Bayreuth

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Bayreuth. Town in Bavaria, Ger., where Wagner built his home, Wahnfried, and also his long-planned fest. th. to house perfs. of Der Ring des Nibelungen. First fest. 1876, cond. Hans Richter. Th. holds c.1,800 and has wonderful acoustics. Innovation was covered orch. pit. Parsifal f.p. there, 1882. Fests. of Wagner's operas held regularly (with wartime interruptions) since 1892, the successive dirs. having been members of the Wagner family—his wife Cosima (1883–1908), son Siegfried (1908–30), Siegfried's widow Winifred (1931–44), their sons Wieland and Wolfgang jointly (1951–66), and Wolfgang (from 1966). In 1945, under Amer. occupation, operas by composers other than Wagner were perf. in the Festspielhaus. Concerts were also given there.

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