Würzburg.In a closed meeting, the Würzburg city council drew a line in the controversy about an extension of the director’s contract and the majority expressed its confidence in the 58-year-old Markus Trabusch.
In the spring of last year there was such serious criticism of the management style of the director that cultural advisor Achim Könneke and Würzburg’s mayor Christian Schuchardt initially spoke out against a further term in office from the 2021/22 season (we reported).
Now the Trier-born opera and theater director continues to determine the fate of the Mainfranken Theater, which has to cope with the Corona crisis, the renovation of the house and the change from the city to the state theater. A Herculean task that Trabusch has successfully mastered so far, but which is not compatible with the current limbo, in which the conditions and competencies for contractual continued employment have to be negotiated in detail.
As soon as the sensitive relationship of trust between the artistic director and the general music director began to show the first cracks, the city of Würzburg prematurely extended the contract with the general music director Enrico Calesso, who had received several awards for his artistic achievements and was highly valued in Würzburg and respected in the orchestra. The successful chief conductor has been employed at the Mainfranken Theater since 2010 and has had a new contract running until August 31, 2025 with additional competencies that will inevitably be reflected in the future director’s contract. After all, the Philharmonic Orchestra is not only given greater weight in a state theater.
The image damage caused by the multiple U-turns in politics in the Trabusch cause is already great enough. Interventions in the legally binding contract with the general music director, who was praised by the city as an “excellent ambassador for the city of music and culture,” would have unforeseeable consequences. The tablecloth has not yet been cut, a loss of confidence can be repaired and – hopefully – lawyers are not in charge yet. ferö
© Fränkische Nachrichten, Thursday, October 8th, 2020
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