Longwood Opera prepares condensed ‘Ring Cycle’

The performances are 7 p.m. tomorrow and 2 p.m. Sunday at Christ Episcopal Church in Needham, and 2 p.m. June 13 at Park Avenue Congregational Church in Arlington.

“People generally run away from Wagner. I think it’s that he’s so overwhelming and we have these stereotypes of the big lady with hubcaps and long horns,’’ said Brumit. “We’re trying to break that image and show that Wagner’s music is not just important, it’s approachable. We’re thinking this is a way to introduce our audience to that.’’

Longwood’s production is the US premiere of “Tales from Der Ring des Nibelungen,’’ one of the shortest versions of the four-opera “Ring Cycle’’ to date. This summer, California’s Berkeley Opera will reprise a three-hour version, “The Legend of the Ring.’’

In the early 1980s, theater director Peter Sellars staged a roughly four-hour version at Harvard using puppets, actors, mimes, the Solti recording, and a whole lot of Mylar. But otherwise, most have edited a little less bravely.

“Most often what you see is a reduction in the size of the orchestra,’’ said Brumit. “The original orchestration was quadruple winds, eight horns, four trumpets, four trombones, contrabass trombone, contrabass tuba, seven harps, anvils of various size, and massive strings. So you’re talking a 100-plus instruments. So there have been many reductions just to get the orchestra under control. There have also been numerous attempts at shortening, but this is one of the shortest we know of.’’

Developed by Wagner scholar Peter Pachl and German pianist and conductor Rainer Armbrust, “Tales from Der Ring des Niebelung’’ distills the work to its most essential moments and replaces the mammoth orchestra with a single piano.

“With the piano, you really can hear the essence of what Wagner is doing with his leitmotifs,’’ said Brumit. “We can hear just the pure sound of the music going along with the singers. That provides a very interesting view of the work.’’

Longwood Opera music director Jeffrey Brody has also been tweaking the piece since November.

“Pachl’s version covers, amazingly, so much of the ‘Ring,’ ’’ said Brody. “One is never aware of what’s missing. Everything that is essential is indeed there. I’ve only made some slight refinements in terms of smoothing transitions, tightening up a few cuts here, and opening up a few cuts there.’’

Longwood’s production uses modern English lyrics, no costumes, no staging, and nine singers. But they expect some rather emotive performances.

“Given this music, it’s so hard not to get dramatically involved. It’s just such powerful music,’’ said Brody.

The cast features Stephanie Mann, soprano; Janice Edwards, Joanna Porackova, Angeliki Theoharis, and Rachel Selan, mezzo-sopranos; Christopher Aaron Smith, tenor; Thomas Weber, baritone; Alan Schneider, tenor; and Ben Clark, baritone.

The program will fill in the plot from edited scenes, while the music swiftly weaves the tale it took Wagner nearly 25 years to write. It’s all there, from Alberich’s forging of the ring that grants its owner the power to dominate the world to the struggle to possess it, and onto the tragic end — and you don’t want to miss the production’s end.

“The man knew how to write an ending,’’ said Brody. “The last 20 minutes of the final opera, ‘The Götterdämmerung,’ Brünnhilde’s immolation scene, that truly is the summit itself,’’ said Brody. “One cannot find a truly more apocalyptic ending anywhere until you get to something like the film ‘2012’ with the whole world blowing up.’’

With a five- to 10-year wait for tickets to see the full Ring Cycle in Bayreuth, Germany (and the stamina of a marathoner required to get through it), Brumit is eager to offer an alternative. “This production is a buffet table of Wagner,’’ he said. “We’re having tastes, and to be able to do this all in one sitting is not only an accomplishment, it’s like sitting down to a fine meal.’’

“Tales from Der Ring des Nibelungen,’’ 7 p.m. tomorrow and 2 p.m. Sunday, Christ Episcopal Church, 1132 Highland Ave., Needham; 2 p.m. June 13 at Park Avenue Congregational Church, 50 Paul Revere Road, Arlington. Tickets: $23; $18 seniors; $15 students; $13 ages 10 and under. 781-455-0960, www.LongwoodOpera.org.

CARVING A NEW PATH: The cutting edge of the Greater Boston arts scene just moved west, and we mean cutting edge literally. After six long years of planning, Contemporary Arts International Inc. is finally ready for its grand opening in Acton, where three days of events this weekend celebrate the arrival of this new sculptors’ center.

The Quarry Road center will provide an opportunity for sculptors of every stripe — from stone cutters and welders to Massachusetts College of Art students — an inspiring location to create new work, organizers said. “We envision that 80 per cent of our time will be spent working quietly, and about 20 percent of our time we will host public events,’’ said stone sculptor Yin Peet, who founded the center with Hungarian artist Viktor Lois, who is known for sculpting musical machines.

This weekend the public gets their first peek at the 13-acre wooded site via one free and two ticketed events. Tomorrow from 5 to 7 p.m., a free opening party features circle dancing led by the Skyloom Sacred Dancers, early music with the Jouissance Trio, and guided tours of the gallery exhibition and outdoor sculptures.

On Saturday, 2 to 6 p.m., Bread and Puppet Theater invades the grounds with a live band, giant puppets, and a site-built brick oven to bake bread for the masses. They’ll present “The Dirt Cheap Money Circus,’’ which takes on the debtor’s economy.

Puppet-making workshops will be held for young visitors.

On Sunday, 2-6 p.m., brace yourselves for a concert by Container Man, a former bright red shipping container that is now a 40-foot-long musical sculpture. Creating both traditional musical and industrial sounds, Lois and friends will play the Man to “project the pulse/rhythm of modern humanity.’’

Contemporary Arts International Inc. opening events tomorrow, 5-7 p.m., free; 2-6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, $10, $5 students; 617-699-6401, www.contemporaryartsinternational.org, www.breadandpuppet.org.

We want to hear about your upcoming events. Please contact westarts@globe.com.