Strong women take center stage at Bayreuth 2021
After the 2020 festival was canceled due to COVID, this year's Richard Wagner bash is getting a whole new shine — largely thanks to the women in command.
Wagner — with masks and distance
After 32 festival days and 25 performances, the 2021 Bayreuth Festival came to an end on August 25 with a celebrated concert by the festival orchestra with Andris Nelsons conducting. Even though the COVID safety plan meant only 900 Wagner fans could attend instead of the usual 2,000, it still sent a positive signal to the world after the canceled 2020 festivities.
Oksana Lyniv makes history
One woman stood at the center of the 2021 festival: Oksana Lyniv. The Ukrainian was the first woman to conduct atop Green Hill, where Wagner's opera house stands. With assuredness and precision, Lyniv seamlessly overcame the troublesome acoustics. Her conducting of the year's premiere, "The Flying Dutchman," was enthusiastically applauded. She also earned praise from her musical colleagues.
The redemptive voice of Asmik Grigorian
Also praised was the Latvian soprano Asmik Grigorian (right, in yellow), who made her Bayreuth debut as Senta in "The Flying Dutchman." While the staging by Russian director Dmitri Tcherniakov controversially turned a tale of redemption into a small-town crime story, critics gushed that Grigorian's singing itself was a type of redemption.
Katharina Wagner: Head of the Green Hills
Recognition must also go to Katharina Wagner. The opera director and great-granddaughter of Richard Wagner has been leading the Bayreuth Festival since 2014. During the course of the coronavirus pandemic, the 43-year-old fell gravely ill and spent multiple months in a coma. It was only in October 2020 that she returned to work and put together an impressive program in a short amount of time.
Ekaterina Gubanova — without a broken leg
In 2019, in an early rehearsal for Wagner's "Tannhäuser" directed by Tobias Kratzer, mezzo-soprano Ekaterina Gubanova seriously injured her leg and had to miss her debut as Venus. It was a shock for the Russian singer — but also a warning sign: "I was simply doing too much, life was too fast." She finally got to her enjoy her belated Bayreuth debut as Venus, sexy costume and all, this year.
Lise Davidsen: Bayreuth's hope
The 34-year-old Norwegian singer is the festival's great hope — one could even say the hope of the whole Wagner world. She wowed audiences as Elisabeth in "Tannhäuser," and her role as Sieglinde in next year's new Ring production is eagerly anticipated. Above is a scene from "Tannhäuser" with Davidsen alongside actor Manni Laudenbach.
Angela Merkel: The 'Bayreuth Chancellor'
For years, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been a Bayreuth Festival regular. This year she met with cast members of "The Flying Dutchman" after its premiere. Her 2021 festival attendance marked one of her last major public appearances as chancellor. Nevertheless, the opera lover and her husband, Joachim Sauer, will likely return to the Green Hill after she leaves office.