This Week in Classical Music: May 18, 2020.Wagner. Richard Wagner was born on May 22nd of 1813.One of the most important achievements of his life was the establishment of the Bayreuth Festival (or Bayreuther Festspiele in German) in 1876.One of the most important and prestigious music festivals in the world, it ran with few interruptions since then but this year it was cancelled because of the coronavirus. This is a strange time we’re living in.
Wagner was thinking of establishing a festival to promote his operas since the breakup with his patron of many years, King Ludwig II of Bavaria in 1865, when he had to leave Munich under a cloud.On the advice of his friend, the conductor Hans Richter, Wagner selected Bayreuth, a Bavarian town near Nuremberg as the place for the festival, partly on the assumption that the existing opera house would be an adequate venue.The theater, while beautiful, proved to be insufficient for the enormous productions envisioned by the composer, but the city was supportive and with its help Wagner embarked on the construction of a new theater.The money soon dried up and Wagner went fundraising around Germany.Twice he talked to the Chancellor Bismarck, to no avail.Eventually Wagner was forced to appeal to his former patron, King Ludwig, who, reluctantly, lent Wagner the money.The theater’s cornerstone was laid on May 22nd, 1872, (Wagner's birthday) and the theater was opened to the public in August of 1876; Das Rheingold was performed three nights in a row.The German Kaiser Wilhelm and King Ludwig both attended (on separate nights, as Ludwig was against Bavaria losing its independence within the newly-formed Germany), and so did many luminaries, including Wagner’s father-in-law Franz Liszt, Anton Bruckner, Edvard Grieg, and Tchaikovsky.The opening, while musically highly successful, was a disaster financially, and the second season took place only six years later, in 1882.It was dedicated exclusively to Parsifal, which was written specifically for the Festspielhaus.Wagner himself conducted the final scene of the last performance.He died less than a year later.Since then it’s been the Wagners who have been running the festival.First, Richard’s widow Cosima List Wagner took over, then Siegfried Wagner, Richard and Cosima’s son.Siegfried died in 1930 and his wife, Winifred Wagner became the director.This infamous friend and admirer of Adolph Hitler ran the Bayreuth till 1945.After the war, the festival resumed in 1951 with Wagner’s grandsons Wieland and Wolfgang Wagner at the helm.After Wieland’s death in 1966 his brother continued on his own, till 2008.Wolfgan’s daughters Eva and Katharina Wagner ran the festival together till 2015, and since then Katharina has been running it alone.Let us hope that the hiatus is short and that the 2021 festival will take place as scheduled.
The great Wagnerian soprano Birgit Nilsson was also born this week, on May 17th of 1918.
Wagner and Bayreuth, 2020
This Week in Classical Music: May 18, 2020. Wagner. Richard Wagner was born on May 22nd of 1813. One of the most important achievements of his life was the establishment of
the Bayreuth Festival (or Bayreuther Festspiele in German) in 1876. One of the most important and prestigious music festivals in the world, it ran with few interruptions since then but this year it was cancelled because of the coronavirus. This is a strange time we’re living in.
Wagner was thinking of establishing a festival to promote his operas since the breakup with his patron of many years, King Ludwig II of Bavaria in 1865, when he had to leave Munich under a cloud. On the advice of his friend, the conductor Hans Richter, Wagner selected Bayreuth, a Bavarian town near Nuremberg as the place for the festival, partly on the assumption that the existing opera house would be an adequate venue. The theater, while beautiful, proved to be insufficient for the enormous productions envisioned by the composer, but the city was supportive and with its help Wagner embarked on the construction of a new theater. The money soon dried up and Wagner went fundraising around Germany. Twice he talked to the Chancellor Bismarck, to no avail. Eventually Wagner was forced to appeal to his former patron, King Ludwig, who, reluctantly, lent Wagner the money. The theater’s cornerstone was laid on May 22nd, 1872, (Wagner's birthday) and the theater was opened to the public in August of 1876; Das Rheingold was performed three nights in a row. The German Kaiser Wilhelm and King Ludwig both attended (on separate nights, as Ludwig was against Bavaria losing its independence within the newly-formed Germany), and so did many luminaries, including Wagner’s father-in-law Franz Liszt, Anton Bruckner, Edvard Grieg, and Tchaikovsky. The opening, while musically highly successful, was a disaster financially, and the second season took place only six years later, in 1882. It was dedicated exclusively to Parsifal, which was written specifically for the Festspielhaus. Wagner himself conducted the final scene of the last performance. He died less than a year later. Since then it’s been the Wagners who have been running the festival. First, Richard’s widow Cosima List Wagner took over, then Siegfried Wagner, Richard and Cosima’s son. Siegfried died in 1930 and his wife, Winifred Wagner became the director. This infamous friend and admirer of Adolph Hitler ran the Bayreuth till 1945. After the war, the festival resumed in 1951 with Wagner’s grandsons Wieland and Wolfgang Wagner at the helm. After Wieland’s death in 1966 his brother continued on his own, till 2008. Wolfgan’s daughters Eva and Katharina Wagner ran the festival together till 2015, and since then Katharina has been running it alone. Let us hope that the hiatus is short and that the 2021 festival will take place as scheduled.
The great Wagnerian soprano Birgit Nilsson was also born this week, on May 17th of 1918.