Bayreuth

capital and anti-capital

Nicholas Vazsonyi

pp. 205-222

in: Richard Hibbitt (ed), Other capitals of the nineteenth century, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 2017

Abstract

If Paris was the archetypal metropolis, the paradigmatic centre of commerce, fashion and art as entertainment for a bored bourgeoisie, Richard Wagner selected Bayreuth because it was small, off the beaten track and unknown. He appropriated the town and dedicated it to the notion of art as a timeless spiritual experience of religious intensity. He wrote articles to explain the concept for the location in just these terms. But launching the Bayreuth festival in 1876 required significant capital and Wagner was an inspired and creative entrepreneur. Though not a metropolis, Bayreuth became a centre, at least for a few weeks in the summer. Wagner's enduring success was proven by the waiting list currently estimated at 10–15 years for the festival, which represents the longest-running such event of the European stage.

Cited authors

Wagner Richard