In view of the already incurred effects of the Corona crisis on the operations of Bayreuth Festival GmbH, the management and shareholders of Bayreuth Festival GmbH – the Federal Republic of Germany, the Free State of Bavaria, the City of Bayreuth and the Society of Friends of Bayreuth e.V. – regret that Bayreuth Festival 2020 must be suspended next summer. This means that subsequent festival years will have to be rescheduled. In the 2021 season, in addition to the planned new production ‘Der fliegende Holländer’, revivals of ‘Tannhäuser und der Sängerkrieg auf Wartburg’, ‘Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg’, ‘Lohengrin’ and 3 concert performances of ‘Die Walküre’ will be on the program. The new production ‘Der Ring des Nibelungen’ planned for this season is expected to premiere in 2022 due to rehearsal planning reasons.
Bavarian Minister of Arts Bernd Sibler emphasizes: “As an enthusiastic supporter of Bayreuth Festival and Richard Wagner’s expressive music, I deeply regret that we will not be able to enjoy the performances on the Green Hill this year. The cancellation is a bitter loss for cultural life. The long festival tradition holds a high value in the Bavarian cultural state.”