Bayreuth: A History of the Wagner FestivalGermany's cultural glory - Germany's political shame: the opera festival established by Richard Wagner in 1876 is one of the most intriguing phenomena of modern European cultural history. The oldest and best known of music festivals, Bayreuth was from the beginning not simply a place for model performances of Wagner's works but equally the centre of an ideological cult, with the Festspielhaus its sacred shrine and audiences its devout pilgrims. |
