Best time to go to Bavaria

Bayreuth Festival 2024

Feel the atmosphere of the most prestigious opera festival dedicated to a single composer–Richard Wagner

Dates: July 25-August 26, 2024

Bayreuth Festival
Bayreuth Festival

Every summer the Bayreuth Festival magnetizes visitors from all around the world for outstanding productions of Richard Wagner's operas. This great composer lived and created much of his masterpieces in Bayreuth, Upper Franconia’s largest city, in his Villa “Wahnfried”, which was also his final resting place. Located on the edge of the court garden houses, it is now Richard Wagner Museum and a must-see for those keen on music culture. The composer’s heritage remains alive here. Performances traditionally take place in a specially designed theatre—the Bayreuth Festspielhaus.

Since the inauguration on the 13th of August 1876 with a performance of Das Rheingold, the Bayreuth Festival appeared as a cultural phenomenon. This unique musical event was attended by Dom Pedro II of Brazil, Kaiser Wilhelm, Friedrich Nietzsche, and such accomplished composers as Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Franz Liszt, and Edvard Grieg. From its opening, the villa has welcomed leading singers and conductors, many of whom perform voluntarily. For example, Hans Richter was the one who conducted at the Ring Cycle in 1876.

This glorious Bayreuth Festival brings thousands of Wagner fans to the town and the tickets are very difficult to get. For the 58,000 tickets there are ten times more people in the waiting list. The waiting time is 5–10 years approximately. Commonly tickets are designated for a lottery, but prevalently the preference is given to famous patrons, financial donors, and to international and regional Wagner societies. However, tickets for one opera in 2013 were exclusively offered online and sold out within seconds.

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Last updated: by Eleonora Provozin