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Scion's 'Meistersinger' eagerly awaited
2007-07-22
A real-life drama of succession as riveting as any Richard Wagner opera is casting a shadow over this year's Bayreuth Festival, raising the anticipation level among devotees of the German master even before the first curtain rises Wednesday at the musical shrine he inaugurated 131 years ago. No matter what the outcome, chances are good that whoever heads the famous German festival -- a traditional battleground for Wagner clan members vying for influence -- will be part of the family for some time to come. But which Wagner will it be? Wolfgang, the grizzled 87-year-old patriarch and Richard's grandson, who has held the reins for the last 56 years -- first with brother Wieland, then alone after Wieland's death? Wolfgang's niece, Nike? Eva, his daughter from his first marriage? Or Katharina, a daughter from his second? The issue of who will follow Wolfgang -- or whether he even will give up his lifetime contract -- has gained special significance this year. Nike and Eva, both experienced managers of artistic or musical events, have indicated their interest, but are shunned by Wagner. So has Katharina, a comparative opera neophyte who is her father's choice. Increasing speculation is fed by the media's suggestion that it's time for a change. The respected German weekly Die Zeit recently described Wolfgang Wagner as "an old man leaning on a cane for support who hears poorly, occasionally seems mentally absent and whose appearances from behind the wings are becoming increasingly rare." Other newspapers say the festival is losing both money and status because it refuses to clean house and start fresh. Still other publications have bequeathed star status to Katharina -- though not necessarily the kind a future director of the festival would appreciate. The outspoken, 29-year-old blonde with a preference for jeans has been labeled the "Bayreuth Barbie" and "Bayreuth Hilton" by some tabloids. Festival organizers deny reports that Wolfgang already has been sidelined and that his second wife, Gudrun -- rejected by festival officials as her husband's first choice as successor -- is pulling the strings. Festival spokesman Peter Emmerich declined comment about a possible leadership change, saying the issue was "highly political." Bayreuth Mayor Michael Hohl, director of the Richard Wagner Foundation that controls succession and other major issues, said the elder Wagner "is doing fine, even if he no longer runs around like a 30 year old." Still, he acknowledged the foundation would look at the succession question this fall because "discussions have become loud" about the issue. Three outcomes are possible, Hohl told The Associated Press: the status quo, with Wolfgang Wagner insisting his lifetime contract be honored; the foundation accepting his choice of Katharina as successor; or if he surprisingly drops his insistence on his youngest daughter, a selection process that would likely include Nike Wagner and Eva Pasquier-Wagner. Beyond the issue of who will run the show, this year's festival as always is the focus for lovers of Wagner operas and of the myths surrounding the man and his music. And that's even though Bayreuth cannot always claim primacy -- some London, New York or Vienna productions have outshone those at the Festspielhaus opera hall, both in innovative staging and orchestral or vocal virtuosity. The venue is also unspectacular -- though wonderful acoustically. The Festspielhaus perched on a softly contoured hill in the Bavarian city of Bayreuth is a simple brick and sandstone structure described even by founder Richard Wagner as an "old barn" needing replacement. With no air conditioning, the heat can be stifling. And the average seat in the 1,900-person auditorium is deadly -- with legroom like a cheap coach flight and supports that dig ever more painfully into the small of the back. While some European heads of state and glitterati are regulars, most Wagner fans have to wait nine years for a ticket. Many come carrying a pillow to cushion the pain. The fact that Adolf Hitler was an avid Wagnerite -- and many family members fervent Fuehrer fans -- turns off some potential acolytes even before they hear the romantic mysticism of Wagner's earlier operas or assess his claim to achieving "Gesamtkunst" (total art) in his final works. But for true believers, a trip to the festival is a pilgrimage, despite the wait, the discomfort -- and a repertoire restricted year after year to varying combinations of seven of Wagner's 10 mature works. Predictably, the most buzz is generated by new productions of his "Ring der Niebelungen" -- 15 hours of extraordinary giants, dwarfs, gods, dragons and mortals in an epic four-part tale of love, greed, betrayal and redemption. "Die Meistersinger von Nuernberg," this year's new production, is a less ambitious undertaking. Still, interest is great because as Wagner's most "German" work, it has faced relatively little experimentation in Bayreuth productions. And stoking the curiosity is Wolfgang Wagner's choice of director -- daughter Katharina. Katharina, who has received mixed reviews elsewhere but has never directed at Bayreuth, predictably denies any link between her work on the "Meistersinger" and the succession issue. "A good director is not necessarily a good festival chief," she told Die Welt, only to express her interest in the job in a separate interview: "I would not only consider myself capable, I would do it, if the conditions are right and the trust in me is there." She has said little on how she will stage the "Meistersinger" -- a work in which the simple themes of a medieval musical competition and German values evolve into a complex set of parables on the virtues of change vs. tradition. But she promises surprises, saying she plans to "break open" the mostly musty versions of the work seen on the Bayreuth stage. Still, the real drama focuses on who will lead Bayreuth. Whether Wolfgang Wagner steps down this fall, is forced out by age or dies on the job, a shake-up is coming -- and for some observers, not a moment too soon. "One feels it from all sides," wrote the weekly Die Zeit. "A time of change is just ahead on the Green Hill."
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