The new show this summer at the house that Wagner built is the wrenching redemption drama Tannhäuser. The opening-night ritual is pretty much etched in stone: boos for the production team, hosannahs for the cast. Valery Gergiev, a multitasking maestro with charisma to burn, will go on to pace a new production of Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra at the Salzburg Festival (August 15–29). Is such double exposure for a conductor in a single summer unprecedented? Maybe not, but it sure is rare. —M.G.