Breaking: Eva Wagner to quit Bayreuth

Breaking: Eva Wagner to quit Bayreuth

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norman lebrecht

February 21, 2014

The Nordbayerischer Kurier, which has inside track on the Wagner Hill, reports today that Eva Wagner-Pasquier will depart as co-director in September 2015 at the end of her contract. That will leave her half-sister Katharina is virtual sole charge – assuming the rubber-stamp board renew her contract which is presently under renegotiation.  (The former Deutsche Oper Berlin chief, Heinz-Dieter Sense, is the third director, in charge of business affairs.)

Eva, 68, is well-connected and respected across the opera world. She has worked in tandem with Katharina for six years and would like to be retained in an advisory capacity (these Wagners never let go). Katharina, on the other hand, may feel she now has enough experience to run the show on her own – as her authoritarian father, Wolfgang, always intended.

katharina wagner

Eva (r.) with Katharina (l.) and key supporter 

Comments

  • Eva has said she will only renew her contract if a Business Director is appointed to work along side her. I assume this would be Heinz-Dieter Sense, former Business Director at the Deutsche Oper in Berlin, who was recently added to the staff. It looks like a carefully planned continuity.

  • Musiker says:

    Hmm. Think you’ve misread that one.

    The newspaper said KATHARINA is only prepared to renew her contract if a business director works along side her.

    “Katharina Wagner hatte erklärt, nur unter der Bedingung zu einer Verlängerung bereit zu sein, wenn ihr ein Kaufmann zur Seite gestellt werde.”

  • Such a typical “good news-bad news” article…

  • Simon says:

    For a moment I thought “great news”, then I realised this is about Eva, not about Kathi.

  • David Boxwell says:

    Whatever happens, this will all end in tears . . .

  • Simon says:

    A bit more information here: http://www.faz.net/-gs3-7mmua (in German). According to this, Eva was informed a week ago that her contract, to expire in 2015, would not be renewed.

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