Bayreuth Festival the world of opera. Other notable directors to have participated in "Werkstatt Bayreuth" included Jean-Pierre Ponnelle, Sir Peter Hall of the Royal Shakespeare Company, Götz Friedrich of the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Harry Kupfer of the Berlin State Opera in the former communist East Germany and Heiner Müller of the Berliner Ensemble. In the end, Wolfgang's decision to bring in experimental directors helped rejuvenate Bayreuth and restore its reputation as the world leader in Wagnerian opera. There was uncertainty over how the Festival was to be managed after the retirement of Wolfgang Wagner at the end of August 2008. In 2001,
London Handel Festival London Handel Festival The London Handel Festival is an annual music festival centred on the compositions of George Frideric Handel. The festival also features other composers. It includes a Handel Singing Competition. It was founded by Denys Darlow, who was succeeded as musical director in 1999 by Laurence Cummings. Since 2011 Cummings has combined his work in London with the artistic directorship of the Göttingen International Handel Festival in Germany. A regular venue for concerts is the church the composer attended, St George's, Hanover Square, near his home on Brook Street. The original organ was completed in 1725, but although