Festival - Board of Directors approves Bayreuth savings
The Board of Directors of the Bayreuth Festival has approved savings at the world-famous opera festival. The economic plan presented by the management was approved, said the Chairman of the Board of Directors, Georg von Waldenfels, to the German Press Agency on Saturday after the board meeting.
Prior to this, there had been fierce criticism of the planned cuts formulated in the business plan - including from the German Music Council. The Association of German Opera and Dance Ensembles (VdO) spoke of the threat of "job cuts" because the number of permanent choir members is to be reduced by 40 percent from 134 to 80 in the coming year.
The festival, on the other hand, spoke of a "restructuring of the festival choir". In future, it will consist of a main choir and a special choir - "which means that the usual 134 choir members will continue to be heard in all exposed choral works".
According to the festival, the reason for the cost-cutting measures are "significant cost increases" affecting all opera houses. High energy costs, expensive materials and increased personnel costs "due to very high wage settlements in the public sector" are cited.
"The additional financial requirement in subsequent years will cumulatively amount to several million euros," the Festival announced. According to the Festival, the planned savings affect "all departments and areas".
As von Waldenfels, who is also Chairman of the Society of Friends of Bayreuth, announced, the Patrons' Association will pay 2.4 million euros to the Festspiel-GmbH in the coming year - around one million less than before due to a decline in donations. He did not say how this shortfall would be made up in 2024.
The federal government, the Free State of Bavaria and the patrons' association Gesellschaft der Freunde von Bayreuth each currently hold 29 percent of the GmbH, with the City of Bayreuth holding 13 percent.
However, the distribution of the shares is to change due to the dwindling financial strength of the Friends, as the Bavarian state government decided in the summer: because the association had announced that it would pay less for the festival due to lower income, Bavaria wants the federal and state governments to take over the shares that become available. However, this has not yet been decided.
Press release from the Bayreuth Festival Association Press release from the German Music Council
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Source: www.stern.de
