Former participants of the Bayreuth Baroque are accusing director Max Emanuel Cenčić of abusive behavior and lack of complaint mechanisms. According to a report by Axel Brüggemann in Backstage Classical, “Accusations include insults, physical altercations, and conflicts of interest with his agency.” The article notes that 10 people were willing to go on record and tell their accounts about their experiences in connection with the Bayreuth Baroque Festival.
The people who spoke out decided to remain anonymous but noted that they received abusive text messages and saw fistfights during rehearsals, and derogatory statements such as “You are so fucking stupid!” and the Greek word for “a*hole” or “wanker.” Another artist noted that there are no clear complaint channels and that many singers at Bayreuth Baroque are under contract with the Parnassus agency creating a conflict of interest. In a response to the report, Cenčić said that things were “taken out of context, dramatized or invented.
A rehearsal period is generally difficult for everyone involved. You spend up to six hours a day in the rehearsal room for six weeks and do your best. Nobody is in the same good mood every day.
The fact that sometimes words slip out or you don’t use the politeness you would under normal conditions when dealing with one another is something that happens not only to directors but also to singers and technicians.” Categories.