After a year of forced break due to Corona, the Richard Wagner Festival has started in Bayreuth. Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) and Bavaria’s Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) also came to Upper Franconia to kick off the newly staged “Flying Dutchman”.
- here go to the BR livestream of the premiere of the Wagner Festival
Bayreuth: Guests from politics, church and entertainment
Although there was no festival driveway with a red carpet this year, numerous Bayreuthers made the pilgrimage to the Green Hill. They wanted to see Federal Chancellor and Prime Minister Söder before everyone else. Merkel appeared at her husband’s side in an orange jacket with long sleeves and a long black skirt.
Princess Gloria von Thurn und Taxis, Saxony’s Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer (CDU), Tobias Hans (CDU), Prime Minister of Saarland and Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, regional bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria and cabaret artist Michl Müller are among the premiere guests. For the first time in the 145-year history of the Festival, there is a woman at the conductor’s podium, Oksana Lyniv.
Wagner Festival with Corona hygiene concept
After the festival was canceled last year due to a pandemic, a strict hygiene concept will take effect this year. This also includes a large number of police. In addition, all opera goers must wear a pink bracelet that identifies them as registered.
Masks must also be worn in the field. Only 911 of the almost 2,000 seats in the opera house may be used. The festival choir is not on stage this year, but is switched on from a rehearsal stage. This measure is also due to hygiene.