There will be a revolving stage. There will be film. But there won't be any cuts or rewrites. Renowned deconstructionist Frank Castorf hesitated to accept a job where he wouldn't be allowed to tinker with the script, as is his usual practice. But conductor Kirill Petrenko and the two Wagner sisters stood firm. So a clause has been included in Castorf's contract for directing Bayreuth's 2013 Ring cycle - Wagner's words and music remain intact.
Interviewed in Die Welt, the self-styled "Teutonic taskmaster" explains his early ideas.
He describes the story as "a journey towards the gold of our times - oil" which will start "some time after the Second World War". East and West will be brought together on a revolving stage, which has already been designed by Aleksandar Denic. One set will be Berlin Alexanderplatz, representing postmodern socialism. As the stage turns, Wall Street will appear. Castorf isn't aiming for clear conclusions, and admits he doesn't know yet exactly where he's going, but he says he's having fun finding out.
