It has been announced that Katharina Wagner has renewed her contract as general manager of the Bayreuth Festival for five years. First coming to the position with her step-sister Eva Wagner-Pasquier in 2008, Wagner became the sole head in 2015 and is set to continue her service until 2025.

The great-granddaughter of Richard Wagner, Katharina Wagner made her directorial debut in 2007, with the Bayreuth production of “Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg.” Wagner was also named Honorary Professor of Directing at the Hanns Eisler Academy of Music in Berlin.

The 2020 Bayreuth Festival will present a new Ring Cycle directed by Valentin Schwartz. The new Cycle will star Stephen Gould, Christine Goerke, Andrea Schager, John Lundgren, Petra Lang, Klaus Florian Vogt, Lise Davidsen, Günther Groissböck, and Christa Mayer. The festival will also include productions of Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Lohengrin, and Tannhäuser.