The Bayreuth Festival

[Guille]

Since its opening in 1876, the Bayreuth festival has been a (if not the) major festival of classical music in Europe for most of it existence. It draws thousands of opera lovers and Wagner enthusiasts to the small city in northern Bavaria. It remains not only an important pillar of opera music, but also of many other European traditions as are all kind of summer festivals, respecting and preserving the works of geniuses and having two weeks of a continuous elegant social life.

Of course it is extremely difficult to obtain tickets. The normal way is by sending applications for at least 7 years with negative results, and from then on participating in a lottery which may or may not give you the results you expected. Of course the more you specify to what operas you want tickets to, which of the performances, what area of seats you want... All those specifications will reduce the probability of getting what you want. And the most probable thing is that you get tickets for 1 maybe 2 of the operas, not for all of them if you want to attend to at least one performance of each. A better alternative is to be a member of any Wagnerian society, which are given a number of tickets in proportion to the number of members, and then eventually after some years it will be your turn. The third (and best) option is to be a renowned Wagnerian enthusiast (i.e. a writer, critic, musician...), a financial donor or financial contributor to the reproduction or representation of Wagner's work (i.e. giving money to make an album of his piano compositions or financing the costumes of a representation of his operas), or becoming the head of state or government of Germany, the minister-president of Bavaria, or the mayor of Bayreuth (this I think should be your last try, if everything else has failed).

Generally, every 5-7 years there is a new representation of Der Ring des Nibelungen with a new director, and the year it premieres has a higher price but is of course a better opportunity. Three other operas are presented that year, being any three out of: The Flying Dutchman, Tannhauser, Lohengrin, Tristan and Isolde, The Mastersingers of Nuremberg and Parsifal.

Has anyone in this forum been to the Bayreuth festival? If so, please describe the experience. Does anyone else know about the festival? Has anyone ever applied for tickets? I hope to go some year, but I would only really enjoy it if I went to a performance of each opera and if it is on a premiere of a new representation. Only that way can one really perceive the elegance of that ambient, full not only of opera concerts but parties, meetings, etc. A lifestyle full of elegance.

[Sator]

Being something of a Perfect Wagnerite, it has always been my dream to make the pilgrimage to Bayreuth. But I have always been put off by the ridiculously long wait for tickets. Rumour has it that the wait is longer than 7 years now.