Bayreuth

Next, we drove, in rain, to Bayreuth, in northeastern-most Bavaria, a fairly provincial place, but now the world's capital of opera, German opera, anyway, where the annual (since 1876) Bayreuth Festival was underway. Tickets to the Festival are unobtainable. Although it goes on for a month, and the festival theatre seats 1,800, they are the toughest ticket around. Germans love to tell stories of their being handed down in wills.

Ground-zero Bayreuth

Wilhelmina's Opera Theatre--she was Frederick the Great's

sister, married off to Bavaria, to which, in Bayreuth at least,

she brought culture; very baroque, very royal, completely

contrary to Wagner's aesthetics (and politics), so he had L

ooney Ludwig build him a completely new festival theater

(next post)

Famous fountain near ground-zero

The whole town, even scaffolding, is decked out in Wagner

paraphrenalia (here also Wilhelmina, Jean-Paul, Wagner,

and Lizst)

Siemens sponsored productions of The Valkyrie and a

childrens' version of Tannhauser

All the local stores sport Wagner stuff

The Holy Family in the Mont Blanc store

window

Even the imbiss

Or are named for Wagner, his operas, or

their characters

Well, not all the stores

Wagner display in one of the bookstores