Thousands attended an open-air concert featuring Wagner's music in Bayreuth on the eve of the anniversary festival. Festival director Katharina Wagner spoke despite a recent hospital stay.
On the eve of the opening of the Bayreuth Festival for its 150th anniversary, thousands of listeners gathered in the park at the foot of the Festival Hall. They heard the Good Friday Magic from Parsifal at sunset. Katharina Wagner said at the beginning that she was pleased about the large number of visitors.
Wagner had been treated in hospital the previous evening due to appendicitis. She described the timing as the most unfavourable imaginable. In the anniversary year, all pieces were dedicated to Richard Wagner.
At the opening, the orchestra under Christian Thielemann performs Beethoven's 9th Symphony. Nike Wagner delivers the festival speech. The first new production, Rienzi, premieres on Sunday.
