BEIJING, Sept. 3 -- Two great-granddaughters of composer Richard Wagner
will take control of Germany's Wagner opera festival after winning an epic
family power struggle.
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Katharina Wagner waves as she arrives for
the opening of this year's Bayreuth Wagner opera festival outside the so-called
Gruener Huegel (Green Hill) opera house in Bayreuth July 25, 2007.
(Photo: chinadaily.com.cn/Agencies)
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The Richard Wagner Foundation announced on Monday that Eva Wagner-Pasquier,
63, and her half-sister Katharina Wagner, 30, would take over the festival in
Bayreuth after 89-year-old Wolfgang Wagner stepped down last month.
After Wolfgang Wagner's 57-year reign as head of the festival in the
Bavarian town ended, a fierce battle for succession erupted, pitting
Wagner-Pasquier and Katharina Wagner against their cousin Nike Wagner, 63.
Wagner-Pasquier is Wolfgang Wagner's daughter from his first marriage.
German media said the two women had not spoken to each other for years and had
only recently renewed relations in order to prepare their joint bid.
Wagner-Pasquier is an experienced theatre manager. Katharina Wagner
celebrated her directing debut at the Wagner festival last year and has
supported projects such as an open-air public screening of operas.
"We're grateful that the wrangling over the festival is finally behind us,"
said Wagner-Pasquier.
"We want to preserve the unmatched position of the festival," said
Katharina Wagner. "Naturally we've been listening to the criticism and will take
it to heart."
Nike Wagner had hoped to run the prestigious event jointly with opera
manager Gerard Mortier.
The foundation said it appreciated that two generations would be involved
in running the festival, a spokeswoman said. In the end the winners received 22
of the foundation's 24 votes.
Richard Wagner himself inaugurated the purpose-built opera house at
Bayreuth in southeast Germany in 1876 after searching in vain for a venue big
enough to stage epic operas such as his four-part Ring cycle.
Demand for the annual festival is so high that fans can wait up to 10 years
for a ticket.
(Source: chinadaily.com.cn/Agencies)
