Top Document: [humanities.music.composers.wagner] Wagner General FAQ Previous Document: III. Frequently asked questions Next Document: B. Where can I obtain the Ring Disc? See reader questions & answers on this topic! - Help others by sharing your knowledge 1. You can try writing, in English, German or French, to the box office of the Bayreuth Festival, not later than the middle of September, at the following address: BAYREUTHER FESTSPIELE Kartenb�ro Postfach 10 02 62 D-95402 Bayreuth Germany Ask for a booking form. When this arrives, you will need to complete it and send it back, to arrive not later than the closing date, which is usually in the middle of October. Now for the bad news. You won't get tickets. All you get is a 'negative' registered in the box office computer-system. You have to repeat this process each year until you have enough 'negatives' to qualify for tickets. Currently the waiting list seems to be about 9 years. The reason for this is very simple. In any season there are no more than 60,000 tickets available. Some of these are allocated to the Wagner Societies or to other organizations, and a few go to tour operators. The remainder are sold via the box office, which gets about 600,000 ticket applications each year. If you are not concerned about attending particular performances, or about particular parts of the house, you can write "EGAL" across the appropriate column. In other words, "I'll take anything". You might also improve your odds, by asking for older rather than newer productions. Do not rely on getting an order form automatically each year. Make a note in your diary to write in July. 2. You can join your local Wagner Society (see the list of home pages below). Each society gets a small allocation of tickets, which are then allocated, usually by a ballot for which only members can apply. 3. Apparently non-European Wagner Societies are allocated more tickets in proportion to their membership, than are European Wagner Societies. So try joining a Wagner Society outside of Europe. Or even better, start one; there are still a few countries in western Africa without Wagner Societies. 4. If that also fails, the last thing you can do is come to Bayreuth and queue in front of the box office from early in the morning (with your evening wear in a bag, just in case) until just before the performance (when, sometimes, returned tickets appear as if by a miracle). 5. After giving up at the box office, you can sit in front of the Festspielhaus, in your best evening wear, holding up a sign that says "Suche Karte" and with a sad look on your face. Do not give up even after the performance has begun; sometimes patrons leave during one of the intervals and give their tickets to some of the pathetic creatures sitting on the pavement. At least you get to see the last act. 6. If money is no problem, buy a package tour that includes travel, hotel and a ticket. There are various opera-travel specialists who advertise in magazines such as 'Opera'. Call them and ask about Bayreuth packages. Try 'Carlson Wagonlit' or 'Thomas Cook'. 7. If you are wealthy, buy a ticket on the black market. WARNING! In recent years the attitude of the Festival management has hardened not only towards the "scalpers" who trade in black-market tickets but also those who buy such tickets. A "scalper" is anyone who asks more for a ticket than its face value. The Festival management regard such tickets as void and invalid. There have been instances of individuals with black-market tickets being forcibly ejected from the Festspielhaus and in at least one case dragged from their seats. It is reported that offenders are advised to leave Bayreuth immediately and not to return. So if you use a black-market ticket, you must be prepared to be black-listed for life. 8. If you are really wealthy, join the Friends of Bayreuth. After an initial period, friends are usually allocated a limited number of tickets every second year. You will also gain a voice in the management of the Festival, since the Friends are represented on the Board of Trustees. 9. If you are a writing person, then get a newspaper or a magazine to send you as their correspondent. You will have to write something for them, of course. User Contributions:Top Document: [humanities.music.composers.wagner] Wagner General FAQ Previous Document: III. Frequently asked questions Next Document: B. Where can I obtain the Ring Disc? Single Page [ Usenet FAQs | Web FAQs | Documents | RFC Index ] Send corrections/additions to the FAQ Maintainer: mimirswell@hotmail.com (Derrick Everett)
Last Update March 27 2014 @ 02:11 PM
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