Inspired by the work of German composer Richard Wagner, and meant to celebrate his birth just over 200 years ago, The Melbourne Ring Festival will see Opera Australia present a collection of Wagner’s work over a month-long period, including the Arrival of the Valkyries, a free street parade featuring Valkyries on horseback and a massive brass band playing Wagner’s famous composition, Mazda Opera in the Bowl, a free opera concert featuring Opera Australia soloists and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, and Marschner’s Der Vampyr, a concert version of the opera Wagner heard as an adolescent at Melbourne Recital Centre.