Month : July-August
Place : Germany
Famous For : Music Festival
Attractions : Opera performances of Richard Wagner compositions
The Bayreuth Festival is a popular music festival held in Germany every year. The main highlight of this event are the performances of operas by nineteenth century German composer Richard Wagner. He himself initiated and promoted the idea of a special festival to showcase his own works. The focus of this organization was centred to his most popular monumental cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen and Parsifal. Since then, the celebration of this festival continued and today it has become one of the most awaited music festival in Germany.
The Bayreuth Festival traces its origin in the year 1876 as a socio-cultural phenomenon. The opening ceremony hosted some eminent international personalities including the likes of Kaiser Wilhelm, Dom Pedro II of Brazil, King Ludwig, philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche and others. Besides them, some accomplished composers such as Anton Bruckner, Edvard Grieg, Pyotr Tchaikovsky, and Franz Liszt also attended the inauguration festival. The performances of Bayreuth festival are held in a specially designed theater - the Bayreuth Festspielhaus. The construction of this site was personally supervised by Wagner. He had a close look on the design and construction of this theater, which was supposed to feature many architectural innovations and accommodate the huge orchestras. The Festival has now become a pilgrimage destination for Wagner enthusiasts, who often must wait years to obtain tickets.
