By any reckoning The Ring is among the mightiest single monuments of art created by one person.
The Ring Cycle, a pinnacle of the genre, consists of four operas: Das Rheingold, Die Walküre, Siegfried and Götterdammerung – which last about 15 hours in total and took Wagner 28 years to write. The story of gold, gods, giants, dragons, once you sort it all out, is really an epic exploration of man's desire, greed and folly. By any reckoning The Ring is among the mightiest single monuments of art created by one person.