I spent a few days in northern Bavaria auditioning for the renowned Wagner Stimmen competition in the city of Bayreuth. It was hot, the town was abuzz with Bayreuth Festspiele activity, and the people were friendly. The competition ran over two days, with 36 singers from 18 different countries having been preselected for round one. I’m pretty sure I was the only Aussie in the room, though I did spot a Kiwi! Every time I attend some sort of event for Wagner singers I feel like I’ve found my clan. We’re all tall, broad, “Glamazon”, and generally pretty down to earth.
When not trying to keep cool under competition pressure and 35 degree heat, Familie Parker went strolling through Bayreuth, which is a beautiful, elegant, and very clean city. The general folk could not be more different from the folk in Berlin.
The 1 year old thought that the fountains and little water play areas running through the old town were hilarious. We followed the Walk of Wagner (the male singers certainly outperform the women when it comes to repeat performances in Bayreuth!), then we camped out on the lawn in front of the Festspielhaus and watched the glamorous people clothed in finery ascend the hill to see Siegfried.
No opera on the cards for Familie Parker, time did not permit it, unfortunately, but I am positive there will be a next time in Bayreuth. Hopefully accompanied by a CD signing 🙂 For now, to concentrate on the competition semi finals in Karlsruhe!