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Russian quits Bayreuth over Nazi tattoos
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wagnerfan
Jul 21, 2012, 5:44:37 PM7/21/12
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BERLIN (AP) � A Russian baritone who was due to sing the lead role in
Richard Wagner's "The Flying Dutchman" when the Bayreuth opera
festival opens next week withdrew from the event Saturday after it
emerged that he once had Nazi-related symbols tattooed on his body.
A German television program broadcast Friday showed old footage of a
bare-chested Evgeny Nikitin playing drums in a rock band, in which a
swastika tattoo partly covered by another symbol could be seen. The
festival said Nikitin made his decision amid questions from a German
newspaper about the significance of some of his tattoos.
Organizers made Nikitin, 38, aware of "the connotations of these
symbols in connection with German history," said a statement from the
festival in Bayreuth, in the southeastern state of Bavaria. It added
that his decision to pull out is "in line with the festival
leadership's consistent rejection of any form of Nazi ideas."
The festival is currently led by the composer's great-granddaughters,
Eva Wagner-Pasquier and Katharina Wagner.
The Nazi past is a sensitive issue for the Bayreuth festival, which
was founded by Richard Wagner in 1872.
Winifred Wagner, who headed the Bayreuth festival under Nazi rule, was
a strong admirer of Adolf Hitler. During her reign, Hitler not only
helped fund the festival but was allowed to meddle in artistic
decisions.
In a brief statement released through the festival, Nikitin said that
he got the tattoos in his youth.
"It was a major mistake in my life, and I wish I had never done it,"
he said. "I was not aware of the extent of the confusion and hurt that
these symbols would cause, particularly in Bayreuth and in the context
of the festival's history."
Displaying Nazi symbols is a criminal offense in Germany.
This year's festival is due to open on Wednesday with "The Flying
Dutchman," and it wasn't immediately clear who might replace Nikitin.
The festival said the director, Jan Philipp Gloger, believes that the
"artistic damage to the production is immense" and it may not be
possible to repair it entirely before next week's premiere.
Richard Wagner's "The Flying Dutchman" when the Bayreuth opera
festival opens next week withdrew from the event Saturday after it
emerged that he once had Nazi-related symbols tattooed on his body.
A German television program broadcast Friday showed old footage of a
bare-chested Evgeny Nikitin playing drums in a rock band, in which a
swastika tattoo partly covered by another symbol could be seen. The
festival said Nikitin made his decision amid questions from a German
newspaper about the significance of some of his tattoos.
Organizers made Nikitin, 38, aware of "the connotations of these
symbols in connection with German history," said a statement from the
festival in Bayreuth, in the southeastern state of Bavaria. It added
that his decision to pull out is "in line with the festival
leadership's consistent rejection of any form of Nazi ideas."
The festival is currently led by the composer's great-granddaughters,
Eva Wagner-Pasquier and Katharina Wagner.
The Nazi past is a sensitive issue for the Bayreuth festival, which
was founded by Richard Wagner in 1872.
Winifred Wagner, who headed the Bayreuth festival under Nazi rule, was
a strong admirer of Adolf Hitler. During her reign, Hitler not only
helped fund the festival but was allowed to meddle in artistic
decisions.
In a brief statement released through the festival, Nikitin said that
he got the tattoos in his youth.
"It was a major mistake in my life, and I wish I had never done it,"
he said. "I was not aware of the extent of the confusion and hurt that
these symbols would cause, particularly in Bayreuth and in the context
of the festival's history."
Displaying Nazi symbols is a criminal offense in Germany.
This year's festival is due to open on Wednesday with "The Flying
Dutchman," and it wasn't immediately clear who might replace Nikitin.
The festival said the director, Jan Philipp Gloger, believes that the
"artistic damage to the production is immense" and it may not be
possible to repair it entirely before next week's premiere.
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