Katharina Wagner’s parting message last night at the closing of the Bayreuth Festival 2024 was: The entire Festspielchor must re-audition. The existing Festspielchor has been disbanded.
The Festspiele will hold auditions on around 10 weekends across Europe (but none in the UK) starting in late autumn. Only two venues in Germany are planned.
Until now, Katie has merely shrunk the Chor. Now she’s ujsing the arrival of a new chorusmaster to sweep the backroom of simmering discontent and start again.
‘We have effectively been laid off,’ said one singer. ‘Nobody knows what will happen next and whether any of us will be here next year..
It’s a brutal decision. Many of the chorus members return every summer and know every detail of Bayreuth procedure. They will leave with a bitter taste, and justly so.
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