Nibelungen Festival opens with 'The Hun King's Queen'

The ancient Nibelungen saga has returned to Worms, Germany, with the premiere of the German-English co-production "Die Hunnenkönigin" (The Hun King's Queen). The Nibelungen Festival, held on the grounds before the Worms Cathedral, presented a contemporary variation of the epic tale of betrayal and destruction.

The play features Maria Dragus as a vengeful Kriemhild and Aram Tafreshian as Etzel, the Hun king. London-based theater company Les Enfants Terribles brings the story of the dragon-slayer Siegfried and his murderer Hagen to life as a genre-spanning spectacle of theater, dance, and music by singer Alice Merton.

Following a nearly three-hour performance, over 1,400 attendees applauded the ensemble. Among the premiere guests were German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and the Minister-President of Rhineland-Palatinate, Gordon Schnieder. Pistorius remarked to the German Press Agency that the play reflects current global struggles for peace. "We must be vigilant and know that peace can become fragile if we are not prepared to protect it," he stated.

The Nibelungen Festival has taken place since 2002 and runs until August 2. The Nibelungenlied is considered one of Germany's most significant national narratives, and the festival's location is historically significant, with a key scene, the dispute of the queens, taking place on the north side of the cathedral where the stage is set.