Bayreuth tickets
January 30, 2015
For decades, fans of Wagner's operas around the globe have had to place ticket orders by mail, often waiting years to rise to the top of a waiting list to see a single opera in the four-week season. Now, the challenge is to book them quickly enough on the Internet.
Festival spokesman Peter Emmerich said about one third of the 59,000 available bookings in 2015 would be offered online. The web portal will go live at 2 pm (1300 GMT) on Sunday (01.02.2015).
The festival kicks off on July 25 with a new production of "Tristan and Isolde" directed by Katharina Wagner, great-granddaughter of Richard Wagner (1813-1883) and co-director of the festival.
This is the second year online bookings have been possible. Last year, 11 nights were sold online only, but this year, all performances will have a share of tickets available on the Internet.
One third of the tickets are put aside for sponsors and dignitaries and the last third are reserved for the people on the traditional waiting list for the prestigious event in Bayreuth, a provincial Bavarian town.
Chancellor Angela Merkel, a music lover, often shows up on the opening night of this festival which exclusively produces works by Richard Wagner.
ks/eg (dpa)