The once and future queen

Mostly Opera, which has been better than great in its coverage of the Bayreuth succession mess, posts an interview with Eva Wagner-Pasquier. My favorite line from the whole thing,

It disturbs me that the image of the Wagner family has most of all become like a Soap Opera.

To my mind, Eva Wagner-Pasquier is the only reasonable candidate, just as she was in 2001. Katharina Wagner and Christian Thielemann are already talking like they need a third member of the leadership team to handle the business side of things. So, you have a troika: artistic director, musical director, and managing director. This will not work. Trust me. Committee rule is rarely tenable, and almost never successful. More and more, this seems like a cynical attempt on Wolfgang Wagner's part to install Gudrun, his second wife, through Katharina. As the criticism mounts of his younger daughter, it seems more and more like he is suggesting that other co-directors be added to cover up for the deficiencies of Katharina. If that's the plan, he might as well see about getting Harry Kupfer or Patrice Chéreau to help her along as a "senior artistic consultant."

Mrs. Wagner-Pasquier has experience running festivals like, though certainly not identical to, Bayreuth. The Foundation found her the superior choice, and - while Wolfgang can certainly have an opinion - the Tankred Dorst Ring and Katharina's Meistersinger sort of indicate that she might have a better notion of where Bayreuth needs to be than dad. A wild, controversial production might be a shot in the arm, compared to the Age of Apathy currently underway.