The 2006 festival opens on July 25 with a gala performance of Der fliegende H‹llander.

The new Ring production will be the first opera 80-year-old German director and playwright Tankred Dorst has directed. He replaces Danish film auteur Lars von Trier, who was originally scheduled to stage the 16-hour behemoth.

Other singers in the 2006 lineup include German bass-baritone Falk Struckmann singing Wotan, German tenor Endrik Wottrich as Siegmund, and Canadian soprano Adrianne Pieczonka making her Bayreuth debut as Sieglinde. Christian Thielemann will conduct the Ring performances.

The 2006 festival features a total of 15 singers making their Festpielhaus debuts; including British baritone Andrew Shore as Alberich, German tenor Gerhard Siegel as Mime, Bayreuth-born bass-baritone Ralf Lukas as Donner, and Finnish soprano Satu Vihavainen as Freia.

Repeat productions include Claus Guth's Der fliegende H‹llander, with Marc Albrecht conducting and Bayreuth veteran John Tomlinson singing the title role. Christoph Marthaler's Tristan und Isolde, which was booed at last year's festival, will be given another chance this summer. Christoph Schlingensief's Parsifal production will also be revived; Adam Fischer conducts.