The Ring Festival

Richard Wagner's Ring of the Nibelung returns to the Paris Opera this November — four operas, one mythological universe, and a production that hasn't graced the Opéra Bastille stage in this form before. Staged by Calixto Bieito and conducted by Pablo Heras-Casado, the full cycle runs November 6–22, 2026, alongside a companion exhibition at the Palais Garnier and a series of talks with the artistic team held across the city.

For opera lovers, this is a rare chance to experience the complete tetralogy in one of the world's great opera houses — a fitting anchor for a longer Paris stay built around music, art, and the city's autumn light.

Details for reference:

• Das Rheingold: Nov 6–15

• Die Walküre: Nov 7–17

• Siegfried: Nov 10–19

• Götterdämmerung: Nov 13–22

• Venue: Opéra Bastille

Exhibition — "The Ring Revolution"
Running October 2026 through February 2027 at the Palais Garnier's Opera Library-Museum, this exhibition is a collaboration between the Paris Opera and the Bibliothèque nationale de France, curated by Marion Mirande and Olivier Mabille. Drawing on works from the BnF's collections along with pieces from museums and private collections, it traces the cultural and political world that shaped Wagner's tetralogy, examines the staging challenges the Ring poses, and follows its lasting influence across the arts. For anyone building a trip around the festival, it's a natural extension — a chance to spend an afternoon inside the Palais Garnier itself before or after an evening at the Bastille.

Talks series:

• The Ring: A Challenge in Performance — Sunday, Nov 8, 2:30pm, Studio Bastille

• Wagner: A Cinematic Universe — Monday, Nov 9, 6:30pm, Goethe Institut

• The Revolutions of the Ring — Wednesday, Nov 18, 6:30pm, Maison Heinrich Heine

• The Ring: A Visual Music — Friday, Nov 20, 6:30pm, Amphithéâtre Olivier Messiaen