On Sunday, September 15, 2024, the fifth edition of the Bayreuth Baroque Opera Festival successfully concluded. 5,000 visitors from all over the world attended the two staged opera productions, seven concerts, and many other exquisite events in the Baroque city of Bayreuth. Two internationally renowned Baroque ensembles, Les Talens Lyriques under Christophe Rousset and Il Pomo d’Oro under Francesco Corti, were engaged to accompany the festival from September 5 to 15, 2024. Numerous highlights can be streamed on the media libraries of arte Concert and BR Klassik. The next edition will take place as usual in the first half of September 2025, with the program release scheduled for December 6, 2024. At the center of Bayreuth Baroque 2025 will be the rediscovery of a long-unperformed opera by Francesco Cavalli, directed by artistic director Max Emanuel Cencic. Concerts with renowned singers such as Carlo Vistoli and Marina Viotti are also planned.

Iphigenia in Aulis was the second staged production of an opera by Nicola Antonio Porpora, the most significant competitor of George Frideric Handel, at Bayreuth Baroque. The leading roles were brilliantly performed by the rising stars of the Baroque scene, Jasmin Delfs (Iphigenia) and Maayan Licht (Achilles). Max Emanuel Cencic not only directed but also took on the role of Agamemnon. For the first time, there was also an international co-production of Antonio Vivaldi’s Orlando Furioso with the Teatro Comunale di Ferrara and the Teatro Comunale di Modena, featuring a stellar ensemble centered around Yuriy Mynenko in the title role. Numerous other events, including seven concerts, explored the Baroque atmosphere of Bayreuth at various performance venues. Bruno de Sá stepped in for the ailing Jakub Józef Orliński, accompanied by Il Pomo d’Oro. Max Emanuel Cencic, the artistic director, also stepped in personally for the ill Anna Prohaska. Supported by Les Talens Lyriques and Christophe Rousset, he presented arias by George Frideric Handel and Nicola Antonio Porpora, composed for the famous castrato Senesino.

Despite its relatively short history, Bayreuth Baroque has already made significant achievements: In 2024, it won the Oper! Award in the “Best Festival” category. The previous year, Bayreuth Baroque was nominated for the “Best Festival 2023” category at the International Opera Awards. The magazine Opernwelt has nominated it multiple times in various categories and named the 2022 production of Alessandro nell’Indie as the opera with the best costumes of the year. Forum Opéra named the 2022 production and Carlo il Calvo from 2020 as the “Best New Production.”

Further information about Bayreuth Baroque can be found at: www.bayreuthbaroque.de.