Bayreuth is a German town, famous, since 1876, for the Richard Wagner Festivals. An opera house was first opened in the town in 1748. Operas were also performed in the open air, at the Hermitage. After the death of the ruling monarch in 1758, the centre of musical activity moved elsewhere. The old opera house is still used to give performances by The Bavarian State Opera.
The composer Richard Wagner had originally intended to build his festival theatre in Munich, but in 1871 the Bayreuth authorities provided the land instead. The foundation stone was laid on May 22 1872. Bayreuth has been the home of Wagnerian opera ever since.
It had always been Wagner's dream to find a home for his works. He believed in total theatre, composing, writing libretti and directing himself. After his death his family remained associated with the theatre and controlled its artistic direction.
The theatre holds 1,800. Its auditorium is based on the classical amphitheatre design and has a covered orchestra pit. It opened in 1876 with the first Ring cycle. The season lost money and there were no more performances until the première of Parsifal in 1882. Since then the annual festival has continued. For singers of Wagner rôles, performance in the composer's own theatre is considered a great achievement.
After World War II Wagner's grandsons revolutionised and simplified production at Bayreuth. From being presented as naturalistic and specifically Germanic, the emphasis has since been put on the works' symbolic and universal qualities.
