The mezzo-soprano Waltraud Meier is back in Bayreuth for the first time this century
‘It uses to feel like family,’ she says. ‘In the canteen there used to be a corner where artists played cards. All gone now.
‘Everything is more cordoned off than it used to be. You can’t just drop in to an orchestra rehearsal like you used to.’
Meier, 62, was banned from Bayreuth after a falling-out with Wolfgang Wagner. She says her comeback after 18 years – as Ortrud in Lohengrin – will also be her farewell.
