Verena Wagner
Verena Wagner Lafferentz (2 December 1920 – 19 April 2019) was the fourth child and younger daughter of Winifred and Siegfried Wagner, and the youngest granddaughter of German composer Richard Wagner. She was also a great-granddaughter of the composer Franz Liszt. Her father died, aged 61, when she was 10. Verena Wagner grew up in the Villa Wahnfried in Bayreuth and attended the Obernkirchener rural school. Adolf Hitler greatly favoured Wagner's music and became very close to Verena's mother, Winifred Wagner, who was a fanatical admirer of Hitler; there were even rumours that they would marry. She met him at the Bayreuth Festival in 1923. Hitler also befriended her children and treated them as his own. Indeed, in 1940 Verena Wagner and Hitler were also rumoured to be romantically linked, although Hitler was said to have been uncomfortable with how the public would accept their three-decade age gap. Many people affirm that Hitler would gladly marry the granddaughter of Richard ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Denazification
Denazification (german: link=yes, Entnazifizierung) was an Allied initiative to rid German and Austrian society, culture, press, economy, judiciary, and politics of the Nazi ideology following the Second World War. It was carried out by removing those who had been Nazi Party or SS members from positions of power and influence, by disbanding or rendering impotent the organizations associated with Nazism, and by trying prominent Nazis for war crimes in the Nuremberg trials of 1946. The program of denazification was launched after the end of the war and was solidified by the Potsdam Agreement in August 1945. The term ''denazification'' was first coined as a legal term in 1943 by the U.S. Pentagon, intended to be applied in a narrow sense with reference to the post-war German legal system. However, it later took on a broader meaning. In late 1945 and early 1946, the emergence of the Cold War and the economic importance of Germany caused the United States in particular to lose ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Richard Wagner Foundation
The Richard Wagner Foundation (in German Richard-Wagner-Stiftung) was formed in 1973, when, faced with overwhelming criticism and infighting amongst the descendants of Richard Wagner, the Bayreuth Festival and its assets were transferred to the newly created Foundation. The board of directors included members of the Wagner family and others appointed by the state. The Wagner family handed over the Festspielhaus and the Richard Wagner Archive to the Foundation and donated Wagner's villa Wahnfried to the town of Bayreuth. In 1976 the National Archive of the Richard Wagner Foundation (formerly known as the Richard Wagner Family Archive or Wahnfried Archive), was deposited with the Foundation. In 2008 the Foundation's 24 board members, mostly descendants of Wagner, selected Katharina Wagner and her sister Eva Wagner-Pasquier to lead the Bayreuth Festival following the decision of Wolfgang Wagner to stand down.Paterson, Tony . (1 September 2008).'Peace breaks out in Wagnerian feud' '' ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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International Association Of Wagner Societies
The International Association of Wagner Societies (''Der Richard-Wagner-Verband International e.V.'', also known as "Der RWVI") is an affiliation of Wagner societies (''Richard Wagner-Verband'') that promotes interest and research into the works of Richard Wagner, raises funds for scholarships for young music students, singers, and instrumentalists, and supports the annual Bayreuth Festival. It also sponsors symposia, holds singing competitions for Wagnerian voices, and issues awards for stage direction and stagings of Wagner's operas. The association is a nonprofit organization. History The first Richard Wagner society was launched in Mannheim, Germany in 1871, one year after the premiere of the German composer's opera ''Die Walküre'' ("The Valkyrie") in Munich. The brainchild of Wagner's longtime friend, the music publisher Emil Heckel, the first society was a simple, locally conceived venue for celebrating Wagner's music. In the wake of Wagner's difficulties in securing in ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Lake Constance
Lake Constance (german: Bodensee, ) refers to three Body of water, bodies of water on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps: Upper Lake Constance (''Obersee''), Lower Lake Constance (''Untersee''), and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, called the Seerhein, Lake Rhine (''Seerhein''). These waterbodies lie within the Lake Constance Basin () in the Alpine Foreland through which the Rhine flows. The lake is situated where Germany, Switzerland, and Austria meet. Its shorelines lie in the German states of Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria, the Swiss cantons of Canton of St. Gallen, St. Gallen, Canton of Thurgau, Thurgau, and Canton of Schaffhausen, Schaffhausen, and the Austrian state of Vorarlberg. The actual location of the border Lake_Constance#International_borders, is disputed. The Alpine Rhine forms in its original course the Austro-Swiss border and flows into the lake from the south. The High Rhine flows westbound out of the lake and forms (with the exception of the Canton ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Überlingen
Überlingen is a German city on the northern shore of Lake Constance (Bodensee) in Baden-Württemberg near the border with Switzerland. After the city of Friedrichshafen, it is the second largest city in the Bodenseekreis (district), and a central point for the outlying communities. Since 1 January 1993, Überlingen has been categorized as a large district city (Große Kreisstadt). History The history of Überlingen dates back to Roman times, but a variety of settlements pre-dated Roman occupation. Stone age settlements, discovered along the shoreline of Lake Constance, document that the lake supported several dozen thriving communities of 50–100 individuals. These settlements fall under the category of the Hallstatt culture, and their habits, dress, and diet has been illuminated through the excavation of archaeological sites, such as a major site in Hallstadt, Austria, excavated in the mid-to late 19th century.Alfons Semler, ''Überlingen: Bilder aus der Geschichte einer ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sofia
Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and has many mineral springs, such as the Sofia Central Mineral Baths. It has a humid continental climate. Being in the centre of the Balkans, it is midway between the Black Sea and the Adriatic Sea, and closest to the Aegean Sea. Known as Serdica in Antiquity and Sredets in the Middle Ages, Sofia has been an area of human habitation since at least 7000 BC. The recorded history of the city begins with the attestation of the conquest of Serdica by the Roman Republic in 29 BC from the Celtic tribe Serdi. During the decline of the Roman Empire, the city was raided by Huns, Visigoths, Avars and Slavs. In 809, Serdica was incorporated into the Bulgarian Empire by Khan Krum and became known as Sredets. In 1018, the Byzantines ended Bulgarian rule ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Birgit Nilsson
Märta Birgit Nilsson (17 May 1918 – 25 December 2005) was a celebrated Swedish dramatic soprano. Although she sang a wide répertoire of operatic and vocal works, Nilsson was best known for her performances in the operas of Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss. Her voice was noted for its overwhelming force, bountiful reserves of power, and the gleaming brilliance and clarity in the upper register. Biography Early life Birgit Nilsson was born Märta Birgit Svensson on a farm at Västra Karup in Skåne (100 km/60 miles north of Malmö) to Nils Svensson and Justina Svensson (née Paulsson). When she was three years old she began picking out melodies on a toy piano her mother bought for her. She once told an interviewer that she could sing before she could walk, adding, "I even sang in my dreams". Her vocal talent was first noticed when she began to sing in her church choir. A choirmaster near her home heard her sing and advised her to take voice lessons. She studied w ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Gudrun Wagner
Gudrun Wagner (''née'' Armann; 15 June 1944 – 28 November 2007) was the second wife of Wolfgang Wagner, sole director of the Bayreuth Festival since 1967. Her behind-the-scenes influence led her to be considered virtual co-director. Biography Wagner was born as Gudrun Armann in Allenstein, East Prussia. She grew up in Lower Bavaria near Regensburg, where she was moved at the age of four weeks because of World War II. She worked as a secretary in the press department of the Bayreuth Festival from 1965. In 1970 she married Dietrich Mack, editor of Cosima Wagner's diary. She later became the assistant of Wolfgang Wagner, the grandson of Richard Wagner and director of the Bayreuth Festival which the composer founded. She and Wolfgang Wagner each divorced their spouses in order to marry each other in 1976. Their daughter Katharina, who succeeded her father as co-director of the festival, was born in 1978. Although officially keeping a low profile, she exercised influence on the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Wolfgang Wagner
Wolfgang Wagner (30 August 191921 March 2010) was a German opera director. He is best known as the director (Festspielleiter) of the Bayreuth Festival, a position he initially assumed alongside his brother Wieland in 1951 until the latter's death in 1966. From then on, he assumed total control until he retired in 2008, although many of the productions which he commissioned were severely criticized in their day. He had been plagued by family conflicts and criticism for many years. He was the son of Siegfried Wagner, who was the son of Richard Wagner, and the great-grandson of Franz Liszt. Biography His mother, Winifred Wagner (''née'' Williams-Klindworth), was English. He was born at Wahnfried, the Wagner family home in Bayreuth in Bavaria. In addition to his elder brother Wieland (1917–66), he had an elder sister Friedelind Wagner (1918–1991), and a younger sister Verena Wagner (1920–2019). During the 1920s Winifred Wagner was an admirer, supporter and friend of t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Henrik, Prince Consort Of Denmark
Prince Henrik of Denmark (; born Henri Marie Jean André de Laborde de Monpezat; 11 June 1934 – 13 February 2018) was the husband of Margrethe II of Denmark. He served as her royal consort from Margrethe's accession on 14 January 1972 until his death. Henrik was born in the French commune of Talence near Bordeaux to an old French family, the Laborde de Monpezats. He spent his early years in Tonkin in French Indochina (now part of Vietnam), where his family had lived for many years. The family spent the Second World War at the family home in Cahors, France. They returned to French Indochina after the war. However, they were forced to flee following the defeat of the French in the First Indochina War. After completing his education in France and Vietnam, Henrik served in the French Army during the Algerian War. Prior to his marriage to Margrethe, he worked in the diplomatic service. He married Margrethe at the Holmen Church on 10 June 1967 and became her prince consort ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Margrethe II Of Denmark
Margrethe II (; Margrethe Alexandrine Þórhildur Ingrid, born 16 April 1940) is Queen of Denmark. Having reigned as Denmark's monarch for over 50 years, she is Europe's longest-serving current head of state and the world's only incumbent female monarch following the death of Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom. Born into the House of Glücksburg, a cadet branch of the House of Oldenburg, Margrethe is the eldest child of Frederick IX of Denmark and Ingrid of Sweden. She became heir presumptive to her father in 1953, when a constitutional amendment allowed women to inherit the throne. Margrethe succeeded her father upon his death on 14 January 1972. On her accession, she became the first female monarch of Denmark since Margrethe I, ruler of the Scandinavian kingdoms in 1375–1412 during the Kalmar Union. In 1967, she married Henri de Laborde de Monpezat, with whom she had two sons: Crown Prince Frederik and Prince Joachim. Margrethe is known for her strong archaeological pas ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |