The festival announced that in “view of the effects of the Corona crisis on the operations of the Bayreuth Festival GmbH, the management and the shareholders of the Bayreuth Festival GmbH – the Federal Republic of Germany, the Free State of Bavaria, the City of Bayreuth and the Society of Friends of Bayreuth e.V. – regret that the Bayreuth Festival 2020 will have to be suspended next summer.”

The cancellation will mean that the upcoming seasons will be rescheduled. The 2021 festival will include a new production of “Der fliegende Holländer,” “Tannhäuser und der Sängerkrieg auf Wartburg,” “Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg,” “Lohengrin’ and three concert performances of “Die Walküre.”

The new production of “Der Ring des Nibelungen” will not premiere until 2022 due to rehearsal planning.

Tickets already purchased for 2020 remain valid for the 2021 Festival.

Bavaria’s Minister of Art Bernd Sibler stated in a press release, “As an enthusiastic supporter of the Bayreuth Festival and the expressive music of Richard Wagner, I very much regret that we will not be able to enjoy the performances on the Green Hill this year. For cultural life, the cancellation is a bitter loss. The long festival tradition has a high value in the Bavarian cultural state.”