Salzburg box-office is down
mainThe results of the Easter Festival, just in, show a drop in ticket sales from 93 percent to 90.5.
Meistersinger sold out, but other events proved less attractive, notably the Eschenbach performance of Dvorak’s Stabat Mater.
In all, 18,800 tickets were sold.
The prices were exorbitant, as ever. 230 Euros for Eschenbach conducting Dvorak’s Stabat Mater…
Indeed, Suzanne. For years now the “marketing” has been led by an imbecile, and the outgoing “managing director,” an artist, has been operating out of his depth. That the Salzburg Easter Festival did not collapse several iterations ago is entirely due to the stature and efforts of Christian Thielemann and the playing of the Dresden orchestra. Now, apparently, Salzburg’s politicians are waking up to the sales weaknesses (and the papering), and their solution, apparently, is to oust everyone — after first tapping the inept NB to entice the limited KP and replace the Saxons with the faded Prussians. It won’t work, anymore than the old pricing strategies work. Karajan is dead, the 1960s and 1970s are long over, and those of us who once supported the festival as donors are sick of the arrogance.
Thielemann’s Meistersinger sold out…
And those figures are not really accurate. There is a considerable difference between actual paying bums on seats and those – quite a few this year – given away free and semi-free, which are included in the 90%. Maybe Bachler will be able to get some new life into the Festival, assuming he and Thielemann can find a Modus Vivendi.
The difference is statistically meaningless.
==The difference is statistically meaningless.
Exactly. What was the figure 2 years, 3 years, 4 years…15 years ago ?
Means nothing in isolation. Just the overpriced Dvorak Requiem could knock, say, 0.5% off.
Please, let’s see trends not one-off figures.
Meistersinger was musically very good, except for the Eva. The production was idiot. Jansons concert was not up to the standards of the festival.
“Meistersinger was musically very good, except for the Eva. The production was idiot.”
Why am I not in the least surprised?
Too many sopranos imagine that Eva is like Brunhilde or even like the lesser sopranos in the big operas– I’m thinking of Gutrune and also the Rheinmaidens. She’s not. She’s just a desired object, and her primary sound/affect should be pert and a little saucy. Her vocal size should be just a little larger than an ordinary soubrette.