Stages
Contract extension for Munich opera directors
Artistic Director Serge Dorny (front) and General Music Director Vladimir Jurowski in March 2018. Photo
© Lino Mirgeler/dpa
For a long time, people were wondering what would happen next at the Bavarian State Opera. Will the leading duo Dorny and Jurowski stay? And if so, for how long? Now there are answers to that question.
Artistic director Serge Dorny (62) and general music director Vladimir Jurowski (52) remain at the helm of the Bavarian State Opera in Munich. Dorny’s contract was extended by a further five years until 2031, Jurowski’s only by two until 2028, as Minister of Arts Markus Blume (CSU) announced in Munich on Monday. The shorter period was Jurowski’s wish. Seven or eight years at one house is an “optimal period – at least for a conductor,” said Jurowski. The contract with ballet director Laurent Hilaire (61) was – like that of Dorny – also extended by a further five years until 2031.
However, external consultants are to examine the structures at the opera in Munich and make the house fit for the future. This could also result in “further developing the artistic director model,” said Blume. “It’s about the question: what does a modern structure for such a house look like?” he stressed. “Beyond that, there are commercial questions.”
Months of guesswork
Dorny added: We now have to consider: What will the Bavarian State Opera look like in 2050?” It is now time “to prepare for what will come tomorrow and the day after tomorrow and in the next generation.” And he is grateful to be supported by external consultants.
Previously, there had been months of speculation about what would happen next at the State Opera – and also a dispute in the state parliament. In April, the Greens had demanded clarity about the future management and in a corresponding motion criticized a “tightrope walk around the artistic directorship.”
“Long awaited, today is the day.” He was glad that the day had now come, said Bavaria’s Minister of Arts Blume. He had hardly been able to move freely in the State Opera – because he was repeatedly asked about the future. “I am pleased that we have reached this point today,” he said, speaking of a “combination of personnel continuity and structural reform.”