Chumlong Lemtongthai is believed to be the kingpin of an international rhino horn smuggling ring and is the most prominent smuggler to be convicted since South Africa intensified anti-poaching measures in recent years.

BBC: South Africa gives rhino poacher 40-year jail term

There are larger physical challenges as well, since Wagner tuba players double on the French horn during the "Ring" when needed.

WSJ: It Takes Brass to Play the Wagner Tuba | By Barbara Jepson | The Ring of the Nibelung

Other finds in the 5m-long (16ft) grave in Ardnamurchan included a knife, what could be the tip of a bronze drinking horn, a whetstone from Norway, a ring pin from Ireland and Viking pottery.

BBC: Museums could bid for Ardnamurchan Viking finds

" "There's more clarity than in a horn, " said Jeff Fair, principal horn for the Seattle Opera, whose Stephen Wadsworth "Ring" returns in August, "but more resonance and darker sounds than in the trumpet.

WSJ: It Takes Brass to Play the Wagner Tuba | By Barbara Jepson | The Ring of the Nibelung