© Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe, Siegfried 2019

News

30.08.2021
Report on the Bayreuth Scholarship Days
This year's Scholarship Days event took place from 04.08.-10.08.2021 - only 60 young artists of the usual 250 were permitted to attend
On the day of arrival, the Franconian evening took place at the Rheingold Hotel, where all the scholarship holders were accommodated. As a foundation, we were very fortunate that the hotelier of the Hotel Rheingold, Mr Porsch, provided the rooms at extremely reasonable prices and sponsored the Franconian evening for us.

Special thanks go to Ms Stephanie Kollmer, who as the new Managing Director of the Scholarship Foundation organised her first scholarship holders' days, under the shadow of Covid 19. Despite the circumstances, she contributed to a more than successful week of variety and events that would not have been possible without her organisational talent.

The days began for Stephanie Kollmer and the young scholarship holders with the morning Corona Test and the accompaniment of the scholarship holders to their individual programme points, up to the Festival performances of "The Flying Dutchman", "Tannhäuser" and "Meistersinger". The scholarship holders' concert, which was part of the programme, had to be played without an intermission for Corona reasons. After the concert, the Corona requirements were then waived because the event was allowed to be transformed into a private evening with scholarship holders and guests, which had the advantage for everyone of not being forced to wear masks in closed rooms and being able to take part in the communal meal.

As in every year except 2020, the packed programme included all events from the welcome reception of the young guests in Wahnfried Park, the reception at the Lord Mayor of the City of Bayreuth, Mr Thomas Ebersberger, as well as the sightseeing and the reception of the Museum Director, Dr Sven Friedrich, and the laying of the wreath at Wahnfried for Richard and Cosima Wagner.

As President of the RWVI, I was able to accompany and talk to the young artists with some members of my presidium present, who were also accompanied by no less than 9 presidents from Germany and representatives from abroad such as New York and Chile.

Next year gives us all hope for further relief and we are happy to have experienced these wonderful days under the conditions of the Covid 19 pandemic.

Rainer Fineske