Bayreuth Festival plans to present Wagner's 'Rienzi' for the first time in 2026
The Bayreuth Festival intends to present “Rienzi” for the first time in 2026 for its 150th anniversary, going outside of the canon of Richard Wagner’s final 10 operas for the first time
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The Bayreuth Festival intends to present "Rienzi" for the first time in 2026 for its 150th anniversary, going outside the canon of Richard Wagner's final 10 operas for the first time.
Wagner's family still runs the festival in Bayreuth Germany, and until now has limited it to only what are considered his mature works.
Katharina Wagner, a great-granddaughter who directs the festival, announced future plans during a Zoom news conference on Monday, a day before this year's schedule opens.
“Rienzi” will be staged along with the 10 other operas in 2026. “Rienzi,” Wagner's third completed opera, opened in 1842 and is based on the 14th century Italian politician Cola di Rienzo.
Wagner said the 2024 festival will feature a new staging of “Tristan und Isolde” directed by Thorleifur Örn Arnarsson, conducted by Semyon Bychkov and starring Andreas Schager and Camilla Nylund. The 2025 festival will have a new production of “Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (The Mastersingers of Nuremberg)” directed by Matthias Davids, conducted by Daniele Gatti conducting and starring Georg Zeppenfeld and Michael Spyres.
Wagner supervised the building of the Festspielhaus that opened for performances in 1876 for his “Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung),” his four-night epic. His final opera, “Parsifal,” premiered there in 1882, a year before Wagner’s death.
Philippe Jordan will conduct next year's revival of Valentin Schwarz's 2022 Ring Cycle staging.