As of: March 16, 2024, 10:00 a.m
By: Markus Thiel
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Serge Dorny has been artistic director since 2021, and now there are rumors about a possible move to the Salzburg Festival.
© Wilfried Hösl
Even though he has applied to be the director of the Salzburg Festival, Serge Dorny's first focus is on next season at the Bavarian State Opera.
He presented it to the public on Saturday.
Among other things, the director is launching a new “Ring of the Nibelung” (premieres at the end of the interview).
“I don’t necessarily think about myself”: Serge Dorny in conversation with MM culture editor Markus Thiel.
© Wilfried Hösl
When we met a few years ago
When you talked about Munich plans at your former official residence in Lyon, you said: I won't do Wagner's "Ring" because it blocks too much.
Why now?
We do a “ring”, but not in one season.
This would then be completely based on the “Ring”, everything else would be secondary.
And that is not compatible for a repertory house.
The “Ring” simply belongs to the Bavarian State Opera, to its artistic, musical identity.
“Rheingold” and “Walküre” premiered here.
There have been 13 productions since then.
This repertoire also defines the sound of the Bavarian State Orchestra; all general music directors conducted the “Ring”.
“Rheingold” will be released in October 2024, “Walküre” in June 2026, followed by “Siegfried” and “Götterdämmerung” relatively soon after each other, and we will be showing the entire “Ring” at the 2027 festival.
Aside from its artistic and musical identity, the “Ring” has immense political significance in its tension between power and love.
Losers like Alberich can be the most brutal people of power.
And there are many examples of this in our present day.
Does a house like the Bavarian State Opera have to become even more political, especially in these times?
Theater is a democratic and therefore political act - to preserve the pluralism of our society.
Our game plan is also political.
Just take “The Passenger” right now or “War and Peace” last season.
Or when Christoph Marthaler enriched Lehár’s “Giuditta” with a political text by Ödön von Horváth.
So very current topics are being discussed on our stage.
The “Ja, May” festival returns in 2025. Because financial resources are available again? What is the State Opera's financial framework? For example, if the budget is frozen, you still have to absorb tariff increases.
We have already said that “Ja, May” should take place every two years and should not overlap with the Munich Music Theater Biennale.
We are currently working on the 2027 edition.
There is still no financial security from the Free State for our 2024 budget year.
But what is good news is that we had a balanced budget in the calendar year, so the budget for 2023 approved by the Free State was sufficient.
Our income structure, whether through ticket sales, co-productions or sponsorships, has made this balance possible.
We have to monitor the effect of the tariff increases.
But we are optimistic.
The occupancy rate and financial income for the 2023/24 season were almost the same as before the Corona period.
The State Opera's incredibly loyal audience is worth its weight in gold.
We still have around 20,000 subscribers.
At other houses, subscriptions have fallen by almost 50 percent.
However, like everywhere else, there is one change: people are buying tickets more quickly.
Do you think your budget is too low?
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You have to keep in mind that personnel costs in Munich are very high.
Living and operating in an expensive city like Munich is not easy.
After the Corona period, things are even more complicated than before.
The problem is well known: you can live better in other cities for the same salary.
There is a renovation backlog in the Free State, and your house should also be completely renovated. Are you afraid of that?
There will be an interim renovation in 2025, but the 2025/26 season will be shortened by around six weeks.
Then the most necessary work, such as fire protection, is carried out.
The general renovation is currently scheduled for after 2034. We know enough examples around the world: If such a phase only lasts five years, people are overjoyed.
In Munich we probably have to reckon with seven years.
And we have learned one thing from the Corona period: Reaching the audience again is not necessarily easy.
So you definitely have to think about the timing of the renovation.
What have you had to learn since you took office, including when it comes to choosing pieces?
There is a very loyal audience here.
And there is a curiosity for discovery.
In the coming season we are actually bringing out three pieces that are new to Munich.
Two at the festival “Ja, Mai” and Fauré’s “Pénélope”, which we are playing on the 100th anniversary of the composer’s death.
The household gods Wagner, Strauss and Mozart are present with premieres.
And a well-known work like Donizetti's “La fille du régiment” was not played here for 90 years.
There will be three clusters this season.
“Rheingold” and, as an echo, “Die Liebe der Danae”, which is also about power and love, but with a different answer, plus “Pénélope”, with which Fauré also responds musically to Wagner.
The second cluster is verismo: “Cavalleria rusticana”/ “Pagliacci”, “Katja Kabanova” with its family drama in a village society and “La fille du régiment” as the anti-“Katja”.
And then of course we have the “opera of all operas” with “Don Giovanni”.
The legendary director Andrea Breth makes her debut at the Bavarian State Opera with “Pénélope”. How difficult was it to win?
That wasn't actually difficult at all.
The project has been set for quite a long time.
What is remarkable about this opera: It is not about Odysseus, his return to Troy.
The central figure is the woman who stayed at home.
And the way the psychology of this character is portrayed in the orchestra is incredibly interesting.
A mix between recitative style and Wagnerian explosions.
And a piece that fits Andrea Breth's theatrical language very well.
Speaking of which: the theater languages that we can now see are more diverse than before.
Every season for the last three years, directors who have never worked here have come here.
And it’s the same with conductors.
The “Ring” is scheduled to be completed by 2027. But your contract initially runs until 2026. When will we find out about the extension?
All of us, including General Music Director Vladimir Jurowski and State Ballet Director Laurent Hilaire, are responsible for planning further into the future - also in the interest of a functioning theater.
An extension is in the hands of the Ministry of Art.
And what are your personal plans?
When I plan, it means that I am interested in the future of the Bavarian State Opera.
The house has priority, I don't necessarily think about myself.
If we want to continue playing in the Champions League, we just have to plan.
The interview was conducted by Markus Thiel.
The premieres of the next season:
Opera:
“Das Rheingold” by Richard Wagner on October 27, 2024 (conductor: Vladimir Jurowski, director: Tobias scratch).
“La fille du régiment” by Gaetano Donizetti on December 22, 2024 (Stefano Montanari, Damiano Michieletto).
“The Love of Danae” by Richard Strauss on February 7, 2025 (Sebastian Weigle, Claus Guth).
“Katia Kabanová” by Leos Janácek on March 17, 2025 (Mirga Grazinyte-Tyla, Krzystof Warlikowski).
“Cavalleria rusticana” by Pietro Mascagni/ “Pagliacci” by Ruggero Leoncavallo on May 22, 2025 (Daniele Rustioni, Francesco Micheli).
“Don Giovanni” by Wolfgang Amadé Mozart on June 27, 2025 (Vladimir Jurowski, David Hermann).
“Pénélope” by Gabriel Fauré on July 18, 2025 (Susanna Mälkki, Andrea Breth).
Festival “Ja, May”:
“The Hunting Rifle” by Thomas Larcher on April 27, 2025 (Francesco Angelico, Ulrike Schwab).
“Matsukaze” by Toshio Hosokawa on May 3, 2025 (Alexandre Bloch, Lotte van den Berg/Tobias Staab).
Ballet:
“La Sylphide” on November 22, 2024 (choreography: Pierre Lacotte).
“Wings of Memory” on April 10, 2025 (Jiri Kylián, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Pina Bausch).
“Spheres.03/ León & Lightfoot” on June 27, 2025 (curators: Sol León, Angelin Preljocaj).