(Courtesy of Bayreuth Festival) The Bayreuth Festival has announced that its entire 2026 season is completely sold out. The company announced “all remaining tickets for the Anniversary Season 2026 were completely sold out in less than one and a half hours. We are thrilled by the overwhelming demand, which clearly demonstrates the strong interest our audience has in our program.” {…}
The Bayreuth Festival has announced a new cast change for its August 19 performance of “Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg.” The company said that “Axel Kober will conduct instead of Daniele Gatti, while Michael Volle will sing the role of Hans Sachs instead of Georg Zeppenfeld and Ya-Chung Huang will take over the role of David for Matthias Stier.” Kober made his Bayreuth debut in 2013 and has since conducted {…}
(Credit: © Gerhard Ringhofer) The Bayreuth Festival has announced a new cast for its production of “Parsifal” on August 17. The company said, “Unfortunately, Georg Zeppenfeld is unable to sing in tomorrow’s performance of ‘Parsifal’ due to illness. Thankfully, Günther Groissböck will be stepping in to take over the role of Gurnemanz.” Groissböck, who made his Bayreuth debut in 2011, {…}
The Bayreuth Festival has announced a cast change for its August 14 performance of “Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg.” The company said that “Georg Zeppenfeld is unable to take on the role of Hans Sachs due to illness. He will perform the role scenically; Nicholas Brownlee will sing the part.” Meanwhile, “Matthias Stier is also unable to perform for health reasons. The role {…}
(© Enrico Nawrath) A well-loved conductor at the Bayreuth Festival, Christian Thielemann, who made his début on the Green Hill in 2000 overseeing a dynamic performance of “Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg,” served Bayreuth as its music director from 2015 to 2020. Therefore, it is good to see him back this year conducting “Lohengrin” which he originally took charge of in {…}
(© Enrico Nawrath) First seen on the Green Hill in 2023, the director of “Parsifal,” 55-year-old Jay Scheib, professor of music and theatre arts at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an American of international standing in the hi-tech world, is a technological wizard like no other! A couple of his credits include Thomas Adès’ “Powder Her Face” (New York {…}
The Bayreuth Festival has announced its 2026 season. Nathalie Stutzmann conducts “Rienzi” with Andreas Schager, Gabriela Scherer, Jennifer Holloway, Michael Nagy, and Matthias Stier. Magdolna Parditka and Alexandra Szemeredy direct the rarely performed work. Performance Dates: July 26-August 26, 2026 Christian Thielemann will conduct The Ring Cycle, which Marcus Lobbes will curate. Michael Volle, Alexander Grassauer, Klaus Florian Vogt, Anna Kissjudit, Evelin Novak, Christa {…}
On July 25, the Bayereuth Festival is set to open with a new production of “Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg.” The production will be streamed on Deutsche Grammophon’s STAGE+ platform and will also have a delayed screening of the inaugural performance across Germany as part of the “Wagner im Kino” initiative. The July 25 premiere will also be televised on a {…}
Following cuts to its 2026 season, the Bayreuth Festival’s leadership is disappointed by the decision. In a statement, Katharina Wagner said she is disappointed about cutting four operas from the anniversary season. She said, “But what should you do? You can’t close your eyes to reality. All of this is also about the medium-term financial planning of the festival… A {…}
The Bayreuth Festival has announced “Bayreuth in Shanghai.” The opera project will be held from 2025 to 2027 and will feature a three-year collaborative scheme between the Bayreuth Festival, Shanghai Grand Theatre, and Shanghai Opera House. The project will see Bayreuth’s productions of “Tristan und Isolde (2025),” “Die Walküre (2026),” and T”annhäuser (2027)” performed in China. The project was announced {…}
The Bayreuth Festival has announced that due to budget cuts, its 2026 season will only present seven operas as opposed to the originally announced 11 works. In a letter obtained by Slippedisc the company said, “The current cost developments pose major challenges for the Bayreuth Festival. …Due to the very high proportion of personnel costs in the overall budget, the {…}