The time of the year when all night activities come to a standstill, for the sake of catching live broadcasts of Wagner’s operas live from Bayreuth. This year’s programme runs from the 25th of July to the 28th of August.
Here are the festival dates:
|
Friday
|
25 July
|
Parsifal I
|
|
Saturday
|
26 July
|
Tristan I
|
|
Sunday
|
27 July
|
Meistersinger I
|
|
Monday
|
28 July
|
Rheingold I
|
|
Tuesday
|
29 July
|
Walküre I
|
|
Thursday
|
31 July
|
Siegfried I
|
|
Saturday
|
02 August
|
Götterdämmerung I
|
|
Sunday
|
03 August
|
Parsifal II
|
|
Monday
|
04 August
|
Meistersinger II
|
|
Tuesday
|
05 August
|
Tristan II
|
|
Wednesday
|
06 August
|
Parsifal III
|
|
Thursday
|
07 August
|
Meistersinger III
|
|
Friday
|
08 August
|
Rheingold II
|
|
Saturday
|
09 August
|
Walküre II
|
|
Sunday
|
10 August
|
Parsifal (Private Performance)
|
|
Monday
|
11 August
|
Siegfried II
|
|
Wednesday
|
13 August
|
Götterdämmerung II
|
|
Thursday
|
14 August
|
Tristan III
|
|
Friday
|
15 August
|
Meistersinger IV
|
|
Saturday
|
16 August
|
Parsifal V
|
|
Sunday
|
17 August
|
Siegfried (Private Performance)
|
|
Monday
|
18 August
|
Tristan IV
|
|
Tuesday
|
19 August
|
Meistersinger V
|
|
Wednesday
|
20 August
|
Rheingold III
|
|
Thursday
|
21 August
|
Walküre III
|
|
Saturday
|
23 August
|
Siegfried III
|
|
Monday
|
25 August
|
Götterdämmerung III
|
|
Tuesday
|
26 August
|
Tristan V
|
|
Wednesday
|
27 August
|
Meistersinger VI
|
|
Thursday
|
28 August
|
Parsifal VI
|
It’s the Ring cycle and Tristan und Isolde that I’m looking forward to the most! (:
This year is Wolfgang Wagner’s last Festival as leader. From 1966, when his brother Wieland Wagner died only 59 years old, Wolfgang Wagner has been artistic supervisor alone. Wonder who will take over next year.
More information from: http://www.wagneropera.net/Bayreuth/2008-Bayreuth-Festival-Programme.htm
Live broadcasts from http://www.br-online.de/bayern4klassik/index.xml (Bayern4Klassik, german radio) . Click on the Live Hören button.
and finally,
AC Douglas writes really good papers (reviews, critiques and musings) on his blog, www.soundsandfury.com
All operas start at 4pm (GMT +2), or 10pm Singapore time (GMT +8).