Katharina Wagner has been reappointed as the director of the Bayreuth Festival in Germany and will continue in this role for another five years. The announcement was made by the festival organizers on Tuesday, May 14, 2024. Wagner, who is the great-granddaughter of the composer Richard Wagner, first stepped into the role of co-head of the festival in September 2008 with her half-sister Eva Wagner-Pasquier. She became the sole head in 2015.
In her renewed tenure, Katharina Wagner will focus primarily on artistic decisions, as a new managerial arrangement will be put in place for handling business operations. This decision is backed by the festival's main shareholders—the German and Bavarian governments, and the Society of Friends of Bayreuth—who each hold a 29% share. The city of Bayreuth holds a 13% share.
The Bayreuth Festival, originally launched by Richard Wagner in 1876, is particularly known for presenting the last 10 operas composed by Wagner at the Festspielhaus—an opera house that was specifically constructed according to his requirements. The festival this year is scheduled to run from July 25 to August 27.