Breaking: Angela Merkel gives Bayreuth a miss
mainThe Chancellor will not be attending the opening night of this year’s festival.
A red-carpet fixture in years past, her office has given ‘scheduling clashes’ as the reason for her absence and promised, somewhat vaguely, that she may turn up later in the summer.
Could be that Angie’s had her fill of tomato bloodbaths, naked virgins, a chorus dressed as rats and other reconfigured charms of the Bayreuth stage.
Desperately covering for Frau Merkel’s absence, Bayreuth has swiftly announced the attendance on opening night of the Bavarian prime minister Horst Seehofer ‘and his entire cabinet’.
Big deal.
Where’s George Clooney when you really need him?
“Breaking”. That’s a good one. This was widely reported four days ago. And also widely discussed on Twitter.
Still, not quite as late as the story about the live cinema transmission this year of Tannhäuser.
Stop being so picky, Musiker, please.
I’m the only only allowed to be so. Thank you.
Wish they would give me a free ticket I can’t afford to go there so will have t save up and go on the open day one year. I would definitely appreciate it more than them. Just wish they would do some decent productions!
I’ll have her ticket!
The problem of Bayreuth nowadays is that they have to give their theatre a profile different (better) than the average opera houses that produce Wagner, and where ‘Regietheater’ is still considered ‘cutting edge’ they have to do it more ‘cutting’ than elsewhere. Inevitably you end-up with naked rats, bloody virgins etc. etc.
Better Wagner singers in Frankfurt these days, IMHO.
There is this story that Mrs Merkel was a bit dissappointed when, at the former time she visited the theatre, sitting in the front row, a bit of smelly dirt fell from the stage on her dress and in her cleavage upon which she has been heard to whisper: ‘It’s become like the Bundestag here’.
Sitting in the front row? Whenever I’ve been at the opening night, she has always been in the Wagner family box on the upper level. I suppose that’s the front row of the boxes. Anyway, there’s no new production this year, so I won’t be going either. Maybe for Katharina’s new Tristan & Isolde with Gould and Westbroek next year. I can’t imagine Frau Merkel wanting to miss that.
I’ve sat directly behind her (and next to the security man with the squiggly wire to one ear) and the seats were perfectly placed in the Parkett (Türe III if I remember correctly).
Well, I’ve only seen her on her official opening night visits when she usually sits in the Wagners’ box. Apparently she and her hub and go “privately” as well.
In the corridors of the Bundestag it is whispered that the Ring had a deleterious influence upon the forming of the coalition.
We’ll miss you, Frau Kanzlerin!!