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The Wagner Festival in Bayreuth

August 4, 2006
https://p.dw.com/p/8su5
Image: AP

The 95th Wagner Festival in Bayreuth opened July 25 with a gala performance of "The Flying Dutchman" and runs through August 28.

A new production of "The Ring" cycle by German dramatist Tankred Dorst is headlining this year's festival. Wagner's "Parsifal" and "Tristan and Isolde" are also on the program.

Composer Richard Wagner founded the opera festival himself in 1876, where his newly completed four-opera Ring cycle was debuted. The legendary "Green Hill" is currently under the direction of his 86-year-old grandson, Wolfgang Wagner.

The Bayreuth Wagner Festival has become one of Germany's most important cultural events and attracts tuxedo-clad celebrities and politicians each year.

Take a look at DW-WORLD.DE's collection on this year's festival, including a picture gallery featuring past productions from the last half century.

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Reports & Analysis

Schlingensief's "Parsifal" Deepens Divide at Wagner Festival

Christoph Schlingensief's controversial rendition of "Parsifal" concluded the first round of the program at the Wagner Festival Wednesday in what may be the most daring production to come from Bayreuth.
August 3, 2006

Bravos and Boos for New "Ring" Production in Bayreuth

The first "Ring" cycle concluded Monday to mixed reviews and a polarized audience. Most agree, however, that conductor Christian Thielemann and the singers saved the underdeveloped production.
August 2, 2006

Debate Over Subsidies Brings Drama Backstage in Bayreuth

Nike Wagner, the niece of Bayreuth Festival director Wolfgang Wagner, advocated cuts to the opera festival's state subsidies. Her appeal aggravated family tensions, but raised valid questions on German art subsidies.
July 27, 2006

Drama and Fantasy at Bayreuth's Wagner Festival

German playwright and director Tankred Dorst's brand new production of Wagner's 16-hour "Ring" cycle tops the program for the one-month festival and has critics on the edge of their seats.
July 25, 2006

"Germany Doesn't Have a Clear Cut Cultural Financing Policy"

Culture researcher Andreas Wiesand talked with DW-WORLD.DE about the Wagner family "soap opera" and said that Germany's arts subsidies are deeply rooted in history so the general public doesn't question them.
July 27, 2006

Revisiting the Wagner Festival in Bayreuth

July 31, 200615 images