Penguin Classics has announced the release of a new translation of “The Ring of the Nibelung.”

The new translation, which is scheduled to be released on August 11, was done by John Deathridge. Deathridge’s edition will include the libretto of Wagner’s instructions from the rehearsals of the first performance of the cycle in Bayreuth in 1876.

The new edition will serve as an immersive experience for the reader, and will include an introduction for those who want to fully engage with the musical and poetic experience of Wagner’s masterpiece. 

Deathridge is one of the world’s most respected experts on the life and work of Richard Wagner. He is Emeritus King Edward Professor of Music at King’s College London and has taught music both in the United States and the United Kingdom. He has also been an active conductor, organist, and piano accompanist. He is a specialist in nineteenth- and twentieth-century German music and the work of Theodor Adorno.