Wagner's epic Ring Cycle to open at Ulumbarra Theatre on March 24

The long wait is over and Wagner's epic 18-hour Ring Cycle masterpiece will debut tonight at Bendigo's Ulumbarra Theatre.

In the words of Melbourne Opera producer Greg Hocking, there was no bigger enterprise than Richard Wagner's massive production, Der Ring des Nibelungen, written about 160 years ago.

READ MORE: Wagner's Ring Cycle lands in Bendigo with unveiling of Rosalind Park installation

The production is split into four operas staged on four separate nights. Three sets of the cycle have been scheduled across six weekends.

The company ran a dress rehearsal of Die Walkure at the theatre on March 22 as part of final preparations for the opening night on Friday, March 24.

Mr Hocking said Melbourne Opera had worked on the show for three years and it would not have been possible without the "fabulous" Ulumbarra Theatre.

"I presume Bendigo knows what it's got here, but there's only four theaters in Australia that can cope with this - because of the size of the pit and the excellence of the stage facilities."

The plot, Mr Hocking said, was convoluted, but it paved the way for fantasy classics The Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones.

The story featured magical children, magical swords, dragons, giants, the Norse mythological rainbow bridge, and the well-known Ride of the Valkyrie featured in the movie Apocalypse Now.

"The beauty about the Ring Cycle is if you can spend a week of your life immersed in it, by the time you get to go to Gotterdammerung it has this weird effect, it gets into your psyche and you actually come out of it a slightly different person," Mr Hocking said.

"It's quite surprising the effect that it has on you and that it's had on people ... which is why it's still such an event when you can get it together."

Bendigo Venues and Events manager Julie Amos said the backstage crew and technicians, all from Bendigo, were reveling in the "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" to work on a Ring Cycle.

"There's so few people that in their career get to do a Ring Cycle, let alone an all-Australian Ring Cycle," she said.

"The technicians at Bendigo are working on the grandest opera that was ever written, so for them to be able to perform their duties on this production is an amazing opportunity to develop our skills as a theatre and technicians."

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Ms Amos said she couldn't wait to welcome people through the Ulumbarra Theatre doors.

"It's been a long journey for everyone and that first house curtain going out and building the stage and people seeing the production will be an amazing moment because that's why we do it," she said.

"All these long days are for people to come and watch the opera and enjoy something that was written 160 years ago that's still relevant musically and considered one of the greatest masterpieces to ever grace any stage in the world."

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