In February, Andris Nelsons told VAN about conducting Wagner in Bayreuth: “You enjoy it masochistically.” On June 30, he asked to be released from his contract, with the festival citing “a differing approach in various matters.” The performance artist and provocateur Jonathan Meese, the director for this year’s production of “Parsifal,” was let go. It’s this chaotic environment that the German conductor Hartmut Haenchen was dropped into. I met him at the Hotel Goldener Anker, where he’s staying as he works on the production.
Thousands of Changes
An interview with Hartmut Haenchen
