Fans of J. R. R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" have nothing on the devotees of Wagner's four-opera "Ring der Nibelungen." Wagner Ringophiles may be an even more fanatical crew than the lovers of those hairy-footed Hobbits. Take Dr. Sherwin Sloan, a retired ophthalmologist, founder of the approximately 300-member Wagner Society of Southern California and founding editor of The Opera Quarterly. He has seen the "Ring" cycle performed more than 70 times. [More]