Bayreuth’s Ring conductor is felled by Covid

Bayreuth’s Ring conductor is felled by Covid

News

norman lebrecht

July 13, 2022

The Finn Pietari Inkinen has come down with the summer variant of the pandemic virus.

Bayreuth is holding its breath.

Cornelius Meister has taken over the rehearsals.

But he’s meant to be conducting Tristan.

It’s all getting a bit tense.

Comments

  • simon says:

    Meister could probably do both if he is in shape physically. He’s hardly a Knappertsbusch, Furtwangler or Keilberth when it comes to interpreting Wagner, though. Those glory days are long gone.

    • Richard says:

      Don’t forget Böhm!

    • Antwerp Smerle says:

      Simon wrote, “Those glory days are long gone”. That’s not quite true. Anthony Negus conducts Wagner magnificently, and in that grand tradition. Katharina should give him a call.

  • Anthony Sayer says:

    Inkinen tested positive for covid over two weeks ago. As far as I know he wasn’t debilitated by it. Katharina Wagner is terrified of covid and masks are required in all rehearsals except for the soloists who, obviously, could not possibly infect anyone. CM immediately took over the Siegfried Sitzproben but this year’s festival is dripping with conductors – Thielemann, Nelsons, Kober, Meister – who’ve done the entire Hügel canon. Storm in a Weißbierglas.

    A propos Cornelius Meister being in shape physically, he does unsupported, straight-arm handstands. Very impressive, it has to be said.

  • Gustavo says:

    Gergiev may be available. He is a very experienced opera conductor.

    Verachtet mir die Meister nicht!

  • Henry williams says:

    This covid ruins peoples life. A tradegy

    • Anthony Sayer says:

      No. Covid restrictions ruin people’s lives.

      • Gustavo says:

        I would partly agree given that some of the regulatory decisions were, and still are, inappropriate and contradictory.

        For example, wearing masks on public transport in Germany (boosted by a untimely 9-EURO-ticket) and dropping them once you have arrived in Austria.

        Or the neglect of hand hygiene and distancing rules in favour of the FFP2 mask, which are now littering the landscape.

        When it comes to the Grüne Hügel, I first have to think of Stefan Mickisch who was banned from Wahnfried because he had freely expressed his personal opinion on “Corona fascism”, using a politically inappropriate conclusion by analogy.

        So the pandemic with all its well-meant protective measures has reinforced collective mass delusion, leaving little space for the development of individual decisions based on scientific evidence and common sense.

        Young Inkinen should return to the podium while Katharina goes into lock-down!

        It’s as easy as that.

        Kinder, wacht auf!

        • Nick2 says:

          Indiviual decisions based on “common sense” have no place when it comes to a major worldwide pandemic. Those who think they know better deserve whatever comes to them in terms of illness.

  • Robert Ducal says:

    Nothing is getting tense at all. It doesn’t really matter who is waving their arms, the orchestra could play it with just the concertmaster starting and finishing and stagehands giving cues to singers. 99% of the audience wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. It’s all just a lot of bullshit. Especially with another Finnish “wunderkind”.

  • Rob says:

    Apparently it’s rebranded flu.

  • Pedro says:

    Meistersinger is an excellent Wagner conducted. His Parsifal in Antwerp was very good.

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