The arrival of the new year marks the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Lake Erie and the debut of “Pride and Prejudice,” but of special interest to opera fans is that it’s the bicentennial year of composer Richard Wagner. Seattle Opera has a series of events planned to mark the occasion, culminating in August performances of Wagner’s Teutonic epic, “Der Ring des Nieblungen,” known to fans worldwide as simply the “Ring.” The local celebration starts Sunday with a performance by soprano Adina Aaron (shown here), a Seattle Opera Young Artist Program alumna, who will join Seattle Youth Symphony in Wagner’s “Liebestod” from “Tristan und Isolde” and the Wesendonck Lieder. The SYS will also perform Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5 and Chabrier’s “España.” 3 p.m. Sunday, Benaroya Hall, 200 University St., Seattle; $15-$40 (www.syso.org). For tickets and information about the “Ring” at Seattle Opera: 206-389-7676 or www.seattleopera.org.