Bayreuth Festival: Celebrities on the Red Carpet

One of the first prominent festival guests at the driveway was Bavaria’s Economics Minister Hubert Aiwanger. / Bayreuth Festival

The first guests have arrived in Bayreuth for the start of the Richard Wagner Festival. On Monday afternoon, the first festival sausages sizzled on the grills on the Green Hill in Bayreuth – according to the butcher with a champagne note. With temperatures around 35 degrees, cool drinks and ice cream were what was most in demand.

The Bavarian Minister of Economic Affairs Hubert Aiwanger (free voters) was one of the first to arrive at the Green Hill as the prominent festival guests drove up. At 35 degrees he wrote autographs. He was accompanied by the Franconian wine queen, Eva Brockmann, who wore a bottle-green dress. Later, former Chancellor Angela Merkel and entertainer Thomas Gottschalk were to come to the Festspielhaus, where the festival will start with a new production of “Tristan und Isolde”.

Bayreuth celebrates festivals of superlatives

“Tristan und Isolde” ushers in a festival of superlatives, because this year there will be a total of five newly staged works, more than ever before in the history of the festival. The four parts of the “Ring des Nibelungen” are also celebrating their premiere. The reinterpretation of the mammoth work by director Valentin Schwarz should have been on the schedule in 2020, but was postponed twice due to the corona pandemic.

Activists occupy trees in front of the Festspielhaus

In the morning, several activists occupied trees on the grounds of the Festspielhaus. Four members of the “Klimabaumhaus Bayreuth” alliance stretched banners in the trees and called for more climate justice for the Global South. According to a spokeswoman, the police tried to evacuate a person using a fire brigade ladder, but canceled the operation for safety reasons. In the late morning, the activists themselves descended from the trees.

A spokeswoman for the alliance told BR that a compromise had been reached with the police. So the banners should stay up until the evening so that the demands can be seen. At the same time, the activists are also allowed to demonstrate: but only on the ground and not in the trees. Due to the concerns of bodyguards of prominent festival guests, the protesters descended.

Students at the University of Bayreuth have announced a protest march in front of the Festspielhaus later in the afternoon. Among other things, the participants want to draw attention to Wagner’s relationship to anti-Semitism.

Allegations of sexism overshadow the start of the festival

In the past few days, the debates surrounding the world-famous festival have also been marked by accusations of sexism. #Metoo was the big topic on the Green Hill. Director Katharina Wagner said she was “shocked” by reports of assaults, insults and lewdness. The festival announced the consequences. Women had previously reported anonymously that they had been touched or had to listen to sexual insinuations on the Green Hill. Festival boss Wagner confirmed that she was also affected, but she knew how to defend herself.

Katharina Wagner advises against state reception

Caution is still the order of the day at the festival when it comes to Corona. There are no restrictions for the audience, but Wagner and the commercial director, Ulrich Jagels, still appealed to the viewers to wear an FFP2 mask. In this context, Katharina Wagner also criticized the plans of the Bavarian state government for the traditional state reception after the premiere. She urgently advises all participants not to attend the reception in the New Palace in downtown Bayreuth. She herself will go there briefly and thank the Free State, which is one of the festival partners – but with an FFP3 mask.

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