Dear Alma, Should I play at Bayreuth?
UncategorizedDear Alma,
I’ve been asked to play in the Bayreuth Festival orchestra the past couple of years. Well-paid gig, lovely part of the world, good colleagues (mostly) and all the beer you can drink.
So what’s my beef? The pit stinks. It’s hot, sticky, claustrophobic. The public is snooty – not one person wishes me good evening when I crawl out into fresh air. The admin treat us like servants, the accommodation is cramped and the distractions unattractive. I’m newly divorced and I’m not interested in bar-girls.
Most of all, I’m hanging around for two months listening to my life tick away. Is this the best use of my time as a musician? I’m 50 next year. Time to quit Bayreuth?
Wagnered out
Dear Wagnered out,
I think you’ve answered your own question. Time to bid adieu to Bayreuth. The only reason to keep it is if you need the money, but I’m not picking that up from your letter. If you do need it for the money, do it for one more year to give yourself the buffer to find the replacement income.
You don’t have to do something for a long time to have it serve its function in your life. Happiness and fulfillment, both personal and job-related, can be a weekend, a month, a year, or longer. Time itself doesn’t necessarily weigh in on its intrinsic value in your life. And we have all seen examples of people hanging on too long to things – marriages, dead-end jobs, incompetent teachers, haircuts, bad glasses – when what they needed to do is say goodbye. And when you do say goodbye, do it with care and respect. If you leave now, you might have more good memories than bad. And that’s what matters.
Wagnered out, you are embarking on a new era of your life, a time to take a step in a new direction. 50, divorced, ready for change, now is your moment. Take it, or it will take you.
Questions for Alma? Please put them in the comments section or send to DearAlmaQuery@gmail.com
You could always play backgammon instead.
Make a plan to do something else first so that your life doesn’t tick away for those 2 months anyway.
The writer gets to experience Wagner at Bayreuth without ever seeing the regie productions. Sounds like a good deal to me!
Sad. The greatest orchestral parts in the canon, symphonic or operatic, and all this guy can think about is beer and unattractive bar girls? Portrait of the Artist as a Middle-aged (and burnt out) Man.
There are musicians all over the world who would give their eye-teeth to play at Bayreuth. Let someone else have a go.
Artistically things have gone way downhill there anyways with the new stagings that have Wagner rolling in his grave.
No-one’s holding a gun to your head to play in Bayreuth. It’s a marvellous place to work and the orchestra is treated extremely well. If it’s not your thing, just turn down the invitation and let someone else take your place.
Such a life is the pits.
Having spent five summers working at Bayreuth, I fully sympathise with ‘Wagnered out’. I learned a lot during my Bayreuth years and experienced many performances, of varying standards, working with some outstanding singers and assisting some celebrated conductors. But five seasons was more than enough.
Daniel Barenboim gave it up after a few good years, others after fewer. You didn’t just try it, you did it, and well (they want you back). If it were a regular job, you could push for better conditions. How about Longborough? Alma’s advice to you is great.