Last weekend was really bad for Bayreuth: an opening Tristan, that only the VIPs have appreciated (but, you know, they’re there for free, can show their toilettes and smokings, talk to the TVs, but in the end are perfect ignorants). Witnesses tell us that the Tristan performed in Stuttgart three days before was by far of a higher level.
Sunday’s Meistersinger wasn’t so bad from the musical standpoint. Pity that the Regisseurin was a Kathi Wagner (incidentally, co-Festspielleiterin from this edition). Apparently, her Regietheater (aka Eurotrash) staging, albeit revised from the 2007 original, has just brought the audience to exasperation and millions of people in the world could hear by radio the much deserved boohs and insults for that crazy havoc of one of Richard’s masterpieces.
2009 – a transitional year for the Festival, with no new stagings – will be remembered for a pretty new performance: the Verdi (no, not Giuseppe’s fans) revolt against low wages and long working hours. Up to the last moment a strike that could block the festival’s opening is not to be discarded.
Add to this the problems that Kathi is having in Spain, and the announcement of the farewell between Thielemann and the Münchner Philharmoniker (that will not put the Kapellmeister in the best mood…) and you have the picture of a rather shaky start of the new KW-EWP management.
He didn’t foresee
this (kind of) Service!
Errare humanum est, perseverare autem
diabolicum.
The Katharina-Christian duo scored big in
Abu Dhabi with the Festspiele tournée. Perhaps a stream of black gold will start flowing from the Gulf to the Green Hill (who cares about pollution?)
In exchange, will a
Ring in arab language be performed in the Festspielhaus? It would certainly do less harm to Wagner’s dramas than the great-granddaugther’s stagings!
Katharina will surely be too busy to be able to act as Festspielleiterin and Regisseurin at the same time.
Bayreuth will then be spared her idiot interpretations of her great-grandfather's dramas, like the Rienzi being displayed in Bremen.
This was (formally) the last WW-led Festspiele: the venerable RW’s grandson has retired on August 31st.
Since the RW-Festspiele is a public entity, anyone could apply for WW’s succession. But nobody lost his time: the Wagner name has still such a strong power, that even the RW’s third generation could claim its de-facto (not the legal) right to stay in the driver’s seat. Kathi, Eva and Nike were the names among which the Stiftungsrat had to select the new Festspielleiter(in). They were invited last november to apply with their Konzepte: after an initial setting of two teams (Kathi+Thielemann+Ruzicka vs Eva+Nike) the sudden departure of Gudrun (who was since years the behind-the-scenes Festspielleiterin on behalf of WW) has accelerated the path of the succession and also changed the teams, and actually KW+EW run against NW+Mortier. With most of the press, Thielemann and even the Kanzlerin at their side, Kathi (and her once hated halfsister) could easily make it. At least up to 2015 (including therefore the fateful 2013) they will be in charge of the most exclusive and controversial Festival in the world.
What can we expect from the new management (that restores after 60 years a weibliche Macht in Wahnfried)? Eva will likely deal with the artistic side of the job: selecting and recruiting artists (hopefully to raise the level of todays’ poor quality of the Festspiele), while Kathi will speed-up her innovation frenzy (and its lucrative business side) in different areas: media support, Kindergarten-Wagner and possible extension of the Wagner’s works to be staged in Bayreuth (Rienzi, quite likely).
On friday july 25th, 2008, a special
Karfreitags Zauber was displayed on the Festspielhaus’ stage: Parsifal, after inspiring and giving place to the Germany of the 19th century’s end, to the Germany of the first world war, to the Germany of the third Reich and to the Germany of the second world war... came to the rescue of humanity in destroying, with the newly recovered sacred spear, Hitler’s regime!
Indeed, we can now understand History!
Thank you, Stefan!
In exactly one week from now last chords of Parsifal, conducted by my compatriot Daniele Gatti, will close the 2008 Bayreuth’s opening.
.
The brand new Festspiele’s
site - only in german, for the t.ime being - brings some previews of the Herheim’s Inszenierung, while the
Kurier publishes an interview with the norwegian director.
.
Very interesting documents, indeed. A new Eurotrash piece of vandalism stands out on the horizon.
Don't wait for the bicentennial!
Want to get an insight of yourself?
of the human mind?
of the Universe?
Start studying Wagner today!
Helle Flammen scheinen in dem Saal der Götter aufzuschlagen. Als die Götter von den Flammen gänzlich verhüllt sind, fällt der Vorhang.
(Götterdämmerung – Last image of the Ring)
*****
fram sé ec lengra um ragna röc
(Poetic Edda – Völuspá's Profecy)
*****
orð mér af orði orðs leitaði
(Poetic Edda – Hávamál – Píslir og rúnir, Odin's Runic Speech)
