San Francisco Opera Unveils Casting for 2028 'Ring' Cycles

San Francisco Opera has announced additional casting for its June and July 2028 presentations of Wagner's "Der Ring des Nibelungen," with Music Director Eun Sun Kim conducting three complete cycles.

The cycles run June 13–18, June 20–25, and June 27–July 2, 2028, at the War Memorial Opera House. Kim leads the work for the first time in Francesca Zambello's staging, a production shared with Washington National Opera that debuted in San Francisco in 2011 and was revived there in 2018.

Who sings what in the new casting?

The previously announced headliners remain in place: soprano Tamara Wilson makes her company debut as Brünnhilde, baritone Brian Mulligan sings Wotan, and tenor Simon O'Neill takes on Siegfried.

The newly announced principals:

• Bass baritone Falk Struckmann sings Alberich in "Das Rheingold," "Siegfried" and "Götterdämmerung."
• Soprano Julie Adams is Sieglinde in "Die Walküre" and Gutrune in "Götterdämmerung."
• Tenor Christopher Sokolowski sings Siegmund in "Die Walküre" and Froh in "Das Rheingold."
• Mezzo-soprano Judit Kutasi is Fricka in "Das Rheingold" and "Die Walküre."
• Tenor Brenton Ryan sings Loge.
• Tenor Zhengyi Bai is Mime in "Das Rheingold" and "Siegfried."
• Bass John Relyea sings Fafner in "Das Rheingold" and "Siegfried" and Hagen in "Götterdämmerung."
• Bass Kwangchul Youn is Fasolt and Hunding.
• Bass baritone Lauri Vasar sings Donner and Gunther.
• Annika Schlicht is the Second Norn and Waltraute in "Götterdämmerung."

What role do the Adler Fellows play?

The company's current Adler Fellows fill several smaller roles. Sadie Cheslak sings Erda and the First Norn, Sofia Gotch takes Woglinde and the Forest Bird, and Mary Hoskins is the Third Norn. Mezzo-sopranos Laura Krumm and Taylor Raven sing Wellgunde and Flosshilde.

The announcement signals the scale of the company's commitment to the 2028 season: a full "Ring" with a music director making her first pass at the cycle, a veteran Alberich in Struckmann, and a Brünnhilde debut for Wilson — with tickets still more than three years away.