Wagner fest cancels and reinstates Holocaust memorial event

The Bayreuth Festival had canceled a planned memorial lecture featuring Jewish author and broadcaster Michel Friedman, drawing sharp criticism.

To mark the Bayreuth Festival's 150th anniversary, a memorial event titled "Silenced Voices" ("Verstummte Stimmen") will take place on July 26, before the premiere of the opera "Rienzi."

Works by Richard Wagner, Gustav Mahler and Jewish composer Pavel Haas, who died in the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, will be performed at the event.

Organizers also invited broadcaster, journalist and former deputy chair of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Michel Friedman — himself at one time a DW show host — to speak about Wagner's antisemitism and its legacy.

The program aims to confront the festival's own history, while proceeds from the event are to fund scholarships for Israeli musicians.

The Holocaust memorial concert came into the spotlight when it was suddenly canceled, with festival leadership citing security concerns. German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung first reported the decision on June 15. 

But following public outcry, the event was subsequently reinstated.

Why was it canceled?

When the cancellation was first made public, interim managing director Heinz-Dieter Sense told German public broadcaster Bayerischer Rundfunk that security services could not handle two high-level security operations at the festival venue in one day.

He pointed to the limited time between the morning event and the 4 p.m. opening performance of Wagner's "Rienzi."

"Given the current global situation, everyone is being extremely cautious," Sense said. "If no one can guarantee that it's feasible, then I can't hold the event."

Festival organizers said they would have needed the highest security level to protect Friedman.

Germany has seen a rise in antisemitic violence in recent years. Friedman faced a previous cancellation of an appearance in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern last October.

Police and city say they were not involved

Questions remain over whether security concerns alone drove the cancellation. The festival declined interview requests from DW. Spokesperson Hubertus Herrmann only wrote in a statement that security authorities had not approved the original plan.

However, both the regional police headquarters in the state of Upper Franconia and the city of Bayreuth informed DW that they had not been involved in the planning process. 

Michel Friedman had previously expressed deep anger in interviews with the Süddeutsche Zeitung and other media outlets. He said the cancellation of events for security reasons in a democracy amounted to capitulation to extremists, and described the move as "suicide."

Friedman questions official explanation

Amid the controversy, Friedman also expressed his doubts over the official security rationale.

He noted in interviews that organizers had still not begun ticket sales, six weeks prior to the event.

Speaking to DW, he said he had no wish to comment further, but repeated his suspicion that organizers never intended to stage the event.

"For me, the whole thing is a mirage," Friedman said. "I don't know what's behind it, but I think everything got canceled and they simply forgot about me."

He also said organizers had originally planned the event for a different venue — the Friedrichsforum — rather than the main festival building, contradicting claims that it was security at the venue creating scheduling conflicts.

Festival director Katharina Wagner said the concert remained a "passion project" and part of a critical reflection on the festival's own history.

According to the Süddeutsche Zeitung, she has since apologized to Michel Friedman and invited him back to the festival.

The commentator and former vice-president of the Central Council of Jews decided to accept the invitation: "I gladly accept her personal apology. When someone makes a move, one should move along with them," Friedman said. He considers Wagner's "words of regret addressed to me to be sincere and credible."

Festival's own dark past

The Bayreuth Festival's history includes dark chapters. As Friedman told the Süddeutsche Zeitung, "the soil in Bayreuth is contaminated."

Adolf Hitler, a Wagner admirer, frequently attended performances. Winifred Wagner, then head of the festival, maintained close ties to the Nazi leadership.

Richard Wagner's own antisemitic writings continue to shape debate around his work. In his 1850 essay "Das Judenthum in der Musik" (Judaism in Music), he outlined his racist theories on Jewish influences upon music of the time. His widow Cosima Wagner later promoted many of those ideas.

The "Silenced Voices" concert will also honor Jewish musicians who faced professional bans or were murdered under Nazi rule and during the Holocaust.

This article was originally written in German