In The Ring

IN THE RING is an experimental AI opera role-playing game inspired by Der Ring des Nibelungen by Richard Wagner, which examines AI ethics and power structures. The project explores how audience participation can shape story, music, and space, while reflecting on the power structures embedded in technology. Using their smartphones, participants make real-time decisions that directly influence the narrative, soundscape, and visual world, as a live opera singer performs the continuously evolving tale. By transforming abstract debates about AI and Big Tech into tangible, lived consequences, In The Ring invites audiences to confront a pressing question: who truly holds power in a world driven by technology?

Robin Coops – Director

Eric Magnée – Digital storyteller, creative technologist

Thyrza Coenraad – Social designer, scenographer

Catherine Woodward and Katharine Dain – Soprano


Esther "Alyster" de Bruijn – Programmer


Pictures by: Olvia White at the Royal Opera House

Thanks to: The Royal Opera House, Batavierhuis