K Wagner: New Bayreuth Director Will Have Limited Impact. Wants Less Interference

Festspielhaus. 1895

Katharina Wagner has said that the Bayreuth Festival's new third director (who starts on Monday), Heinz-Dieter Sense, will have limited powers in the running of the festival. "He will help us, especially in administrative formalities," said Wagner. Both she and her sister will continue to have full control of the Festival, its budget and artistic direction she continued.

If this might perhaps make the new "director" feel a little "unwanted" at the festival one cannot help but ponder what he might think as she went on, ""Previously, our father, Wolfgang Wagner was the sole director and shareholder of the Bayreuth Festival. Under him there were, for example, far less binding rules from collective agreements." This  also had advantages for productions. "If after the allotted rehearsal time, a director said "Let us repeat this scene again", it was much easier to accommodate this request." Indeed, she regrets that the festival has become less of a "family affair". This is in contrast to comments from both Nike and Gottfried Wagner.

She also went on to note that both she and Eva Wagner-Pasquier, had not confirmed that they would be staying on at the festival after their contracts expire in 2015. Whether this is the case will depend on the outcome of ongoing negotiations. One important part to this seems to be that both Wagner's are requesting much more funding for the festival to compensate for a growing wage bill. One also assumes it may depend on whether  they are successful in their re-applications for the job.