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The Bayreuth Festival (german: link=no, Bayreuther Festspiele) is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of operas by the 19th-century German composer Richard Wagner are presented. Wagner himself conceived and promoted the idea of a special festival to showcase his own works, in particular his monumental cycle and ''
Parsifal ''Parsifal'' ( WWV 111) is an opera or a music drama in three acts by the German composer Richard Wagner and his last composition. Wagner's own libretto for the work is loosely based on the 13th-century Middle High German epic poem ''Parzival ...
''. Performances take place in a specially designed theatre, the
Bayreuth Festspielhaus The ''Bayreuth Festspielhaus'' or Bayreuth Festival Theatre (german: link=no, Bayreuther Festspielhaus, ) is an opera house north of Bayreuth, Germany, built by the 19th-century German composer Richard Wagner and dedicated solely to the performa ...
. Wagner personally supervised the design and construction of the theatre, which contained many architectural innovations to accommodate the huge orchestras for which Wagner wrote as well as the composer's particular vision about the staging of his works. The Festival has become a pilgrimage destination for Wagnerians and classical-music enthusiasts.


Origins

The origins of the Festival itself lie rooted in Richard Wagner's interest in establishing his financial independence. A souring of the relationship with his patron,
Ludwig II of Bavaria Ludwig II (Ludwig Otto Friedrich Wilhelm; 25 August 1845 – 13 June 1886) was King of Bavaria from 1864 until his death in 1886. He is sometimes called the Swan King or ('the Fairy Tale King'). He also held the titles of Count Palatine of the ...
, led to his expulsion from Munich, where he had originally intended to launch the festival. Wagner next considered Nuremberg, which would have reinforced the thematic significance of works such as ''
Die Meistersinger Die, as a verb, refers to death, the cessation of life. Die may also refer to: Games * Die, singular of dice, small throwable objects used for producing random numbers Manufacturing * Die (integrated circuit), a rectangular piece of a semicondu ...
''. On the advice of Hans Richter, however, the focus fell upon Bayreuth which enjoyed three distinct advantages. First, the town boasted a splendid venue: the Markgräfliches Opernhaus built for Margrave Frederick and his wife, Friederike Sophie Wilhelmine (sister of
Frederick the Great Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the S ...
) in 1747. With its ample capacity and strong acoustics, the opera house was a good match for Wagner's vision. Second, the town of Bayreuth was located outside those regions where Wagner no longer owned the rights to the performance of his own works, which he had sold off in 1864 in order to alleviate pressing financial concerns. Finally, the town had no cultural life that could offer competition to Wagner's own artistic dominance. The Festival, once launched, would be the dominant feature of Bayreuth's cultural landscape. In addition, "Richard Wagner did not want his works interpreted amid the hustle and noise or the distractions of a large city; he sought a place remote from the usual theatrical world where it was so quiet so that the hearers could concentrate their whole attention on the work offered, and could in the pauses refresh themselves in natural surroundings." In April 1870, Wagner and his wife Cosima visited Bayreuth. On inspection, the Opera House proved to be inadequate. It was built to accommodate the baroque orchestras of the 18th century and was therefore unsuited for the complex stagings and large orchestras that Wagner's operas required. Nonetheless, the Burgermeisters proved open to assisting Wagner with the construction of an entirely new theatre and the Festival was planned to launch in 1873. After a fruitless meeting in the spring of 1871 with the German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck to obtain funds, Wagner embarked on a fundraising tour across Germany, including Leipzig and Frankfurt. An initial public subscription proved disappointing until Wagner, at the suggestion of his friend and admirer Emil Heckel, launched a number of Wagner Societies to increase participation in the Festival's subscription. Societies were established in Leipzig, Berlin, Vienna and other places. Despite making direct appeals based on Wagner's role as a composer of the new German Reich, the Societies and other fundraising channels were well short of the needed sum by the end of 1872. Wagner made another appeal to Bismarck in August 1873 and was again denied. Desperate, Wagner turned to his former patron, Ludwig II, who reluctantly agreed to help. In January 1874, Ludwig granted 100,000 Thaler and construction on the theatre, designed by architect Gottfried Semper, started shortly thereafter. A planned 1875 debut was postponed for a year due to construction and other delays.


Early history

Since its opening in 1876, the Bayreuth Festival has been a socio-cultural phenomenon. The inauguration took place on 13 August 1876, with a performance of
Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...
's "Choral" Symphony, which is occasionally programmed during the festival. (It was played at the post-war reopening in 1951, and subsequently in 1953, 1954, 1963, 2001, and had been planned for the cancelled 2020 season.) Then came the first performance of ''
Das Rheingold ''Das Rheingold'' (; ''The Rhinegold''), WWV 86A, is the first of the four music dramas that constitute Richard Wagner's '' Der Ring des Nibelungen'' (English: ''The Ring of the Nibelung''). It was performed, as a single opera, at the National ...
''. Present at this unique musical event were Kaiser Wilhelm,
Dom Pedro II Dom PedroII (2 December 1825 – 5 December 1891), nicknamed "the Magnanimous" ( pt, O Magnânimo), was the second and last monarch of the Empire of Brazil, reigning for over 58 years. He was born in Rio de Janeiro, the seventh child of Em ...
of Brazil, King Ludwig (who attended in secret, probably to avoid the Kaiser), and other members of the nobility, as well as the philosopher
Friedrich Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (; or ; 15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher, prose poet, cultural critic, philologist, and composer whose work has exerted a profound influence on contemporary philosophy. He began his ...
who committed much effort to helping his then good friend Wagner establish the festival, and such accomplished composers as Anton Bruckner,
Edvard Grieg Edvard Hagerup Grieg ( , ; 15 June 18434 September 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is widely considered one of the foremost Romantic era composers, and his music is part of the standard classical repertoire worldwide. His use of ...
,
Pyotr Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...
, Franz Liszt, and the young
Arthur Foote Arthur William Foote (March 5, 1853 in Salem, Massachusetts – April 8, 1937 in Boston, Massachusetts) was an American classical composer, and a member of the "Boston Six." The other five were George Whitefield Chadwick, Amy Beach, Edward Mac ...
. Artistically, the festival was a success. ("Something has taken place at Bayreuth which our grandchildren and their children will still remember", wrote Tchaikovsky, attending the Festival as a Russian correspondent.) Financially, however, the festival was a disaster and did not begin to make money until several years later. Wagner abandoned his original plan to hold a second festival the following year, and travelled to London to conduct a series of concerts in an attempt to make up the deficit. Although the festival was plagued by financial problems in its early years, it survived through state intervention and the continued support of influential Wagnerians, including
King Ludwig II Ludwig II (Ludwig Otto Friedrich Wilhelm; 25 August 1845 – 13 June 1886) was King of Bavaria from 1864 until his death in 1886. He is sometimes called the Swan King or ('the Fairy Tale King'). He also held the titles of Count Palatine of t ...
of Bavaria. From its inception, the festival has attracted leading conductors and singers, many of whom performed without pay. Among these was Hans Richter, who conducted the premiere of the Ring Cycle in 1876. Another was the talented conductor
Hermann Levi Hermann Levi (7 November 1839 – 13 May 1900) was a German Jewish orchestral conductor. Levi was born in Giessen, Germany, the son of a rabbi. He was educated at Giessen and Mannheim, and came to Vinzenz Lachner's notice. From 1855 to 1858 ...
, who was personally chosen by Richard Wagner to conduct the debut of ''Parsifal'' in 1882 with the assistance of the young Engelbert Humperdinck. Following Wagner's death, his widow Cosima continued running the festival at one or, more frequently, two-year intervals. She gradually introduced the remaining operas which complete the
Bayreuth canon The Bayreuth canon consists of those operas by the German composer Richard Wagner (1813–1883) that have been performed at the Bayreuth Festival. The festival, which is dedicated to the staging of these works, was founded by Wagner in 1876 in the ...
of Wagner's last ten completed operas. Levi, the son of a
rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...
, remained the festival's principal conductor for the next two decades. Felix Mottl, who was involved with the festival from 1876 to 1901, conducted ''
Tristan und Isolde ''Tristan und Isolde'' (''Tristan and Isolde''), WWV 90, is an opera in three acts by Richard Wagner to a German libretto by the composer, based largely on the 12th-century romance Tristan and Iseult by Gottfried von Strassburg. It was comp ...
'' there in 1886. Until the 1920s, performances were strictly in accordance with the traditions established under King Ludwig's patronage. Not a note was "cut" from any of the enormous scores; no concessions were made to the limits of human patience on the part of the audiences.
Cosima Wagner Francesca Gaetana Cosima Wagner (née Liszt; 24 December 1837 – 1 April 1930) was the daughter of the Hungarian composer and pianist Franz Liszt and Franco-German romantic author Marie d'Agoult. She became the second wife of the German comp ...
preserved the productions of ''Parsifal'' and the Ring just as they had been in Wagner's day, defending any proposed changes with appeals to her son Siegfried: "Was this not how Papa did it in 1876?" After Cosima's retirement in 1906, Siegfried Wagner took over management of the festival, introducing new staging and performance styles. His early death in 1930 left the Festival in the hands of his English-born wife
Winifred Wagner Winifred Marjorie Wagner ( Williams; 23 June 1897 – 5 March 1980) was the English-born wife of Siegfried Wagner, the son of Richard Wagner, and ran the Bayreuth Festival after her husband's death in 1930 until the end of World War II in 1 ...
, with Heinz Tietjen as artistic director.


Bayreuth under Nazi Germany

In the 1920s, well before the rise of the
Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...
, Winifred Wagner became a strong supporter and close personal friend of
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
; her correspondence with Hitler has never been released by the Wagner family. She and other festival leaders were members of Nazi chief ideologue
Alfred Rosenberg Alfred Ernst Rosenberg ( – 16 October 1946) was a Baltic German Nazi theorist and ideologue. Rosenberg was first introduced to Adolf Hitler by Dietrich Eckart and he held several important posts in the Nazi government. He was the head o ...
's '' Kampfbund für deutsche Kultur'', which actively suppressed modernist music and works by "degenerate" artists. The festival maintained some artistic independence under Nazi rule. Ironically, Hitler attended performances that included Jewish and foreign singers, long after they had been banned from all other venues across Germany (including homosexual
heldentenor A heldentenor (; English: ''heroic tenor''), earlier called tenorbariton, is an operatic tenor voice, most often associated with Wagnerian repertoire. It is distinct from other tenor '' fächer'' by its endurance, volume, and dark timbre, which ...
Max Lorenz, married to a well-known Jewish woman). Winifred's influence with Hitler was so strong that Hitler even wrote a letter (at her behest) to anti-fascist Italian conductor Arturo Toscanini, begging him to lead the festival. Toscanini, who had conducted there in 1930 and 1931, refused in 1933. From 1933 to 1942, the festival was conducted principally by Karl Elmendorff. It was in Nazi Germany that the festival made its first break from tradition, abandoning the deteriorating 19th century sets created by Richard Wagner. Many protested at the changes, including prominent conductors such as Toscanini and Richard Strauss, and even some members of the Wagner family. In their view, any change to the festival was a profanation against "the Master" (Wagner). Nevertheless, Hitler approved of the changes, thus paving the way for more innovations in the decades to come. During the war, the festival was turned over to the Nazi Party, which continued to sponsor operas for wounded soldiers returning from the front. These soldiers were forced to attend lectures on Wagner before the performances, and most found the festival to be tedious. However, as "guests of the Führer", none complained.


Bayreuth Memorial

During the 1970s Winifred Wagner was repeatedly petitioned to install a memorial to the Jewish singers at the Bayreuth Festival who had been murdered in concentration camps. A plaque was finally installed honouring Ottilie Metzger-Lattermann and Henriette Gottlieb after Winifred's death.


New festival

Two-thirds of the town of Bayreuth was destroyed by American bombing in the final days of World War II, taking with it the rotunda, living room and guest room of Wahnfried, though the theatre itself was undamaged. Following the war, Winifred Wagner was sentenced to probation by a war court for her support of the Nazi Party. The court also banned her from administration of the Bayreuth Festival and its assets, which fell eventually to her two sons, Wolfgang and Wieland. During American occupation of the region after World War II, the theatre was used for army recreation and religious services for American soldiers. Only popular concerts and mixed entertainment were allowed: comedy, dancing, acrobatics, and then only ''
Die Fledermaus ' (, ''The Flittermouse'' or ''The Bat'', sometimes called ''The Revenge of the Bat'') is an operetta composed by Johann Strauss II to a German libretto by Karl Haffner and Richard Genée, which premiered in 1874. Background The original li ...
'' was staged. When the Festival House was handed over to the city of Bayreuth in 1946, it was used for concerts of the Bayreuth Symphony Orchestra and the performances of such operas as ''
Fidelio ''Fidelio'' (; ), originally titled ' (''Leonore, or The Triumph of Marital Love''), Op. 72, is Ludwig van Beethoven's only opera. The German libretto was originally prepared by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of Jean-Nicolas Bouilly, wi ...
'', '' Tiefland'', '' Madama Butterfly'' and '' La traviata'' and talks about reopening of the Wagnerian Festival started. Finally it reopened on 29 July 1951 with, as always, a performance by the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra under conductor
Wilhelm Furtwängler Gustav Heinrich Ernst Martin Wilhelm Furtwängler ( , , ; 25 January 188630 November 1954) was a German conductor and composer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest symphonic and operatic conductors of the 20th century. He was a major ...
of Beethoven's 9th Symphony, followed by the first post-war performance of Wagner's opera, ''
Parsifal ''Parsifal'' ( WWV 111) is an opera or a music drama in three acts by the German composer Richard Wagner and his last composition. Wagner's own libretto for the work is loosely based on the 13th-century Middle High German epic poem ''Parzival ...
''. Under the direction of Wieland Wagner, the "New Bayreuth" ushered in an era that was no less than revolutionary. Gone were the elaborate naturalistic sets, replaced with minimalist modern productions. In comparison, the pre-war changes seemed tame. For the first time in its history, the Bayreuth audience booed at the end of productions. Wieland was particularly derided for his 1956 production of '' Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg.'' Stripped of its pageantry, conservatives viewed the breaking of this "sacred German tradition" as an outrage. Wieland defended the changes as an attempt to create an "invisible stage" that would allow the audience to experience the full psychosocial aspects of the drama without the baggage and distraction of elaborate set designs. Others have speculated that by stripping Wagner's works of their Germanic and historic elements, Wieland was attempting to distance Bayreuth from its nationalistic past and create productions with universal appeal. Over time, many critics came to appreciate the unique beauty of Wieland's reinterpretation of his grandfather's works. Wieland's innovative productions invited comparison to Wolfgang's, which critics unanimously found to be uninspired. If Wieland's productions were radical, Wolfgang's were regressive. Although still minimalist in approach, Wolfgang resurrected much of the naturalistic and romantic elements of pre-war productions. Thus, when Wieland died prematurely from lung cancer in 1966, many wondered if Bayreuth had a future. They began to question Bayreuth's primacy among German opera houses, and some suggested that more interesting productions were being staged elsewhere. Around this time (1955), in order to broaden its audience, the whole Bayreuth Festival company conducted performances in Paris and Barcelona, performing ''
Parsifal ''Parsifal'' ( WWV 111) is an opera or a music drama in three acts by the German composer Richard Wagner and his last composition. Wagner's own libretto for the work is loosely based on the 13th-century Middle High German epic poem ''Parzival ...
'', ''
Die Walküre (; ''The Valkyrie''), WWV 86B, is the second of the four music dramas that constitute Richard Wagner's ''Der Ring des Nibelungen'' (English: ''The Ring of the Nibelung''). It was performed, as a single opera, at the National Theatre Munich on ...
'' and ''
Tristan und Isolde ''Tristan und Isolde'' (''Tristan and Isolde''), WWV 90, is an opera in three acts by Richard Wagner to a German libretto by the composer, based largely on the 12th-century romance Tristan and Iseult by Gottfried von Strassburg. It was comp ...
''. In 1973, faced with overwhelming criticism and family infighting, the Bayreuth Festival and its assets were transferred to a newly created Richard Wagner Foundation. The board of directors included members of the Wagner family and others appointed by the state. As chairman, Wolfgang Wagner remained in charge of administration of the festival.


The Wagner ''Werkstatt''

While Wolfgang Wagner continued to administer the festival, beginning in the 1970s, production was handled by a number of new directors in what Wolfgang called ''Werkstatt Bayreuth'' (Bayreuth Workshop). The idea was to turn the festival into an opportunity for directors to experiment with new methods for presenting the operas. The change came out of necessity, as it was impossible for Wolfgang to both administer and direct the festival. It also provided an opportunity for Bayreuth to renew itself with each production, rather than continue to present the same operas in the same way, year after year. Ingmar Bergman, who famously made a film version in Swedish of Mozart's ''
Die Zauberflöte ''The Magic Flute'' (German: , ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a ''Singspiel'', a popular form during the time it was written that includ ...
'', turned down an invitation to direct the festival. The most sensational production in ''Werkstatt Bayreuth'' was the Centennial Ring Cycle under the direction of French director
Patrice Chéreau Patrice Chéreau (; 2 November 1944 – 7 October 2013) was a French opera and theatre director, filmmaker, actor and producer. In France he is best known for his work for the theatre, internationally for his films '' La Reine Margot'' and ...
. Chereau used an updated 19th-century setting that followed the interpretation of
George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...
who saw the Ring as a social commentary on the exploitation of the working class by wealthy 19th-century capitalists. The audience reaction was split between those who saw the production as an offence and those who considered it the best Ring Cycle ever produced. The ensuing conflict, short only of outright riot, between supporters and detractors was unprecedented in the history of the festival. The performances, and the performers, however, were without dispute some of the best seen in the world of opera. Other notable directors to have participated in ''Werkstatt Bayreuth'' included
Jean-Pierre Ponnelle Jean-Pierre Ponnelle (19 February 1932 – 11 August 1988) was a French opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the ...
, Sir Peter Hall of the Royal Shakespeare Company,
Götz Friedrich Götz Friedrich (4 August 1930 in Naumburg, Germany – 12 December 2000 in Berlin, Germany) was a German opera and theatre director. He was a student and assistant of Walter Felsenstein at the Komische Oper Berlin in (East) Berlin, where he w ...
of the
Deutsche Oper Berlin The Deutsche Oper Berlin is a German opera company located in the Charlottenburg district of Berlin. The resident building is the country's second largest opera house (after Munich's) and also home to the Berlin State Ballet. Since 2004, the D ...
, Harry Kupfer of the Berlin State Opera in the former communist East Germany and
Heiner Müller Heiner Müller (; 9 January 1929 – 30 December 1995) was a German (formerly East German) dramatist, poet, writer, essayist and theatre director. His "enigmatic, fragmentary pieces" are a significant contribution to postmodern drama and postdr ...
of the
Berliner Ensemble The Berliner Ensemble () is a German theatre company established by actress Helene Weigel and her husband, playwright Bertolt Brecht, in January 1949 in East Berlin. In the time after Brecht's exile, the company first worked at Wolfgang Langho ...
. 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.


21st century

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, the Festival's 21-member board of directors had voted for his daughter, Eva Wagner-Pasquier, to succeed him. Wolfgang Wagner, however, proposed to hand control over to his second wife, Gudrun, and their daughter Katharina. Gudrun died in 2007. No successor was named at that time, but it was speculated that Wagner-Pasquier and Katharina would eventually be named as joint directors of the festival. Directors have stated that preference will be given to descendants of Richard Wagner, and that a non-descendant would have to be a clearly better candidate. On 1 September 2008, Wolfgang Wagner's daughters, Eva Wagner-Pasquier and Katharina Wagner, were named by Bavaria's culture minister, Thomas Goppel, to take over the Festival. They were to take up their duties immediately, since their father had announced his retirement at the conclusion of the 2008 Festival."Daughters chosen to run Bayreuth"
''
BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...
'', 1 September 2008. Retrieved on 1 September 2008.
They were chosen ahead of the pair of their cousin, Nike Wagner, and Gerard Mortier, who had placed a late bid for the directorship on 24 August. The conductor
Christian Thielemann Christian Thielemann (born 1 April 1959) is a German conductor. He is currently chief conductor of the Staatskapelle Dresden. He was artistic director of the Salzburg Easter Festival from 2013 to 2022, and a regular conductor at the Bayreuth Fe ...
has agreed to act as chief adviser to the new directors, effectively taking the role of music director of the Festival. In 2014 it was announced that Eva would be stepping down from the co-directorship leaving, in accord with her father's will, Katharina in sole charge. On the 31 March 2020 it was announced that, due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
and the resulting restrictions, the 2020 festival (due to take place from 25 July to 30 August) would be cancelled. The new ''Der Ring des Nibelungen'' production planned for that festival would probably be postponed until 2022.


Tickets

The festival draws thousands of Wagner fans to Bayreuth every summer. It is very difficult to get tickets, because demand (estimated at 500,000) greatly exceeds supply (58,000 tickets); the waiting time is between five and ten years (or more). The process entails submitting an order form every summer; applicants are usually successful after about ten years. Failure to make an application every year results in being placed at the back of the queue. Although some tickets are allocated by lottery, preference is given to members of the Society of Friends of Bayreuth (financial donors), famous patrons, and to regional and international Wagner societies, which are distributed to their own members through lottery or the willingness to pay a high contribution. However, in 2013 tickets for one opera production were offered exclusively online, on a first come first served basis with no preferential eligibility. It is reported that they sold out within seconds. This offer was repeated for the 2014 season, with tickets being available for eight performances including one complete Ring cycle. As of 2014, retail ticket prices ranged from €320 for a front row stalls seat to €45 for a gallery (third level) back row seat.Bayreuther Festspiele: "Spielfolge/Programme 2014" leaflet, issued September 2013 The Festival authorities assiduously police the traffic of tickets, and monitor sites such as
eBay eBay Inc. ( ) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that facilitates consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales through its website. eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995 and became ...
. On admission patrons are required to show photographic identification matching the name on the ticket. In 2011 it was revealed that the German Bundesrechnungshof (federal audit office) were investigating the situation where, for a publicly subsidised event, only 40 percent of the tickets were actually available to the general public. Early in 2012 it was announced that changes would be made to the allocation system, including the ending of allocations to Wagner Societies (but not including the Society of Friends of Bayreuth as they make a substantial financial contribution) and a reduction in the proportion reserved for travel agents and hotels. As a result, the proportion of tickets available to the general public would increase to about 65 percent of the total available.


''Der Ring des Nibelungen''

A new production of ''Der Ring des Nibelungen'' is presented every five to seven years, following a year in which no ''Ring'' is presented. In years in which the ''Ring'' is staged, three other operas are also presented. When no ''Ring'' is staged, five other operas are presented. Tickets for the ''Ring'' are normally sold only as a complete set for all four performances. The newest production of the ''Ring'' (directed by Frank Castorf) premiered in 2013. Castorf's radical staging of the cycle—a colourful modern setting with the global race for oil as the underlying theme—was received with lengthy booing at its premiere.


Directors

* Richard Wagner (1876–1883) * Cosima Liszt Wagner (1883–1908) *
Siegfried Wagner Siegfried Helferich Richard Wagner (6 June 18694 August 1930) was a German composer and conductor, the son of Richard Wagner. He was an opera composer and the artistic director of the Bayreuth Festival from 1908 to 1930. Life Siegfried Wagner ...
(1908–1930) * Winifred Williams Wagner (1930–1945) *
Wieland Wagner Wieland Wagner (5 January 1917 – 17 October 1966) was a German opera director, grandson of Richard Wagner. As co-director of the Bayreuth Festival when it re-opened after World War II, he was noted for innovative new stagings of the operas, depa ...
and Wolfgang Wagner (1951–1966) * Wolfgang Wagner (1967–2008) * Eva Wagner-Pasquier and Katharina Wagner (2008–2015) * Katharina Wagner (2015–today)


Recordings


DVD

* ''Tannhäuser'' (1978) Director:
Götz Friedrich Götz Friedrich (4 August 1930 in Naumburg, Germany – 12 December 2000 in Berlin, Germany) was a German opera and theatre director. He was a student and assistant of Walter Felsenstein at the Komische Oper Berlin in (East) Berlin, where he w ...
, Conductor:
Sir Colin Davis Sir Colin Rex Davis (25 September 1927 – 14 April 2013) was an English conductor, known for his association with the London Symphony Orchestra, having first conducted it in 1959. His repertoire was broad, but among the composers with whom h ...
, Soloists: Spas Wenkoff, Dame Gwyneth Jones,
Bernd Weikl Bernd Weikl (born 29 July 1942) is an Austrian operatic baritone, particularly known for his performances in the stage works by Richard Wagner. He also has written books and directed operas. Career Born in Vienna, he moved with his family to M ...
, Hans Sotin, Label:
Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon (; DGG) is a German classical music record label that was the precursor of the corporation PolyGram. Headquartered in Berlin Friedrichshain, it is now part of Universal Music Group (UMG) since its merger with the UMG family of ...
/Unitel. * ''Der Ring des Nibelungen'' (1980) Complete Cycle Director:
Patrice Chéreau Patrice Chéreau (; 2 November 1944 – 7 October 2013) was a French opera and theatre director, filmmaker, actor and producer. In France he is best known for his work for the theatre, internationally for his films '' La Reine Margot'' and ...
, Conductor: Pierre Boulez, Soloists: Dame Gwyneth Jones, Donald McIntyre,
Peter Hofmann Peter Hofmann (22 August 1944 – 30 November 2010) was a German tenor who had a successful performance career within the fields of opera, rock, pop, and musical theatre. He first rose to prominence as a heldentenor at the Bayreuth festival's ' ...
,
Jeannine Altmeyer Jeannine Altmeyer (2 May 1948, Pasadena, California) is an American soprano who had a prolific international opera career during the 1970s through the 1990s. Particularly admired for her portrayal of Wagner and Strauss heroines, she notably sang Br ...
, Matti Salminen, Label: Deutsche Grammophon/Unitel * ''Parsifal'' (1981) Director: Wolfgang Wagner, Conductor: Horst Stein, Soloists: Siegfried Jerusalem, Eva Randová,
Bernd Weikl Bernd Weikl (born 29 July 1942) is an Austrian operatic baritone, particularly known for his performances in the stage works by Richard Wagner. He also has written books and directed operas. Career Born in Vienna, he moved with his family to M ...
, Hans Sotin, Matti Salminen, Label: Deutsche Grammophon/Unitel * ''Tristan und Isolde'' (1983) Director, stage design & costumes:
Jean-Pierre Ponnelle Jean-Pierre Ponnelle (19 February 1932 – 11 August 1988) was a French opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the ...
, Conductor: Daniel Barenboim, Soloists:
René Kollo René Kollo (born 20 November 1937) is a German operatic tenor, especially known for his Wagnerian Heldentenor roles. He also performed a wide variety of operas and operettas, and made several recordings. Biography Born René Kollodzieyski in ...
, Johanna Meier, Matti Salminen,
Hanna Schwarz Hanna Schwarz (born 15 August 1943) is a German mezzo-soprano and contralto singer in opera and concert. In 1976 she performed the roles of Fricka and Erda in the centenary '' Jahrhundertring'' production at the Bayreuth Festival, directed by Pat ...
, Hermann Becht, Label: Deutsche Grammophon/Unitel * ''Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg'' (1984) Centenary Production: Director: Wolfgang Wagner, Conductor: Horst Stein, Soloists:
Bernd Weikl Bernd Weikl (born 29 July 1942) is an Austrian operatic baritone, particularly known for his performances in the stage works by Richard Wagner. He also has written books and directed operas. Career Born in Vienna, he moved with his family to M ...
, Siegfried Jerusalem, Mari Anne Häggander,
Hermann Prey Hermann Prey ( Berlin, 11 July 1929 – Krailling, 22 July 1998) was a German lyric baritone, who was equally at home in the Lied, operatic and concert repertoires. His American debut was in November 1952, with the Philadelphia Orchestra an ...
, Label: Deutsche Grammophon/Unitel * ''Der fliegende Holländer'' (1985) Director: Harry Kupfer, Conductor: Woldemar Nelsson, Soloists: Simon Estes,
Lisbeth Balslev Lisbeth Balslev (born 21 February 1945) is a Danish operatic soprano with an international career, especially in Wagnerian operas. Balslev was born in Aabenraa and originally trained as a nurse. She then studied singing, first at the Academy o ...
, Matti Salminen, Label: Deutsche Grammophon/Unitel * ''Lohengrin'' (1990) Director:
Werner Herzog Werner Herzog (; born 5 September 1942) is a German film director, screenwriter, author, actor, and opera director, regarded as a pioneer of New German Cinema. His films often feature ambitious protagonists with impossible dreams, people with u ...
, Conductor: Peter Schneider, Soloists: Paul Frey, Cheryl Studer, Manfred Schenk, Label: Deutsche Grammophon/Unitel * ''Der Ring des Nibelungen'' (1992) Director: Harry Kupfer, Conductor: Daniel Barenboim, Soloists: John Tomlinson, Anne Evans,
Nadine Secunde Nadine Secunde (born 21 December 1953) is an American operatic soprano. She studied and performed in Germany, singing at the Bayreuth Festival the leading parts of Elsa in '' Lohengrin'' and Sieglinde in ''Die Walküre'', and made an international ...
, Siegfried Jerusalem, Label

Warner Classics * ''Tristan und Isolde'' (1995) Director:
Heiner Müller Heiner Müller (; 9 January 1929 – 30 December 1995) was a German (formerly East German) dramatist, poet, writer, essayist and theatre director. His "enigmatic, fragmentary pieces" are a significant contribution to postmodern drama and postdr ...
, Stage design: Erich Wonder, Costumes:
Yohji Yamamoto is a Japanese fashion designer based in Tokyo and Paris. Considered a master tailor alongside those such as Madeleine Vionnet, he is known for his avant-garde tailoring featuring Japanese design aesthetics. Yamamoto has won notable awards f ...
, Conductor: Daniel Barenboim, Soloists: Siegfried Jerusalem,
Waltraud Meier Waltraud Meier (born 9 January 1956) is a German dramatic soprano and mezzo-soprano singer. She is particularly known for her Wagnerian roles as Kundry, Isolde, Ortrud, Venus, Fricka, and Sieglinde, but has also had success in the French and ...
,
Falk Struckmann Falk Struckmann (; born 1958 in Heilbronn, West Germany) is an operatic bass-baritone, particularly prominent in the Wagnerian repertoire. A Kammersänger of the Vienna State Opera, he made his debut there as Orest in '' Elektra'' on 13 September ...
, Label: Deutsche Grammophon/Unitel * ''Götterdämmerung'' (1997) Director: Alfred Kirchner, Stage design: rosalie, Conductor:
James Levine James Lawrence Levine (; June 23, 1943 – March 9, 2021) was an American conductor and pianist. He was music director of the Metropolitan Opera from 1976 to 2016. He was terminated from all his positions and affiliations with the Met on March 1 ...
, Soloists: Wolfgang Schmidt, Deborah Polaski,
Hanna Schwarz Hanna Schwarz (born 15 August 1943) is a German mezzo-soprano and contralto singer in opera and concert. In 1976 she performed the roles of Fricka and Erda in the centenary '' Jahrhundertring'' production at the Bayreuth Festival, directed by Pat ...
, Eric Halfvarson,
Ekkehard Wlaschiha Ekkehard Wlaschiha (; 28 May 1938 – 20 February 2019) was a German operatic baritone who specialized in Wagnerian "villains", such as Alberich, Klingsor and Friedrich von Telramund. He performed at the Bayreuth Festival and at the Metropolita ...
,
Falk Struckmann Falk Struckmann (; born 1958 in Heilbronn, West Germany) is an operatic bass-baritone, particularly prominent in the Wagnerian repertoire. A Kammersänger of the Vienna State Opera, he made his debut there as Orest in '' Elektra'' on 13 September ...
,
Anne Schwanewilms Anne Schwanewilms (born 1967, in Gelsenkirchen) is a German lyric soprano. She studied gardening before training in Cologne as a singer with the German bass Hans Sotin. She is particularly associated with performing the works of Richard Wagner, F ...
, Label: Deutsche Grammophon/Unitel * ''Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg'' (2008) Director: Katharina Wagner, Conductor: Sebastian Weigle, Soloists: Michaela Kaune, Klaus Florian Vogt, Franz Hawlata,
Michael Volle Michael Volle (; born 1960) is a German operatic baritone. After engagements at several German and Swiss opera houses, he has worked freelance since 2011. While he first appeared in Mozart roles such as Guglielmo, Papageno and Don Giovanni, he m ...
, Label: BF Medien/United Motion


Laserdisc

* ''Tristan und Isolde'' (1983) Conductor: Daniel Barenboim, Orchester der Bayreuther Festspiele, Staged and Directed by: Jean-Pierre Ponnelle, Soloists:
René Kollo René Kollo (born 20 November 1937) is a German operatic tenor, especially known for his Wagnerian Heldentenor roles. He also performed a wide variety of operas and operettas, and made several recordings. Biography Born René Kollodzieyski in ...
, Johanna Meier, Matti Salminen, Hermann Becht,
Hanna Schwarz Hanna Schwarz (born 15 August 1943) is a German mezzo-soprano and contralto singer in opera and concert. In 1976 she performed the roles of Fricka and Erda in the centenary '' Jahrhundertring'' production at the Bayreuth Festival, directed by Pat ...
, Unitel, Laserdisc Philips 070–509–1


VHS

* ''Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg'' (1984) Conductor: Horst Stein, Orchester der Bayreuther Festspiele, Staged by: Wolfgang Wagner Video Director:
Brian Large Brian Large (born 16 February 1939 in London, England) is a television director and author. He is among the world's foremost TV directors specializing in opera and classical music. Biography Studies Large studied at the Royal Academy of Music ...
, Soloists:
Bernd Weikl Bernd Weikl (born 29 July 1942) is an Austrian operatic baritone, particularly known for his performances in the stage works by Richard Wagner. He also has written books and directed operas. Career Born in Vienna, he moved with his family to M ...
, Siegfried Jerusalem, Hermann Prey, Mari Anne Häggander, Graham Clark, Unitel * ''Parsifal'' (1999) Conductor: Giuseppe Sinopoli, Chor und Orchester der Bayreuther Festspiele, Staged by: Wolfgang Wagner, Soloists: Poul Elming, Linda Watson, Hans Sotin,
Falk Struckmann Falk Struckmann (; born 1958 in Heilbronn, West Germany) is an operatic bass-baritone, particularly prominent in the Wagnerian repertoire. A Kammersänger of the Vienna State Opera, he made his debut there as Orest in '' Elektra'' on 13 September ...
, Ekkehard Wlaschiha, Unitel


CD


Historical recordings

Historical performances of Wagner's operas at Bayreuth, available on CD, are too numerous to list. The following are a few outstanding examples. * ''100 Jahre Bayreuth auf Schallplatte'': The Early Festival Singers, 1887–1906, Gebhardt Records :This 12 CD set put together all of the surviving recordings done by the Gramophone and
Typewriter A typewriter is a mechanical or electromechanical machine for typing characters. Typically, a typewriter has an array of keys, and each one causes a different single character to be produced on paper by striking an inked ribbon selectivel ...
Company in 1904 at Bayreuth and includes some of the original artists from the 1876 debut
Listen
* ''
Tristan und Isolde ''Tristan und Isolde'' (''Tristan and Isolde''), WWV 90, is an opera in three acts by Richard Wagner to a German libretto by the composer, based largely on the 12th-century romance Tristan and Iseult by Gottfried von Strassburg. It was comp ...
'' (1928) Conductor: Karl Elmendorff, Soloists:
Nanny Larsén-Todsen Nanny Larsén-Todsen (2 August 1884 – 26 May 1982) was a Swedish soprano, renowned for her performances in works by Richard Wagner and counted as one of the most notable Wagnerian sopranos of the 20th-century, from the generation before Frida Le ...
(as Isolde), Anny Helm (Brangäne), Gunnar Graarud (Tristan),
Rudolf Bockelmann Rudolf Bockelmann (born 2 April 1892 in Bodenteich, died 9 October 1958 in Dresden) was a German dramatic baritone and Kammersänger. He built an international career as an outstanding Wagnerian singer but damaged his reputation during the 1930s ...
(Kurwenal], Ivar Andrésen (König Marke), Joachim Sattler (Melot), Gustav Rodin (Ein junger Seemann), Hans Beer (Ein Hirt) :– recorded during the summer of 1928 with the approval of Siegfried Wagner, in the Festspielhaus without an audience, by Columbia EMI onto 40 78rpm sides (for 20 discs) :– several reissues on CD: Grammofono, 2000 AB 78925-26 (2 CDs – "First Bayreuth Recordings Vol. 2") , Naxos, CD 8.110200-02 (3 CDs) , Preiser, PSR 90383 (2 CDs) * ''Götterdämmerung'' (1942) Conductor: Karl Elmendorff, Soloists: Marta Fuchs (Brünnhilde), Camilla Kallab (1. Norne, Waltraute), Else Fischer (Gutrune). Set Svanholm (Siegfried), Friedrich Dalberg (Hagen), Robert Burg (Alberich), Egmont Koch (Gunther) :– from a radio broadcast of ''Deutscher Rundfunk''; this is what German soldiers would have heard as "Guests of the Führer" :– issued by various labels: among them Music and Arts, CD-1058 (4 CDs) , Preiser, PRE 90164 (4 CDs) *'' Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg'' (1943) Conductor
Wilhelm Furtwängler Gustav Heinrich Ernst Martin Wilhelm Furtwängler ( , , ; 25 January 188630 November 1954) was a German conductor and composer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest symphonic and operatic conductors of the 20th century. He was a major ...
, Soloists: Maria Müller (Eva), Camilla Kallab (Magdalene), Max Lorenz (Walther), Jaro Prohaska (Hans Sachs),
Josef Greindl Josef Greindl (23 December 1912 - 16 April 1993) was a German operatic bass, remembered mainly for his performances of Wagnerian roles at Bayreuth beginning in 1943. Josef Greindl was born in Munich and studied at the Munich Music Academy with Pa ...
(Viet Pogner), Eugen Fuchs ( Beckmesser) :– issued by various labels: among them Grammofono 2000, AB 78602/05 (4 CDs)


Postwar performances

*
Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...
Symphony No. 9 ''Choral'' (1951): Conductor:
Wilhelm Furtwängler Gustav Heinrich Ernst Martin Wilhelm Furtwängler ( , , ; 25 January 188630 November 1954) was a German conductor and composer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest symphonic and operatic conductors of the 20th century. He was a major ...
. Soloists:
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf Dame Olga Maria Elisabeth Friederike Schwarzkopf, (9 December 19153 August 2006) was a German-born Austro-British soprano. She was among the foremost singers of lieder, and is renowned for her performances of Viennese operetta, as well as the op ...
,
Elisabeth Höngen Elisabeth Höngen (7 December 1906 – 7 August 1997) was a German operatic mezzo-soprano and singing-actress. She was particularly associated with Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss roles, and with Verdi's Lady Macbeth. From 1947 onward she was o ...
,
Hans Hopf Hans Hopf (August 2, 1916, Nuremberg – June 25, 1993, Munich) was a German operatic tenor, one of the leading heldentenors of the immediate postwar period. He sang Walther von Stolzing in the Bayreuth Festival's ''Die Meistersinger'', in 1951 ...
, Otto Edelmann, (
EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...
, mono) * '' Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg'' (1951): Conductor:
Herbert von Karajan Herbert von Karajan (; born Heribert Ritter von Karajan; 5 April 1908 – 16 July 1989) was an Austrian conductor. He was principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic for 34 years. During the Nazi era, he debuted at the Salzburg Festival, wit ...
. Soloists: Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Otto Edelmann, Erich Kunz, Hans Hopf, Gerhard Unger. Recorded live. (EMI, mono) * ''
Götterdämmerung ' (; ''Twilight of the Gods''), WWV 86D, is the last in Richard Wagner's cycle of four music dramas titled (''The Ring of the Nibelung'', or ''The Ring Cycle'' or ''The Ring'' for short). It received its premiere at the on 17 August 1876, as ...
'' (1951) Conductor:
Hans Knappertsbusch Hans Knappertsbusch (12 March 1888 – 25 October 1965) was a German conductor, best known for his performances of the music of Wagner, Bruckner and Richard Strauss. Knappertsbusch followed the traditional route for an aspiring conductor in Ger ...
, ( Testament Records, mono) * ''
Parsifal ''Parsifal'' ( WWV 111) is an opera or a music drama in three acts by the German composer Richard Wagner and his last composition. Wagner's own libretto for the work is loosely based on the 13th-century Middle High German epic poem ''Parzival ...
'' (1951): Conductor: Hans Knappertsbusch. Soloists: Wolfgang Windgassen, Ludwig Weber, George London, Martha Mödl,
Hermann Uhde Hermann Uhde (July 20, 1914 – October 10, 1965) was a German Wagnerian bass-baritone. He was born in Bremen and died on stage of a heart attack during a performance in Copenhagen. He studied in his hometown, where he gave his début in 1936. Du ...
, Arnold van Mill. Recorded live. (Teldec, mono) * ''
Tristan und Isolde ''Tristan und Isolde'' (''Tristan and Isolde''), WWV 90, is an opera in three acts by Richard Wagner to a German libretto by the composer, based largely on the 12th-century romance Tristan and Iseult by Gottfried von Strassburg. It was comp ...
'' (1952): Conductor: Herbert von Karajan. Soloists: Ramón Vinay, Martha Mödl, Ira Malaniuk, Ludwig Weber,
Hans Hotter Hans Hotter (19 January 19096 December 2003) was a German operatic bass-baritone. He stood 6 ft 4 in and his appearance was striking. His voice and diction were equally recognisable. Early life and career Born in Offenbach am Main, Hesse, ...
, Hermann Uhde. Recorded live on 23 July. (Orfeo, mono) * ''
Der Ring des Nibelungen (''The Ring of the Nibelung''), WWV 86, is a cycle of four German-language epic music dramas composed by Richard Wagner. The works are based loosely on characters from Germanic heroic legend, namely Norse legendary sagas and the '' Nibe ...
'' (1953): Conductor:
Clemens Krauss Clemens Heinrich Krauss (31 March 189316 May 1954) was an Austrian conductor and opera impresario, particularly associated with the music of Richard Strauss, Johann Strauss and Richard Wagner. Krauss was born in Vienna to Clementine Krauss, ...
. Soloists: Ramón Vinay, Wolfgang Windgassen, Regina Resnik,
Astrid Varnay Ibolyka Astrid Maria Varnay (25 April 1918 – 4 September 2006) was a Swedish-born American dramatic soprano of Hungarian descent. She spent most of her career in the United States and Germany. She was one of the leading Wagnerian heroic sopranos ...
, Hans Hotter, Hermann Uhde, Gustav Neidlinger, Ludwig Weber,
Josef Greindl Josef Greindl (23 December 1912 - 16 April 1993) was a German operatic bass, remembered mainly for his performances of Wagnerian roles at Bayreuth beginning in 1943. Josef Greindl was born in Munich and studied at the Munich Music Academy with Pa ...
, Gerhard Stolze, Ira Malaniuk, Maria von Ilosvay,
Paul Kuën Paul Kuën (8 April 1910 – April 1997) was a German operatic tenor known for character roles. One example among many such portrayals would be Mime in Wagner's ''Der Ring des Nibelungen''. Kuën was born at Sulzberg, Oberallgäu. He had origina ...
,
Rita Streich Rita Streich (18 December 192020 March 1987) was one of the most admired and recorded lyric coloratura sopranos of the post-war period. Biography Rita Streich was born in Barnaul, southern Siberia, in the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Repu ...
. Recorded live. (Archipel Records, mono) * ''Lohengrin'' (1953) Conductor:
Joseph Keilberth Joseph Keilberth (19 April 1908 – 20 July 1968) was a German conductor who specialised in opera. Career He started his career in the State Theatre of his native city, Karlsruhe. In 1940 he became director of the German Philharmonic Orches ...
, ( Decca Records LW 50006, mono) * ''Der Ring des Nibelungen'' (1955): Conductor: Joseph Keilberth. Recorded live. (Testament, stereo) * ''Der Ring des Nibelungen'' (1956): Conductor: Hans Knappertsbusch. Soloists: Wolfgang Windgassen, Ludwig Suthaus,
Astrid Varnay Ibolyka Astrid Maria Varnay (25 April 1918 – 4 September 2006) was a Swedish-born American dramatic soprano of Hungarian descent. She spent most of her career in the United States and Germany. She was one of the leading Wagnerian heroic sopranos ...
, Gré Brouwenstijn, Georgine von Milinkovič, Jean Madeira,
Hans Hotter Hans Hotter (19 January 19096 December 2003) was a German operatic bass-baritone. He stood 6 ft 4 in and his appearance was striking. His voice and diction were equally recognisable. Early life and career Born in Offenbach am Main, Hesse, ...
, Gustav Neidlinger,
Josef Greindl Josef Greindl (23 December 1912 - 16 April 1993) was a German operatic bass, remembered mainly for his performances of Wagnerian roles at Bayreuth beginning in 1943. Josef Greindl was born in Munich and studied at the Munich Music Academy with Pa ...
, Maria von Ilosvay. Recorded Live. (Orfeo, mono) * ''Parsifal'' (1962): Conductor: Hans Knappertsbusch. Soloists: Jess Thomas, Hans Hotter, George London, Irene Dalis, Gustav Neidlinger, Martti Talvela, (Philips, stereo) * ''Tristan und Isolde'' (1966): Conductor: Karl Böhm. Soloists: Birgit Nilsson, Wolfgang Windgassen, Christa Ludwig, Martti Talvela, Eberhard Waechter, (
Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon (; DGG) is a German classical music record label that was the precursor of the corporation PolyGram. Headquartered in Berlin Friedrichshain, it is now part of Universal Music Group (UMG) since its merger with the UMG family of ...
, stereo) * ''Der Ring des Nibelungen'' (1966–67): Conductor: Karl Böhm. Soloists: Helga Dernesch, Birgit Nilsson,
Theo Adam Theo Adam (1 August 1926 – 10 January 2019) was a German operatic bass-baritone and bass singer who had an international career in opera, concert and recital from 1949. He was a member of the Staatsoper Dresden for his entire career, and sang ...
, James King, Leonie Rysanek, Wolfgang Windgassen, (Philips, stereo) * ''Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg'' (1968): Conductor: Karl Böhm. Soloists: Theo Adam, Karl Ridderbusch,
Waldemar Kmentt Waldemar Kmentt (Vienna, 2 February 1929 Vienna, 21 January 2015) was an Austrian operatic tenor, who was particularly associated with the German repertory, both opera and operetta. Born in Vienna, Kmentt studied at the Vienna Music Academy, firs ...
, Dame Gwyneth Jones, (Orfeo, stereo) * ''Parsifal'' (1970): Conductor: Pierre Boulez. Soloists: James King, Franz Crass, Thomas Stewart, Sir Donald McIntyre and Dame Gwyneth Jones, (Deutsche Grammophon, stereo) * ''Der Ring des Nibelungen'' (1980): Conductor: Pierre Boulez. Soloists: Dame Gwyneth Jones, Sir Donald McIntyre, Manfred Jung,
Peter Hofmann Peter Hofmann (22 August 1944 – 30 November 2010) was a German tenor who had a successful performance career within the fields of opera, rock, pop, and musical theatre. He first rose to prominence as a heldentenor at the Bayreuth festival's ' ...
,
Jeannine Altmeyer Jeannine Altmeyer (2 May 1948, Pasadena, California) is an American soprano who had a prolific international opera career during the 1970s through the 1990s. Particularly admired for her portrayal of Wagner and Strauss heroines, she notably sang Br ...
, (Philips, stereo) * ''Der Ring des Nibelungen'' (1991): Conductor: Daniel Barenboim, (Warner Classics, stereo) * ''Der Ring des Nibelungen'' (2008): Conductor:
Christian Thielemann Christian Thielemann (born 1 April 1959) is a German conductor. He is currently chief conductor of the Staatskapelle Dresden. He was artistic director of the Salzburg Easter Festival from 2013 to 2022, and a regular conductor at the Bayreuth Fe ...
, (Opus Arte, stereo)


See also

*'' Bayreuther Blätter''


References


Further reading

* "Bayreuth", ''
Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...
'' magazine, 11 August 1924 * ''Wagner in Bayreuth'', Documentary film on the festival narrated by Wolfgang Wagner. In German with English subtitles. Polygram Video, 1992 * ''Wagner wins Bayreuth battle''
BBC News Online
14 December 2001


External links

*
Bayreuth Festival
(in German and English)

faqs.org
Review of Patrice Chéreau's Centennial Ring
{{Coord, 49, 57, 36, N, 11, 34, 47, E, source:fiwiki_region:DE-BY_dim:500_type:landmark, display=title Classical music festivals in Germany Opera festivals Richard Wagner Music festivals established in 1876 Tourist attractions in Bavaria 1876 establishments in Bavaria Music in Bavaria Annual events in Germany Opera history