The Dresden Music Festival is experiencing a great response to its 49th edition. More than a third of the 64 events are already sold out before the start, the festival announced. It begins this Thursday at the Kulturpalast with a concert performance of Richard Wagner's "Götterdämmerung" on period instruments. The official opening of the festival under the motto "Lightness of Being" will follow a day later at the same venue with a concert by the Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Tabita Berglund and hosted by comedian Olaf Schubert. Intendant Jan Vogler will then also perform as the soloist in Henri Dutilleux's cello concerto.
Generous donations from the USA
According to Vogler, the good advance sales have helped to offset falling municipal subsidies for the festival. The total budget this year is 6.6 million euros, with the City of Dresden contributing 890,000 euros. The fact that this year's budget is so large is also due to a generous donation from the Packard Humanities Institute in Los Altos, California. The foundation provided around 1.7 million euros for the performance of "Götterdämmerung".
Finale for Wagner project
The Festival Orchestra and the Ensemble Concerto Köln under the direction of Kent Nagano will conclude their Wagner cycle with the final part of Wagner's "Der Ring des Nibelungen". With "The Wagner Cycles", the music festival combines musical practice and science to create a new kind of sound experience. Since 2023, the "Ring" parts have been performed on historical instruments and in the singing and speaking style of Wagner's time at the Dresden Festival and on tours throughout Europe. In 2027, the complete "Ring" will be performed in the Vienna Konzerthaus in the sound of the period in which it was composed.
