Die Geschichte der Bayreuther Festspiele

Two-Volume Edition in a Slipcase

The Bayreuth Festival is the oldest opera festival in the world. The two volumes by renowned Wagner and Bayreuth scholar Oswald Georg Bauer fill a long-standing gap and can rightfully be regarded as the definitive history of the Bayreuth Festival. Spanning 1,292 lavishly illustrated pages, they trace the festival’s history from Richard Wagner’s first idea in 1850 and the construction of the Festival Theatre, through the inaugural festival in 1876, Old and New Bayreuth, and on to the year 2000, concluding with the era of Wolfgang Wagner, for whom Bauer worked for many years.

The work not only chronicles the eventful history of the festival; it also provides detailed accounts of individual productions and their reception in the press, brought to life through numerous illustrations. Meticulously researched and clearly organized, these volumes offer easy access to the material and also serve as an invaluable reference work.

• The first comprehensive definitive history of the Bayreuth Festival
• The legacy of Wagner scholar and Bayreuth expert Oswald Georg Bauer
• 150th anniversary of the Bayreuth Festival