieito (director), Christopher Maltman (Wotan), Florent Mbia (Donner), Matthew Cairns (Froh), Simon O’Neill (Loge), Kwangchul Young (Fasolt), Mika Kares (Fafner), Brian Mulligan (Alberich), Gerhard Siegel (Mime), Eve-Maud Hubeaux (Fricka), Eliza Boom (Freia), Marie-Nicole Lemieux (Erda), Margarita Polonskaya (Woglinde), Isabel Signoret (Wellgunde), Katharina Magiera (Flosshilde).

Guided tour of the Opéra Bastille, the venue for all the operas in this ring cycle. Continue into the Marais distrcit for a visit to the Musée Carnavalet, with myriad collections devoted to the history of Paris, re-opened in 2021 after radical refurbishment.

Morning lecture, then visit the Musée d’Orsay, which houses the world’s greatest collection of Impressionist and early modern painting in a spectacular converted railway station. Lunch is included at the museum’s opulent Belle Époque restaurant. Evening performance at the Opéra Bastille: Die Walküre. Pablo Heras-Casado (conductor), Calixto Bieito (director), Stanislas de Barbeyrac (Siegmund), Christopher Maltman (Wotan), Günther Groissböck (Hunding), Elza van den Heever (Sieglinde), Tamara Wilson (Brünnhilde), Eve-Maud Hubeaux (Fricka), Louise Foor (Gerhilde), Laura Wilde (Ortlinde), Marie-Andrée Bouchard-Lesieur (Waltraute), Katharina Magiera (Schwertleite), Jessica Faselt (Helmwige), Ida Aldrian (Siegrunde), Marvic Monreal (Grimgerde), Marie-Luise Dreßen (Rossweise).

The Musée de l’Orangerie holds the celebrated circular paintings of water lilies by Monet as well as the magnificent Walter Guillaume collection. Our tickets include entry to the exhibition Monet, painting time, which commemorates the centenary of his death. Afternoon visit to the 18th-century Hôtel de la Marine, one of the finest neoclassical buildings in Paris. Originally the royal garde-meuble that managed the furnishing of royal properties, its apartments and reception rooms opened for visitors in 2021 following a major refurbishment.

Morning lecture followed by a guided tour of the sumptuous Palais Garnier opera house. Lunch is followed by some free time, before an evening performance at the Opéra Bastille: Siegfried. Pablo Heras-Casado (conductor), Calixto Bieito (director), Andreas Schager (Siegfried), Gerhard Siegel (Mime), Iain Paterson (Der Wanderer), Brian Mulligan (Alberich), Mika Kares (Fafner), Marie-Nicole Lemieux (Erda), Tamara Wilson (Brünnhilde), Ilanah Lobel-Torres (Stimme des Waldvogels).

Guided tour of Notre-Dame, one of the finest examples of Gothic architecture. The cathedral has been spectacularly restored following the devastating fire of 2019. Continue in the afternoon to the Porte de la Villette to visit the Cité de la Musique and the music museum.

Today’s itinerary will be confirmed nearer the time, depending on exhibition schedules.

A final lecture precedes a matinée performance of Götterdämmerung. Pablo Heras-Casado (conductor), Calixto Bieito (director), Andreas Schager (Siegfried), Johannes Martin Kränzle (Gunther), Brian Mulligan (Alberich), Mika Kares (Hagen), Tamara Wilson (Brünnhilde), Sinead Campbell Wallace (Gutrune), Eve-Maud Hubeaux (Waltraute), Aude Extrémo (First Norn), Marie-Andrée Bouchard-Lesieur (Second Norn), Sinead Campbell Wallace (Third Norn), Margarita Polonskaya (Woglinde), Isabel Signoret (Wellgunde), Katharina Magiera (Flosshilde).

Take the Eurostar to London St Pancras, arriving c. 2.30pm.

Email me a printable itinerary

Expert speaker

Mr Barry Millington

Writer, lecturer and broadcaster specialising in Wagner. He is founder/editor of The Wagner Journal and author of eight books on Wagner including The Wagner Compendium and Richard Wagner: The Sorcerer of Bayreuth. He is Chief Critic for the Evening Standard. He has also acted as dramaturgical adviser at opera houses internationally.

More tours led by Mr Barry Millington

Practicalities

Two sharing: £6,790 or £6,640 without Eurostar. Single occupancy: £8,140 or £7,990 without Eurostar.

Travel by private coach; hotel accommodation as described below; breakfasts, 2 lunches and 5 dinners, with wine or beer, soft drinks, water and coffee; all admissions; all tips; all taxes; the services of the lecturer and tour manager.

Music: tickets (top category) for 4 performances are included.

Hotel Bel Ami, Paris: 5-star hotel in the Saint-Germain-des-Prés district on the left bank. Single occupancy rooms are doubles for sole use.

Visits require a fair amount of walking and standing around. There are some late nights but starts are leisurely. You need to be able to lift your luggage on and off the train and wheel it within stations.

Are you fit enough to join the tour?

Typically between 10–24 participants.

Before booking, please refer to the FCDO website to ensure you are happy with the travel advice for the destination(s) you are visiting.

Book online or enquire
9am-3pm ET 1-800-988-6168