Allegations of sexual harassment have surfaced at the Bayreuth Festival days before the opening of the season. The Bavarian daily Nordbayerischer Kurier reported the news revealing physical assaults on women, insults, and sexist remarks. Among the women who spoke out was festival director, Katharina Wagner who confirmed that she had been touched on the breast. Other female employees told the paper {…}
The Bayreuth Festival has announced its 2023 season. The season will open with Pablo Heras-Casado conducting a new production of “Parsifal” with Joseph Calleja making his role debut in the title role, Ekaterina Semenchuk as Kundry, and Georg Zeppenfeld as Gurnemanz. The company also noted that “Tannhäuser” will be conducted by Nathalie Stutzmann. Meanwhile, the company announced that it will {…}
The Bayreuth Festival has announced a conductor change for its new Ring Cycle. The company said, “to his greatest regret, Pietari Inkinen has to resign from conducting the new production of ‘Der Ring des Nibelungen’ for health reasons. A serious corona illness makes his participation in the important stage rehearsals with orchestra impossible. The festival management deeply regrets this and {…}
Opera Magazine is reporting that COVID cases are on the rise at the Bayreuth Festival. The publication is reporting that “among the high number of COVID cases hitting artists and staff at Bayreuth’s Festival include Ring Cycle conductor Pietari Inkinen, who is isolating.” As a result, Cornelius Meister, who is already conducting the new “Tristan und Isolde,” is currently rehearsing {…}
The Bayreuth Festival has announced a cast change for its production of “Der fliegende Holländer.” The company noted, that “due to the severity of personal problems, John Lundgren, unfortunately, finds himself unable to perform the title role. As a result, he “asked the Festival management to release him from the role.” The Bayreuth Festival has complied with his request. The {…}
German tenor Peter Maus died at the age of 74. The tenor died of a brief illness in his adoptive city of Berlin. Maus was born in Bayreuth and became a member of the Deutsche Oper Berlin from 1974 to 2013 where he performed such roles as Isèpo in “La Gioconda.” Belmonte and Pedrillo in “Die Entführung aus dem Serail,” {…}
The Bayreuth Festival has announced a cast change for the Ring Cycle. The company said, “with great regret, John Lundgren has to cancel his participation as Wotan and the Wanderer in the new production of ‘Der Ring des Nibelungen’ at the Bayreuth Festival 2022. For personal reasons, it is unfortunately not possible for him to be available from now until {…}
The Bayreuth Festival has announced its 2022 season. The festival will open with a production of “Tristan und Isolde” conducted by Cornelius Meister. The production by Roland Schwab will star Stephen Gould and Catherine Foster in the title roles as well as Georg Zeppenfeld, Markus Eiche, and Ekaterina Gubanova. Performance Dates: July 25 & August 12, 2022 The festival will present {…}
With anticipation building for the new Ring Cycle at the Bayreuth Festival this summer, director Valentin Schwarz has dropped details about the upcoming production. In an interview with the German Press Agency, the director said that he is planning the next Bayreuth Ring as a Netflix series. He added, “The fact that the ‘Ring’ in Bayreuth will be performed in {…}
As the Bayreuth Baroque Opera Festival 2021 came to a close on Sept. 12, 2021, the Festival announced its 2022 Festival showcase opera, Leonardo Vinci’s “Alessandro nell’Indie.” The Bayreuth Baroque staging of the work about Alexander the Great’s Indian campaign represents the first time in 300 years the opera will be performed in its entirety. A decade ago, Bayreuth Baroque staged {…}
(Credit: Uwe Arens) The Bayreuth Festival has announced a cast change for its August 19 performance of “Die Walküre.” The company announced that for health reasons, Iréne Theorin has had to cancel her participation in the performance. As a result, Catherine Foster will take over the role on a short notice. Foster has performed six consecutive years as Bayreuth’s Brünnhilde {…}