“For a long time I had wanted to attend the Bayreuth Festival, and so I am extremely grateful to the Wagner Society of New York for having selected me to attend this past summer. I did not expect the opportunity would come at such an early stage in my artistic development, and the experience I had is something I will carry forward with me for the rest of my career.
The Stipendium program places you alongside over 200 other young artists from around the world, and it is quite special to be able to share the festival experience with colleagues who are also attending for the first time. Included in the program is an amazing offering of museums, meals, tours (including backstage), and most importantly, tickets to three operas. The Festival atmosphere is one of reverence and dedication; everybody knows what they are there to do and enjoy, and the enjoyment extends well outside the opera house throughout the entire town of Bayreuth. This is especially clear during intermissions, where the audience has an entire hour to eat, drink, and socialize between acts. From regulars to first-timers, I don’t know anywhere else you can find an audience so dedicated to what they are seeing.
The Festspielhaus acoustic is the perfect setting for Wagner’s music, and it is no wonder that people return year after year just to hear the music performed in the space. The various forces of the orchestra almost cannot be localized; the sound fills the space all around you, yet comes from nowhere. The orchestra does not hold back, and the naturally clear balance seems almost impossible to disturb. For music like Wagner’s, this makes all the difference. My concerns about the lack of air-conditioning and supertitles faded completely as the lights went down for Das Rheingold, and I found myself enjoying each performance as if I was seeing opera for the first time all over again.”
Learn more about Sanford’s work at swschwartz.com.