The legendary Wagner Opera Festival in Bayreuth runs until April 28. While in Italy, the Macerata Opera Festival focuses on traditional Italian operas and runs until August 9.
ADVERTISEMENTInjecting a little drama into the summer months, the prestigious Wagner Opera Festival in the German city of Bayreuth is in full swing.
One of the hottest tickets in the world of opera, German Chancellor Angela Merkel was among the guests for the opening performance of “Tristan and Isolde”.
Passionnée d'opéra, Angela Merkel ouvre le Festival de Bayreuth http://t.co/deMgMyKzMY#Opera#Wagnerpic.twitter.com/5UritBHeSp
— Agregenpoche (@Agregenpoche) July 26, 2015
American tenor Stephen Gould received deafening applause for his portrayal of Tristan.
“You have to hold out for a very long time – you have sing very lyrically and then later on you have to sing with the power of a heroic tenor,” explained Gould.
Tristan und Isolde – radical reimagining marks new chapter for Bayreuth? http://t.co/kivlWI1atO#Wagner#Bayreuth#opera
— David Berthold (@DavidBerthold) July 26, 2015
The festival has been under the Wagner family’s control since it was first staged in 1896.
This year a total of 60,000 tickets were sold for the festival which will run until 28 August. But tickets are hard to come by, waiting lists of 14 years are not unknown for some productions.
Macerata Opera Festival
Macerata (MACHERATA), located just a few miles from the Adriatic coast is host to one of the oldest opera festival’s in Italy.
This year a re-working of Giuseppe Verdi’s Rigoletto opened the proceedings of the summer music event.
Emozioni in musica con la 51° stagione lirica del Macerata Opera Festival fino al 19 agosto http://t.co/AZb5NinSidpic.twitter.com/RP6S5RSb4Z
— Marche Turismo (@MarcheTourism) July 25, 2015
The open-air theatre was sold-out for the Tarantino-esque re-telling of the popular piece by director Federico Grazzini.
The season focuses on a traditional programme of Italian operas including Puccini’s La Boheme and runs until August 9.
