Allegations of sexism at the Bayreuth Festival free press

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Actually, things went well for the Bayreuth Festival. But now sexism allegations are becoming known. The Green Hill – a place where women are insulted and touched, even the boss herself?

Bayreuth.

Despite all the Corona adversities, festivals of superlatives were imminent on the Green Hill in Bayreuth. But now accusations of sexism have become known that are shaking the festival. According to director Katharina Wagner, she herself has experienced “sexual innuendos and, in some cases, assaults in a certain way”. “But I knew how to defend myself,” she says.

The “Nordbayerischer Kurier” had previously reported physical assaults on women, insults and sexist sayings on the Green Hill. “For some of us, this is everyday life,” one woman is quoted as saying.

The world-famous Bayreuth Festspielhaus – a place where women are touched against their will, have to endure pick-up lines and get intrusive text messages? The festival begins on Monday (July 25) – and now has a #MeToo debate.

From 2017, women in particular had used this hashtag to describe their experiences of sexual assault millions of times in social networks. The German stage association therefore adopted a code of conduct in 2018 to prevent sexual assault and abuse of power. In addition, an independent agency against sexual harassment and violence was set up at that time.

The festival announced on Friday that it would investigate the allegations. So far, no one has contacted management.

Corona is also present

In any case, the unadulterated anticipation of the festival in Bayreuth is gone. It should be a season of superlatives. Five new productions are on the program, in addition to the four-part “Ring des Nibelungen”, the festival will open on Monday (July 25) with a new production of “Tristan und Isolde”: There are more new things to see this year than ever before the history of the opera spectacle. Five new operas in one go.

And even that could still go wrong. Because Corona has already caused a stir at the Richard Wagner Festival. There is talk of numerous infections in the team, one of them so severe that it confuses plans: Pietari Inkinen, musical director of the four-part “Ring”, is so seriously ill that he had to give up shortly before the premiere. And who knows which contributors the virus will still strike, despite all the safety precautions?

“Unfortunately, Corona is again much more present than we all expected for this summer,” says Wagner of the German Press Agency. “Unfortunately, Corona has also led to a decline in audiences, many houses are noticing this with a sharp drop in subscribers. We are very happy to be practically sold out.”

Tickets still available

Nevertheless, there were still tickets for almost every production in the online shop shortly before the start of the festival, even for the opening premiere of “Tristan” – which should also be a novelty in the history of the festival. It is said that these were returns. In the meantime, however, the festival is assuming that it will be sold out, as is the tradition on the Green Hill. However, there are around 200 fewer places than usual this year due to renovation work.

Cornelius Meister is one of the players that Corona played into the hands of this year. After Inkinen’s failure, he unexpectedly became the conductor of the new “Ring” – a spectacle that will attract worldwide attention. At the “Tristan” premiere on Monday, Markus Poschner should now be on the podium for him.

Festival boss Katharina Wagner commissioned the new “Tristan” almost at the last minute, only in December from director Roland Schwab – for fear of corona diseases in the choir, the great choral operas “Lohengrin”, “Holländer” and ” Tannhäuser” from the schedule at short notice.

“Binge Watching” at the Festival

However, all eyes rest on “Ring” director Valentin Schwarz, who compared the mammoth work to a kind of “Netflix” series. “It’s not about the aesthetics of a television series. What I wanted to describe with Netflix is ​​this intensive visual experience that you have in Bayreuth,” he told the “Münchner Merkur”. “Looking at everything in a row in one week, it actually reminds me of binge watching. The other parallel: we have a family epic here in which we can accompany all the characters over the years.” After the visually stunning “Ring” by Frank Castorf, which many criticized as not being thought through enough, it is eagerly awaited how the young director Schwarz will fare.

According to “Nordbayerisches Kurier”, the former music director of the festival, Christian Thielemann, has also been criticized. He is said to have yelled at and insulted musicians – an accusation that the star conductor vehemently rejects: “There is nothing to it,” he told the dpa and spoke of a “misunderstanding”.

After all, there is one thing you can rely on for the festival in these uncertain times: Angela Merkel will be there again this year. As Chancellor, she traditionally heralded her vacation with a visit to Bayreuth, often even staying a few days longer in order to be able to enjoy Wagner’s music dramas and the Franconian landscape away from the hustle and bustle of the opening. Now she is coming to Bayreuth as former chancellor together with her husband Joachim Sauer. Her successor Olaf Scholz is not coming.

Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth (Greens) is on the guest list – as well as Bayreuth regular Thomas Gottschalk and “Tatort” commissioner Udo Wachtveitl. Bavaria’s Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) invited the Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama as an international guest.

(dpa)

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