By Damian Thompson [Daily Telegraph, 30 July 2009]
I knew the Mariinsky’s Ring Cycle had shocking reviews when it was staged in Cardiff, but I had no idea it would be this bad. Or that anything could be this bad, really. I walked out after the first hour of Rheingold at Covent Garden last night – and there’s no interval. Fortunately I was at the end of a row in the gods, so it took about 30 seconds to reach the door and breathe a sigh of relief.