"The Ring Cycle, an Operatic Extravagnza" was performed on Sunday 12th June 2005 as part of the Bike Fest in Trafalgar Square. Singers from the National Opera Studio in Wandsworth sang well-known operatic excerpts while cyclists from Wandsworth Cycling Campaign dramatised them on bikes. A rickshaw, a "4×4" and an ambulance cyclist also featured in the entertainment.
| Act I | Entrance of the cyclists The entire company enters the ring in a grand procession singing to the glory of the bicycle. Grand Finale of Act II from Aida by Giuseppe Verdi |
| Act II | The wheel of fortune A paean to Lady Luck - join in if you can. O Fortuna from Carl Orff's Carmina Burana |
| Act III | Love duet Our knight exercises all his powers of wit and persuasion to woo his gentle lady. Duettino: Ló ci darem la mano ('Let me take your hand'), from Act I of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Don Giovanni |
| Act IV | The ring of courage Gasp as the gallant toreador faces the slavering beast in the bull-ring. Who will win the day? Toreador Song from Act II of Carmen by Georges Bizet |
| Act V | Grand Finale On a stormy mountain-top the Valkyries are gathering - but where is Brünnhilde? Only when all are present can the Valkyries ride. Freely adapted from Act III of Die Walküre by Richard Wagner |
| John Lofthouse | Baritone |
| Rachel Harland | Soprano |
| Krystian Belliere, Andrew Macmillan & Alex Soddy | Pianists |
| Donald Maxwell | Director |
| Richard Carter | 4x4, Valkyrie, cyclist |
| Chris Elliott | Brünnhilde, Valkyrie, cyclist |
| Bryony Evens | ASM (props), Zerlina, Valkyrie, cyclist |
| Mike Grahn | Artistic Director, Toreador, Valkyrie, cyclist |
| Iain Houston | ASM (TfL liaison), Don Giovanni, Valkyrie, cyclist |
| Susie Morrow | ASM (ideas), Valkyrie, cyclist |
| Mary Ann Tarver | Press /photos |
| Amanda Taylor | Valkyrie, cyclist |
| Gail Treves-Brown | Picador, Valkyrie, cyclist |
| Andrew Horton | On-stage communications director |
| Susan Cooper, Inca Waddell | Assistant on-stage communications directors |
From an original idea by Susie Morrow
The official programme (108 KB, pdf format)
4 minutes of video highlights:
Click on an image to see it full-size.
Preparations
87 KB
Waiting to start
102 KB
Cycle warm-up
87 KB
The audience at 2pm
86 KB
The audience at 4pm
102 KB
To the glory of the
bicycle - the cyclists
103 KB
The wheel of fortune
75 KB
Carmina - the line-up
110 KB
Love duet
94 KB
Opera on bikes
76 KB
Zerlina
89 KB
Courting the fair lady
97 KB
True love
102 KB
The knight and priest
86 KB
Bull bars
136 KB
The 4×4 bull
from behind
94 KB
The bull enters
77 KB
The bull asphyxiates
the picador
87 KB
The picador has fallen
66 KB
To the rescue!
107 KB
The toreador draws
the bull
84 KB
Oxygen!
167 KB
The bull is drawn away
95 KB
The picador recovers
108 KB
Death to the bull
94 KB
The toreador's
lap of honour
97 KB
The Ring
87 KB
A plaited Valkyrie
80 KB
A loose-haired Valkyrie
80 KB
The Valkyries' anger
66 KB
Brandishing the sword
93 KB
A Valkyrie's trophies
49 KB
Cycling Valkyries
91 KB
Circling Valkyries
91 KB
Where is Brünnhilde?
91 KB
Brünnhilde arrives
104 KB
Brünnhilde leads
the way
92 KB
Brünnhilde's
golden locks
96 KB
Brünnhilde transports
the singers
86 KB
The ride of the
professionals
100 KB
Farewells
77 KB
Cheers to the bike
108 KB
Radio interview
93 KB
Keith,
Cycle Paramedic
144 KB
The complete cast
99 KB
The cast poses
108 KB
Resonance FM's Bike Show, produced by Jack Thurston, broadcast live coverage of the Bike Fest. The Ring Cycle clip begins with an interview with Tom Lynch of the Ambulance Service. This merges into coverage of the opera as their cycling paramedic, Keith Plummer, goes into action… Jack Thurston then gives a laconic description of the Ride of the Valkyries. Finally he interviews cyclist /performer, Chris Elliott, and both the singers.
Listen to the audio clip (6.0 MB, MP3 format)
The Bike Show is Jack Thurston's regular broadcast, Mondays 1.30 - 2pm on Resonance 104.4fm.
'Brilliant'
Bravo, Bravo!
Bike Opera, the funniest thing I've seen all week.
Encore! Encore! (John Hearns, Southwark Cyclists)
A husband said, "It was great fun, especially the Bull and ambulance!" His wife said "No-one could dare admit to driving a 4×4 to Trafalgar Square after that!" Their sons Isaac, aged nearly 8, and Sam, 10, both thought the horns on the Valkyries were really good. Isaac said, "I want to be an ambulance cyclist."
Really enjoyed the opera - I thought it was well choreographed and sung. Thanks all for the entertainment. (from a professional)
Just a very quick e-mail to say how much I enjoyed the Ring Cycle this afternoon. Great fun and really feelgood cos all people had to do was marvel (and applaud!).
Tom - you might consider getting blond extensions, they were rather fetching! (Rebecca Lack, co-editor of 'London Cyclist' magazine)
Many thanks for a splendidly spirited collaboration yesterday. John and Rachel were good sports and overall it was a very worthwhile day. You can revive it as a publicity venture any time!! (Donald Maxwell, Director, National Opera Studio)
Wandsworth Cyclists' fresh interpretation of Richard Wagner's Ring Cycle gives new meaning to the composer's best known work "The Ride of the Valkyries" - Brünnhilde and her Nordic friends were undoubtedly searching for some decent cycle parking. (Tom Bogandowicz, Campaigns Manager, London Cycling Campaign)
From the filming position, the best audience responses were to the Mozart love story and the Toreador episode. I hope it comes out on the video - two women next to me kept saying "We know this one!" and hummed along all the time. It certainly drew the crowds and crowd shots should show how well the whole thing went down. Lots of laughs and cheers and boos all appropriate! (Mary Ann Tarver, WCC)
