2023-07-02 12:43:18
Spontaneously drive to Bayreuth via the A9, book a ticket in the online shop beforehand and then enjoy music? Actually unimaginable at the Bayreuth Festival. It used to be the case here: Whoever wanted to get into the world-famous house had to wait for years on a waiting list or pay large sums on the black market.
And this year? Are there still tickets available online for all performances just under three and a half weeks before the start: “After checking all contingents and returning unused service cards, tickets are available again at short notice for all performances,” says the Green Hill.
The festival has to woo the audience
The uniqueness of Bayreuth has so far been based on three pillars: only works by Richard Wagner are performed. At the top is a representative of the Wagner family. And: Tickets are always in great demand. At least the latter should no longer apply.
The Bayreuth Festival must now woo the audience instead of managing waiting lists. An indication: In May, a campaign was presented where people under the age of 25 can buy discounted tickets. Even the four-part “Ring des Nibelungen” can be viewed individually. Previously you could only buy tickets for the complete “Ring”.
The former director of the Vienna State Opera, Ioan Holender, criticized the quality of the festival, he wrote in a guest article for the Austrian newspaper “Die Presse”: The “paying audience” left Bayreuth “more and more often disappointed, even annoyed”. This is due to scenic reasons, but also to “questionable conductors and singers”.
Holender gave the speech on the occasion of the 100th birthday of the former festival director Wolfgang Wagner in 2019, so he knows the festival well. Now he formulated in the article: “The Bayreuth Festival, which is not sold out, is and should be a warning for all those opera theaters worldwide that neglect, change, despise and , you don’t believe it, you often don’t know it either.”
Stephen Gould has to cancel
And then there are the challenges for those responsible for the festival directly on the stage: On Saturday it became known that the festival had to cast three important roles: Stephen Gould will not appear at the world-famous festival on medical advice. Gould completed a mammoth program in Bayreuth in 2022, and this year he was again scheduled for the title roles in “Tannhäuser” and “Tristan und Isolde” and as Siegfried in “Götterdämmerung”.
After all – a replacement has already been found. Festival director Katharina Wagner thanked the three artists who are now taking over, it was said on Saturday: Andreas Schager steps in as Siegfried, Klaus-Florian Vogt sings Tannhäuser and Clay Hilley takes over the “Tristan” role.
Short-term changes in appointments are common in Bayreuth
The Bayreuth Festival begins on July 25 with a new production of Richard Wagner’s Parsifal. A cast change shortly before the start of three productions in such important roles should be delicate and a challenge for the director.
Gould made his debut in Bayreuth in 2004 as “Tannhäuser”. Last year he not only had celebrated appearances in the three productions in the Festspielhaus, but also as a singer at the festival open air.
There have been a number of line-up changes this season. In May, for example, John Lundgren canceled the title role in “The Flying Dutchman”. Michael Volle steps in. After the absence of bass Dmitry Belosselskiy due to illness, Günther Groissböck takes over his role as Landgrave Hermann in “Tannhäuser”. Mika Kares steps in for Belosselskiy’s part of Hagen in “Götterdämmerung”.
However, this is not unusual – organizing short-term changes is known in Bayreuth: Last year, for example, “Ring” conductor Pietari Inkinen had to cancel due to a corona infection. Cornelius Meister, who was already rehearsing on the Green Hill, took over. And Gould also had to pass for one of the “Götterdämmerung” performances in 2022 – so Clay Hilley spontaneously interrupted his beach vacation to step in. (dpa)
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