Longborough Festival Opera, 18th July-14th June 2024

It is a strange experience, being one of the last people to join a Ring Cycle team.

The others have been working with each other for the best part of a decade. They have built a vast world together, from the first theft of the Rhein's gold to the final cleansing inferno. And you join, perhaps the only person there who hasn't seen the Ring Cycle before, there to assist the director on 25% of it.

The thing is, when I accepted the job, I was 'fine' with Wagner. But both times I'd watched a Wagner opera before, I found it... overly long.

This experience emphatically brought me into the Wagner cult. There is something magical about Wagner - or, at least, the Ring Cycle - that truly does reward devoted study. As the Leitmotifs start to get under your skin. As you hear Wotan's confident promises clash against what is to come. Not to mention the wonderful team Amy Lane assembled and led.

I really like the Ring Cycle now. Watching it three times in a month will do that to a person.