Bayreuth (Germany), possibly with Wacken “most german” What European summer has to offer in terms of the festival. Every year for almost a century and a half, Wagnerian elites arrive in Bayreuth, Bavaria, from July 25 to the end of August. Wacken, an idyllic little town in the north, is best traveled in the first week of August for pure heavy metal. These are two diametrically opposite ritual festivals – a certain etiquette in the opera; tattoos, leather vests and other heavy aesthetics are at Wacken-. But they can somehow be described as representatives of “pure Germanism”; this is the basis of what makes them attractive. annual pilgrimage site for Wagners or heavyweights from all over the world.
Both opera and metallic festival rocked in 2023 torrential storms. A quarter of the 85,000 believers in Wacken did not reach the place and turned into a swamp. Those who did this were covered in mud up to their eyebrows. Despite the difficulties, 2024 tickets sold out within two hours of going on sale.
empty seats
Everyone in Bayreuth took their seats, but some were surprised that the seat next to them was empty. Online tickets for sessions “Ring of the Nibelung” He filled interpretations of the hourly one-hour breaks, another tradition of the house. The fact that this situation continued until the end of the season, that is, until August 28, had already caused something beyond weirdness. Up until ten years ago, Bayreuth boasted some of its features. Waiting lists for up to 15 years Each of the approximately 2,000 seats of the old theatre, built in 1872. Its season is short and it’s definitely very popular. With the transition to online sales, the waiting ordeal eased a little. But all the troops continued to be depleted.
The festival announced that the administration has increased ticket prices by approximately 6%; this rate was the average inflation level of 2022. However, it remains more affordable than its other counterparts such as Salzburg, and its locations are as follows: From 350 to 210 EurosBy categories and parts.
Wagner ‘in Netflix format’
Katharina Wagner, the composer’s great-grandson He has been the festival’s director since 2008 and conceived the season, which first ended with his half-sister Eva Wagner-Pasquier in college and only since 2015, with a sign of renewal. It was opened by “Parsifal”, directed by Pablo Heras-Casado, the first Spaniard to manage the legendary Bayreuth moat that Plácido Domingo made for “Valquiria” in 2018.
Domingo heard some boos as Heras-Casado triumphed Despite the fact that the concept of the “Parsifal” landscape is the opposite of being successful. Placing part of the public by its creator Jay Scheid augmented reality glasses –AR– neither those who wore it liked it –one-fifth– nor those who were left without it. First, because virtual reality has become a nuisance; second, he suspects something is missing. In the end it was not clear privilege It consisted of having AR glasses or vice versa.
Renovators and Orthodox
Heras-Married He was one of five conductors at the head of the Bayreuth orchestra this season, all representing a generation of musicians. Wagnerian regenerators. For the first time in a quarter century, Christian Thielemann was not running the house. Frenchman Nathalie Stutzmann made her Spanish debut in Bayreuth and was applauded by history makers at the beginning of “Tannhäuser”; Fin Pietari Inkinen shone with the “Ring”; Ukrainian Oksana Lyniv did it with “Flying Dutchman” and German Markus Porschner with “Tristan and Isolde”.
Flour selection five teachers, two of whom are women, it was a success. Katharina overcame the challenges of renovation without compromising the festival’s distinctiveness. Special worship to Wagner. Since the composer built a theater for his operas in this provincial city of Bavaria, this theater has been dedicated to the Mad King II of Bavaria. It is funded by Ludwig.
Then why these empty seats? First of all, the gaps were experienced in the “Ring”, in production. ‘Netflix format’ It’s a song written by Valentin Schwarz that got big boos at its premiere in 2022. This year, there has been a negative reaction. less lethal. Individual tickets were even offered online for each of the tetralogy pieces, without the need to purchase the four-pack, which is blasphemous to Wagnerian orthodoxy.
Budget is insane
The question with Bayreuth is whether the formula exists. just insist on the usual repertoire. Katharina Wagner’s contract expires in 2025. A year later, the 150th anniversary of the festival will be commemorated. Everything points to continuity. However financial structures they changed. And also submissions. So far, the ‘Country’ of Bavaria, together with the Association of Friends of Bayreuth, which brings together the federal state and patrons, had a 29% stake in the festival, each contributing 3 million euros. The rest was the responsibility of the city of Bayreuth.
At the end of last year, bosses have announced that they will reduce their share. Bavaria responded by increasing this rate to 37%, in the same way as the federal state. While there is no doubt that the Bavarian government must continue to be led by “a Wagner”, it must now continue to be ruled by “a Wagner”, according to the green Claudia Roth, Minister of Culture. query this post. “You have to show courage and make changes to Bayreuth’s historic buildings,” he said recently.
pre-war drums
Other times it would be insulting for a federal government minister to try to dictate the rules of the traditional festival. But Roth is as Bavarian as Bayreuth. The origins of the musical environment minister they are much closer to the heavy than opera—ton was the manager and girlfriend of an iconoclastic rock band named Steine Scherben. but this Regular in Bayreuth Long before Olaf Scholz entered the tripartite party between social democrats, greens and liberals. It can be allowed to influence the discussion. He’s not the most famous Wagnerian in the German political arena. This category is exclusive to Angela Merkel, who, during her 16-year term as chancellor and after leaving power, joined the festival as leader of the conservative opposition. However, Roth is considered part of the family.
His statement was interpreted as follows: pre-announcement of another succession war. Bayreuth has always been ruled by Wagner’s descendant or Wagner’s wife, Winifred Wagner. Siegfried Wagner, British and worshiper of Adolf Hitler–. Katharina took part in a difficult struggle with successive relatives for the succession of her father Wolfgang Wagner to the throne. Now he has a struggle to renew his contract or not.