Bayreuth Festival: the 101st edition

Music

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2012 Festival

Thielemann: 'Dutchman' is the hardest piece I've done in Bayreuth

Christian Thielemann is celebrated around the world as a conductor of Richard Wagner's music. For him, nothing tops conducting at the Bayreuth Festival. DW spoke with him at this year's festival. (17.08.2012)

Youn: 'God helped me'

Samuel Youn took up the title role in Bayreuth's 'The Flying Dutchman' on short notice, following a cancellation by Evgeny Nikitin over an alleged swastika tattoo. DW spoke with Youn about his dream job. (03.08.2012)

Bayreuth stage director favors 'modestly modern' take

Jan Philipp Gloger made his Bayreuth Festival debut with the premiere of his production of "The Flying Dutchman." He translates Wagner's tale of a cursed seafarer and a redemption-seeking woman in a modern way. (27.07.2012)

Mezzo-soprano Maclean on Wagner's wild women

At this year's Bayreuth Festival, American singer Susan Maclean sings the roles of Kundry in "Parsifal" and Ortrud in "Lohengrin" - two challenging characters with a lot of depth, she tells DW. (27.07.2012)

Bland opening to a rocky Bayreuth Festival

Bayreuth works through disturbing parts of its past but also announces an extraordinary anniversary program for 2013. It's almost enough to make one forget about the lackluster premiere of "The Flying Dutchman." (26.07.2012)

The calm before the storm in Bayreuth

The curtain goes up in at the Bayreuth Festival on July 25, 2012, to a new production of Richard Wagner's Romantic opera "The Flying Dutchman" - but what everyone seems to be talking about is still a year away. (20.07.2012)

'Silenced voices' speak on Bayreuth Festival's anti-Semitism

An exhibition entitled "Silenced Voices" during the Bayreuth Festival's current season explores a dark chapter in German history. Nazis used the music festival as a means of spreading anti-Semitic propaganda. (25.07.2012)

Swastika tattoo prompts Bayreuth star to cancel

Following controversy sparked by singer Evgeny Nikitin's swastika tattoo, the bass-baritone abruptly cancelled his engagement at the Bayreuth Festival. The Russian had been cast in the lead role of "The Flying Dutchman." (22.07.2012)

Opinion: Sudden scandal, slow process

A swastika tattooed on Russian singer Evgeny Nikitin's chest resulted in the sudden cancellation of his contract with the Bayreuth Festival. Observations by Rick Fulker, a long-time observer of the festival. (23.07.2012)

Bayreuth singer Nikitin: I never wore a swastika

Envgeny Nikitin cancelled a star role at this summer's Bayreuth Festival after reports suggested he had a swastika tattoo on his chest. For the first time since the scandal erupted, the Russian opera singer speaks out. (24.07.2012)

Festival background

Plumbing Bayreuth's historical ties to Nazism

The scandal surrounding Russian singer Evgeny Nikitin's reputed swastika tattoo and the ensuing cancellation of his Bayreuth Festival contract shows how touchy the subject of Bayreuth's relationship to Nazi ideology is. (24.07.2012)

It started with a dream: 100 years of the Bayreuth Festival

Alongside the Salzburg Festival, Germany's Bayreuth Festival is generally regarded by critics as one of the world's most important music events. July 25th, 2011 marks the opening of the 100th edition of the event. (25.07.2011)

Black market flourishes at Bayreuth Festival

If you're not a celebrity or the chancellor, getting tickets to the Bayreuth Festival is close to impossible - but not entirely. On the legendary Green Hill, the black market is well established. (28.07.2010)

Richard Wagner finds a digital home in the 21st century

Wagner's acute sensibility for networking and self-promotion would have arguably made him right at home on the Internet. Though he died long before its advent, his work is being promulgated in a number of ways online. (22.07.2011)

DW.DE

Evgeny Nikitin is Bayreuth's new Dutchman

Optically he fits the cliché of the wild Russian. But that's not the only reason Evgeny Nikitin was invited to perform at this year's Bayreuth Festival. DW spoke with the singer about his affinity for Wagner's music. (13.07.2012)