A strike has been averted in the small town of Bayreuth, Germany ? the annual site of the Bayreuth Festival, commemorating the life of German composer and opera aficionado Richard Wagner. The festival takes place at Wagner?s home and personal opera house, where his famous ?Ring Cycle? was premiered in 1876, and will be run this year by his two great-granddaughters. There was trouble in paradise though when the Verdi Union, representing stagehands and lighting engineers for the Festival threatened to strike over wages, saying they were paid well below the industry standard. The union agreed to return to negotiations with Festival management however, and an agreement creating binding pay rules was signed Thursday. Negotiator Hans Kraft says the union is very satisfied with the deal.
See "Bayreuth Festival reaches agreement with union", Dave Itzkoff, The New York Times, July 23, 2009