The Ring: By the Numbers

 1 Chorus:
Götterdämmerung is the only Ring opera to use a chorus. The ensemble consists of 54 male singers and 23 female singers. The chorus men are featured in Act II and Act III, the women sing only 12 measures (28 notes) during the Act II wedding scene.

17 Hours in a Cycle:
The four operas increase in length throughout the cycle—Das Rheingold: 2.5 hours; Die Walküre: 4.5 hours; Siegfried: nearly 5 hours; Götterdämmerung: 5 hours and 10 minutes.

18 Dressers:
Eighteen dressers assist the cast of the Ring, which includes 35 principals, 77 choristers and 65 supers. Up to 20 make-up artists assist the performers throughout each cycle.

89 Orchestra members in the pit: 
All four Ring operas use the same orchestral forces: 3 flutes (1 doubles piccolo), 1 bass flute, 4 oboes (1 doubles English horn), 3 clarinets, 1 bass clarinet, 3 bassoons, 8 horns (4 doubling on Wagner tubas), 3 trumpets, 1 bass trumpet, 4 trombones, (1 doubles on bass trombone and contrabass trombone), 1 tuba, 2 timpani, 2 percussionists, 2 harps; 51 strings. 

100 Hours of Video Projections:
More than 100 hours of video media have been edited down for the projections, which include breathtaking vistas of the American landscape.

920 Liters of Liquid Nitrogen:
Liquid nitrogen is used nightly for fog effects which totals 3,680 liters for each cycle.

1,200 Pounds:
The dragon in Act II of Siegfried is a machine that weighs 1,200 lbs, approximately 16’ long, 12.5’ tall, 12.5’ wide, and is made of wood, metal and plastic. The vehicle is operated by one driver while lighting and smoke effects are controlled remotely by stage crew. A packet of stage-blood is pre-set for Siegfried to stab and make the dragon bleed an oil-like substance.

2,092 Pages:
Total number of pages of orchestral music in the conductor’s score.