15 million euros from the federal government for the Wagner Academy in Dresden

The federal government is funding the construction of a Richard Wagner Academy for the Dresden Music Festival. The Saxon state capital will receive 15 million euros from the KulturInvest program of the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media for the internationally oriented center of excellence for 19th-century Romanesque orchestral and operatic practice. "This is great news and a great stroke of luck," said Music Festival Director Jan Vogler to the German Press Agency. Lord Mayor Dirk Hilbert (FDP) is also delighted with the decision and "the enormous amount of funding envisaged".

The building on a prominent site on the Königsufer will house a concert hall with 600 seats as well as orchestra and choir rehearsal rooms, workshop, archive and seminar rooms, according to a statement from the Festival Directorate. Based on the 19th century history of world premieres in the city on the Elbe, the aim is to establish a place for training, research, performance and debate with a global reach. According to Hilbert, however, overall financing is not possible without the Free State of Bavaria.