No chorus at Bayreuth next summer

No chorus at Bayreuth next summer

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norman lebrecht

December 11, 2020

Katharina Wagner has said that since Coronavirus will still be around in the summer of 2021, there will be no chorus at the Festspielhaus.

There will be a new production of Flying Dutchman, conducted by Oksana Lyniv, and revivals of Meistersinger and Tannhäuser.

The chorus will sing live in a separate hall and be beamed into the performance.

Comments

  • AngloGerman says:

    Ridiculous – please just postpone for another year if you cannot do it properly…

    • Sam McElroy says:

      What a kind remark. How considerate to the artists who need the work and to the pubic that needs some magic back in their lives. If the chorus has to be beamed in, its a compromise everyone will happily live with, I’m sure, rather than losing a second season.

  • Why not showing one more year the excellent production of Tristan by Thielmann? I had chance to see it and there’s no need of big chorus.

    • Martin Carpenter says:

      It’s like Stockhausen’s Hoch-Zeiten where an orchestra plays and fragments of a simultaneous choral performance are beamed in

      • gareth says:

        If they followed Stockhausen’s Orchester-Finalisten they could have the chorus members present, but suspended high above the stage. That should be socially-distanced enough, I reckon.

    • AngloGerman says:

      Witnessed a fantastic performance of this – would make much more sense to perform as opposed to Meistersinger…

      Also, if there is an issue with the chorus, how on earth are they going to be able to get a full orchestra into the pit??

    • tristan says:

      Indeed, Tristan with Thielemann was one of the best productions!

  • Cynical Bystander says:

    The assumption is that the festival and those elsewhere will actually take place. Given the opening and closing of those Companies that have taken a chance it seems very unlikely that 2021 will be little different. That and the uncertainty surrounding travel from the UK to Europe post 1st January makes the outlook for a return to anything approximating to normality highly unlikely.

  • Rich says:

    Insanity personified. Who is going to pay sky high prices to book lodging and travel to Bayreuth for a modified production to appease Madame Wagner who is a disgrace to her lineage.

  • Novagerio says:

    A chorus beamed in the performance of the Dutchman; good luck Oksana Lyniv!

  • Gustavo says:

    LEHRBUBEN:
    “Silentium! Silentium!
    Macht kein Reden und kein Gesumm!”

  • Anon says:

    The chorus is being reduced to only 80 singers (to save money). Many people lose their jobs.

    • Edgar says:

      A well rehearsed and equally well singing chorus of 80 sounds like one of 120. The smaller number has the advantage of being better understood as well (Text, Text, Text).That’s what happened when Ragnar Bohlin took over the San Francisco Symphony Chorus. I lived (as SFS subscriber and frequent concert-goer) in SF at that time, and cherish the improvement until this day.

  • Hannes says:

    If a revival of Katerina’s Meistersiger, a blessing in disguise

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