Katharina Wagner
Encyclopedia
Katharina Wagner is a German
opera
stage-director and co-director of the Bayreuth Festival
. She is the daughter of Wolfgang Wagner
, great-granddaughter of Richard Wagner
and great-great granddaughter of Hungarian composer Ferenc (Franz) Liszt
.
She notably staged Der fliegende Holländer
in Würzburg and Lohengrin
in Budapest.
Her directorial début at the Bayreuth Festival, staging a production of Richard Wagner
's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
in July 2007, was booed at its premiere, but established a following which returned to watch the production evolve as Wagner made changes in each of the five years it was on view. Wagner also took a bow after every performance, with audiences split between bravos and boos.
On 1 September 2008 Katharina was named together with her half-sister Eva Wagner-Pasquier
as the new director of the Bayreuth Festival by the Richard Wagner Foundation
, succeeding their father Wolfgang. This followed an extended family dispute. They were chosen in preference to their cousin Nike Wagner
and the Belgian opera director and administrator Gérard Mortier
, who had placed a late joint bid for the directorship on 24 August.
In October 2010 she sought to end a post-1945 boycott of Wagner's music in Israel by inviting the Israel Chamber Orchestra to play a concert in July 2011 at the Bayreuth town hall. Ms Wagner visit to Israel was canceled after hostility from Holocaust survivors.
Lohengrin (Budapest)
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (Bayreuth)
Rienzi (Bremen)
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
stage-director and co-director of the Bayreuth Festival
Bayreuth Festival
The Bayreuth Festival is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of operas by the 19th century German composer Richard Wagner are presented...
. She is the daughter of Wolfgang Wagner
Wolfgang Wagner
Wolfgang Wagner was a German opera director. He is best known as the director of the Bayreuth Festival, a position he initially assumed alongside his brother Wieland in 1951 until the latter's death in 1966...
, great-granddaughter of Richard Wagner
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
and great-great granddaughter of Hungarian composer Ferenc (Franz) Liszt
Liszt
Liszt is a Hungarian surname. Notable persons with that surname include:* Franz Liszt , Hungarian composer and pianist* Adam Liszt , father of Franz Liszt* Anna Liszt , mother of Franz Liszt...
.
She notably staged Der fliegende Holländer
The Flying Dutchman (opera)
Der fliegende Holländer is an opera, with music and libretto by Richard Wagner.Wagner claimed in his 1870 autobiography Mein Leben that he had been inspired to write "The Flying Dutchman" following a stormy sea crossing he made from Riga to London in July and August 1839, but in his 1843...
in Würzburg and Lohengrin
Lohengrin (opera)
Lohengrin is a romantic opera in three acts composed and written by Richard Wagner, first performed in 1850. The story of the eponymous character is taken from medieval German romance, notably the Parzival of Wolfram von Eschenbach and its sequel, Lohengrin, written by a different author, itself...
in Budapest.
Her directorial début at the Bayreuth Festival, staging a production of Richard Wagner
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg is an opera in three acts, written and composed by Richard Wagner. It is among the longest operas still commonly performed today, usually taking around four and a half hours. It was first performed at the Königliches Hof- und National-Theater in Munich, on June 21,...
in July 2007, was booed at its premiere, but established a following which returned to watch the production evolve as Wagner made changes in each of the five years it was on view. Wagner also took a bow after every performance, with audiences split between bravos and boos.
On 1 September 2008 Katharina was named together with her half-sister Eva Wagner-Pasquier
Eva Wagner-Pasquier
Eva Wagner-Pasquier is a German opera manager. She is the daughter of Wolfgang Wagner and Ellen Drexel...
as the new director of the Bayreuth Festival by the Richard Wagner Foundation
Richard Wagner Foundation
The Richard Wagner Foundation was formed in 1973, when, faced with overwhelming criticism and Wagner family infighting, the Bayreuth Festival and its assets were transferred to the newly created Foundation...
, succeeding their father Wolfgang. This followed an extended family dispute. They were chosen in preference to their cousin Nike Wagner
Nike Wagner
Nike Wagner is the director of an arts festival held annually at Weimar, Germany , and a noteworthy collaborator in the Bayreuth Festival, founded in 1876 by Richard Wagner, her paternal great-grandfather...
and the Belgian opera director and administrator Gérard Mortier
Gérard Mortier
Gerard Alfons August, Baron Mortier is a Belgian opera director and administrator of Flemish origin.Mortier has served as general director of La Monnaie and of the Salzburg Festival...
, who had placed a late joint bid for the directorship on 24 August.
In October 2010 she sought to end a post-1945 boycott of Wagner's music in Israel by inviting the Israel Chamber Orchestra to play a concert in July 2011 at the Bayreuth town hall. Ms Wagner visit to Israel was canceled after hostility from Holocaust survivors.
Productions
Der fliegende Holländer (Würzburg)Lohengrin (Budapest)
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (Bayreuth)
Rienzi (Bremen)
Further reading
- Carr, JonathanJonathan Carr (writer)Jonathan Carr was a British journalist and author, who lived and worked primarily in Germany.He was born in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire....
: The Wagner Clan: The Saga of Germany's Most Illustrious and Infamous Family. Atlantic Monthly Press, 2007. ISBN 0871139758