According to Andante, the prominent and controversial directors Peter Konwitschny and Martin Kusej are said to have turned down the chance to stage Vienna's Ring. The lesser-known Bechtolf is a former actor who has directed only five operas.

One of the world's leading singers of Wagner and Strauss, Voigt made her debut as Isolde in Wagner's Tristan und Isolde in Vienna last year to great acclaim. She was scheduled to sing her first Marschallin in Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier at the Vancouver Opera this month, but withdrew; she is still scheduled to sing the role in Berlin in January 2005 and in Vienna in May.

Voigt will sing Br‹nnhilde in Siegfried and G‹tterd‹mmerung; Eva Johansson will sing the role in Die Walk‹re.

The Vienna Ring will also include Juha Uusitalo as Wotan, Stephen Gould as Siefried, Johan Botha as Siegmund, and Nina Stemme as Sieglinde. The new production will replace a staging by Adolf Dresen dating from the 1992-93 season.