End Of The 2019/2020 Season Cancelled At The Bayerische Staatsoper

By order of the Bavarian Ministry of Science and Art, the 2020 Munich Opera Festival will not be able to take place. Likewise, all remaining performances will be cancelled until the end of June 2020, thus ending the 2019/20 season of the Bayerische Staatsoper.

"The cancellation of the remaining season and of the Munich Opera Festival is naturally very painful for the entire house and for me personally," says General Manager Nikolaus Bachler. "A theatre without an audience, without artists to enliven the stage and orchestra pit is nothing more than a dead shell. In recent weeks, we have gone through several scenarios for the realisation of the festival, which were primarily intended to ensure the safety and health of staff, artists and audiences. However, none of the options proved to be practicable and satisfactory. Therefore, we are now examining under high pressure which premieres can take place at a later date and which activities can be possible online and through streams".

In order to be prepared for a reopening in autumn, the Staatsoper is currently planning to gradually resume preparatory operations in the areas of stage, costume and workshops, as well as to continue the live stream of Monday Concerts and similar projects.

Nikolaus Bachler: "For the near future, I would hope that politics and, beyond that, all of us can soon return to a discussion that does not see culture - including not only opera, but also exhibitions, theatre, cinema, and concerts of all kinds - on the sidelines, but recognises it for what it is: indispensable. The health of all of us is important, but it also includes our social and cultural well-being. The freedom of the arts and our intellectual development are fundamental to this. The solidarity that is currently being shown in public towards artists and cultural workers shows that art is relevant to all of us".

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