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A group of people perform on stage, all holding hands and wearing costumes
Image: Enrico Nawrath/Bayreuther Festspiele

Bayreuth Festival

The annual Bayreuth Festival is dedicated exclusively to the operatic works of German composer Richard Wagner. The five-week series of performances begins each year on July 25 in Bayreuth, Germany.

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All Content on this topic

A person dancing wearing an oversized head of a stereotypical jewish man at a performance of "De Meistersinger von Nürnberg" at the Bayreuth festival in 2017.

Why Hitler was a fan of Wagner's 'Meistersinger' opera

It is considered the "most German" of Richard Wagner's operas. Adolf Hitler used the work for his propaganda purposes.
MusicJuly 21, 2025
Adolf Hitler arrives for the opening of the Wagner Festival with Winifred and Wieland Wagner in 1938

How Hitler's favorite artists stayed successful after WWII

From Wieland Wagner to Arno Breker, many musicians and artists benefited from Nazism. How did this happen?
HistoryMay 6, 2025
A woman in a wedding dress with a long train stands on a stage with a man in a dark suit kneeling at the end of her train.

Bayreuth Festival: Of love and betrayal

Richard Wagner's monument to lovers, "Tristan and Isolde," got a darker interpretation at this year's Bayreuth Festival.
MusicJuly 29, 2024
A drawing shows Richard Wagner sitting a piano with his hand on some scores.

German composer Richard Wagner: The man behind the myth

Once described as "a sniveling gnome with exceptional talent," Wagner still managed to create a mythic idea of himself.
MusicJuly 28, 2024
Bayreuth Festival 2023

Bayreuth Festival 2023: Augmented reality meets tradition

The new Bayreuth "Parsifal" is an attempt to combine real stage action with augmented reality.
CultureJuly 27, 2023
Women standing and lying, wearing mostly pink costumes, onstage during a production of 'Parsifal' in Bayreuth.

Bayreuth Festival opens new worlds

Climate catastrophe, war and new augmented reality technology distinguish Richard Wagner's "Parsifal" in Bayreuth.
MusicJuly 26, 202312 images
An augmented reality picture that features among others a girl with a ponytail holding her arms up, stylized trees and an outline of a human heart.

Bayreuth Festival: Richard Wagner's work gets 3D effect

US director Jay Scheib harnesses virtual technology to present Wagner's operas this year.
TheaterJuly 24, 2023
Hitler in uniform between Winfred and Wieland Wagner

Hitler's cultural accomplices: Wagner, Speer and Bechstein

Cultural figures like Richard Wagner's family paved the way for Hitler long before he came to power in 1933.
CultureJuly 22, 2023
Composer Richard Wagner with painted moustache like Hitler

Why Hitler adored Richard Wagner

Ominous veneration: Why Hitler found the soundtrack to his megalomania in Wagner’s music.
CultureJanuary 6, 202326:06 min
Florian Vogt, man on stage in armor of sorts

Wagner Festival wrestles with word 'Führer'

Opinions clashed at the Bayreuth Festival over the word "Führer," even in a context that had nothing to do with Hitler.
CultureSeptember 10, 2022
Bayreuther Festspiele 2021

Wagner for all in Bayreuth

This year, people can enjoy Richard Wagner's music at free outdoor concerts in Bayreuth.
CultureAugust 6, 2022
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Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra kicks off tour

The orchestra's first concert took place in Warsaw, to be followed by a tour of across Europe and the US.
CultureJuly 29, 2022
Scene from the opera "Tristan and Isolde" at the Bayreuth Festival 2022

Bayreuth Festival: Opera offers an escape

The opera "Tristan und Isolde" kicked off the festival, offering brief reprieve from news of war and extreme heatwaves.
CultureJuly 26, 2022
Bayreuth director Katharina Wagner

Bayreuth: Sexual assault claims to be investigated

Several female employees at the music festival were allegedly groped, including festival director Katharina Wagner.
CultureJuly 22, 2022
Scene from the children's opera "Tristan and Isolde" at the Bayreuth Festival 2021

Bayreuth Festival 2022: More operas than ever

After two constricted pandemic years, the Bayreuth Festival is back with an unprecedented lineup of Wagner operas.
MusicJuly 22, 2022
Oksana Lyniv in a theater holding a blue and yellow Ukrainian flag

Conductor Oksana Lyniv: 'Raise your voices!'

The renowned Ukrainian conductor is urging Russian artists to speak out against President Vladimir Putin and the war.
CultureMarch 11, 2022
DW Arts.21 (Sendungslogo Kultur.21 englisch)

A first: Oksana Lyniv conducts Wagner

A portrait of Oksana Lyniv, the first woman to head the orchestra at the Bayreuth Festival.
MusicDecember 25, 202126:01 min
Marina Prudenskaya (left) as Mary, Eric Cutler (center) as Erik and Asmik Grigorian (right, in yellow) as Senta

A new twist to Wagner's opera

Russia director Dmitri Tcherniakov's version of the famous opera has an unexpected surprise ending.
MusicNovember 29, 2021
Richard Wagner's face in a close-up of a statue in Bayreuth

7 facts about Richard Wagner

The mastermind behind the Bayreuth Festival was not as masterful in his personal affairs.
MusicSeptember 24, 2021
A combo photo showing Katharina Wagner, Oksana Lyniv, Angela Merkel and Jeakterina Gubanova

Strong women take center stage at Bayreuth 2021

This year's Richard Wagner bash is getting a whole new shine — largely thanks to the women in command.
MusicAugust 27, 20217 images
Bayreuther Festspiele 2021 I Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg

The Wagner festival: Why it is mythical

The composer himself contributed to building the myth surrounding his opera festival.
CultureJuly 29, 2021
A woman dressed in a hig-necked black top, holds a conductor's baton in her right hand

Women lead at the Bayreuth Festival

Singer Asmik Grigorian and conductor Oksana Lyniv electrified the audience in the staging of "The Flying Dutchman."
CultureJuly 26, 2021
Close-up picture of Katharina Wagner

Wagner festival director reveals plans for 2021

Tickets for the Wagner festival Bayreuth are on sale. What can the audience expects after last year's cancellation?
MusicJuly 5, 2021
Oksana Lyniv

Oksana Lyniv, Bayreuth's first female conductor

The Ukrainian conductor, the first woman to head the orchestra at the Richard Wagner festival, discusses her work.
CultureJune 25, 2021
Richard Wagner opera house in Bayreuth, pink building with flower beds in the park in front of it

What to expect at the 2021 Bayreuth Festival

Expectations are high for Richard Wagner's famed festival, but the pandemic continues to cause uncertainty.
CultureJune 17, 2021
Bayreuth Festival's main performance venue, the Richard Wagner Festspielhaus

What's up in classical music festivals for 2021?

Organizers in Germany and Austria are hopeful even as they present modified plans for spring and summer concerts.
CultureFebruary 12, 2021
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Opera star Placido Domingo at 80

Despite his age, his COVID illness in 2020 and the #MeToo accusations, the man just keeps on singing.
MusicJanuary 20, 2021
Oksana Lyniv conducts a youth orchestra

Tops and flops in Germany's "Oper!-Award"

The jury recognized excellent individual achievements but excoriated the industry as a whole.
MusicDecember 1, 2020
Bildkombo Oksana Lyniv und Dmitri Tcherniakov

The Bayreuth Festival to have first female conductor

Richard Wagner's festival announces a star-studded performance in 2021. Conductor Oksana Lyniv will take the podium.
CultureSeptember 23, 2020
Bayreuth - Das Richard-Wagner-Festspielhaus

Three decades at the Bayreuth festival

With this year's Wagner Festival in Bayreuth called off, DW's Rick Fulker has found the time to pull up memories.
MusicJuly 27, 2020
Katharina Wagner

Bayreuth Festival without Katharina Wagner

The festival director's absence due to health issues could have serious implications for the Wagner Festival.
MusicApril 29, 2020
Bayreuth Festspielhaus Oper Konzerthaus

Wagner music festival canceled

Another pillar of Germany's culture has been canceled because of the coronavirus crisis: the Bayreuth Festival.
MusicApril 1, 2020
Bayreuther Festspielhaus

The Bayreuth Festival canceled

Cultural events been called off due to the corona crisis. Now the Bayreuth Festival 2020 has been canceled as well.
CultureMarch 31, 202019 images
A clown and a blond woman in a black drerss drive in an old car

Bayreuth 2019: A very good year

A colorful season at the Bayreuth Festival.
MusicAugust 27, 2019
Heldentenor Stephen Gould

The late bloomer of tenors: Stephen Gould

The world-class tenor doesn't hesitate to reveal that it was a rocky road to reach the summit of his art.
MusicJuly 26, 2019
Stephen Gould, Elena Zhidkova and Manni Laudenbach perform

'Tannhäuser': A play within a play

What is the nature of love? That central issue in Richard Wagner's opera is in focus in the new production at Bayreuth.
MusicJuly 26, 2019
Theaterregisseur Tobias Kratzer

Going beyond the love-sex dilemma

The Bayreuth Festival opens with Wagner's Tannhäuser. Director Tobias Kratzer told DW how his staging renews the play.
CultureJuly 25, 2019
Deutschland | Wolfgang Wagner | Bayreuther Festspiele

Honoring Wolfgang Wagner's legacy in Bayreuth

Richard Wagner's grandson is being honored in the year marking the 100th anniversary of his birth.
MusicJuly 25, 2019
Bayreuth Festspielhaus

What to expect at the Bayreuth Festival

In 2020, the "Ring" will be produced by a young team, while this year's staging of "Tannhäuser" will be opulent.
MusicJuly 25, 2019
Deutschland Bayreuth 2018 | Totale

Travel tips for Bayreuth – Wagner, Wilhelmine, and wheat beer

There are many reasons to visit this tranquil town in northern Bavaria, even if you don't attend the Wagner Festival.
TravelJuly 25, 201910 images
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The Bayreuth Festival wraps up another season

A Lohengrin of vivid imagery and a booed-out premiere by Placido Domingo were the highlights of the year. What's ahead?
MusicAugust 29, 2018
Bayreuter Festspielen 2018, Lohengrin

A chat with Piotr Beczala

The Polish tenor's Bayreuth premiere as Lohengrin was warmly received. Then he sat down to talk with DW.
MusicAugust 3, 2018
Bayreuther Festspiele 2018 | der verschwundene hochzeiter

Of space and time: a new opera in Bayreuth

An astonishing multimedia fairy tale: Klaus Lang's "der verschwundene hochzeiter" (The Bridegroom Disappeared).
MusicJuly 27, 2018
Bayreuther Festspiele 2018 | Lohengrin

'Lohengrin' at the Bayreuth Festival

The Wagner Festival opens the season with a production dominated by powerful images and strong voices.
MusicJuly 26, 2018
Deutschland, Bayreuth: Postkarten bei den Richard-Wagner-Festspielen

Bayreuth Festival: The 2018 Wagner celebration begins

Visitors can look forward to a new production of Wagner's "Lohengrin" — including the stage set by Neo Rauch.
MusicJuly 25, 2018
Regisseur - Yuval Sharon Regisseur Lohengrin

A chat with Bayreuth stage director Yuval Sharon

The American is staging Richard Wagner's opera "Lohengrin" at the opening of the Bayreuth Festival.
MusicJuly 23, 2018
Dirigent James Levine

From divine to downfall: James Levine at 75

His 40-year career at the Metropolitan Opera in New York ended suddenly after allegations of sexual misconduct.
MusicJune 22, 2018
Festspielhaus Bayreuth

Why the 2018 Bayreuth Festival could one-up 2017

After a scandal-free year, the Bayreuth Festival could get juicier in 2018 with Plácido Domingo waving the baton.
MusicAugust 28, 2017
Hitler in Bayreuth

How much Hitler is there in Wagner?

Hitler loved the music of Wagner and was a special guest in Bayreuth. Much has been said, but the discussion isn't over.
MusicJuly 31, 2017
Photo of Wieland Wagner before a bust of Richard-Wagner

How Wieland Wagner lifted the Nazi shadow from Bayreuth

Credited with revitalizing the Bayreuth Festival after World War II, he is a living memory to some, a legend to others.
MusicJuly 27, 2017