The last weekend in July marks the beginning of the Bayreuth Festival, which is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year. The event regularly attracts international opera fans and distinguished guests, especially German politicians. This year, attendees include the current Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, and his predecessor, Angela Merkel, who regularly attends.

On August 13, 1876, exactly 150 years ago, the first Bayreuth Festival opened after years of disputes over funding Richard Wagner's ambitious project. Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, a friend of Wagner who was also a guest at the festival, praised the event, calling it "the first circumnavigation of the world in the realm of art."

Special anniversary program

The anniversary program is diverse and includes a new staging of Richard Wagner's landmark work, "The Ring of the Nibelung,” using AI, along with a new production of the opera "Rienzi," Wagner's first major success, composed at age 29. These two productions have replaced the festival management's original plan to stage all thirteen of Wagner's finished operas during the anniversary year, which was deemed financially unfeasable.

The opening ceremony on July 25 is expected to be spectacular. It features a major work by Wagner's idol, Ludwig van Beethoven — the Ninth Symphony. Notably, in 1872, Wagner conducted this very symphony at the Margravial Opera House in Bayreuth during the ceremonial laying of the foundation stone for his Festspielhaus.

Despite a few compromises, the anniversary program appears promising and innovative, fully aligned with Wagner's credo of "Children, create new things" ("Kinder, schafft Neues!").

Still, a shadow has been cast over the festival in the run-up to the opening: the initial exclusion and subsequent re-invitation of the German-French journalist Michel Friedman who is Jewish.

The 'Friedman Affair'

At first glance, the scandal appeared to be a planning mishap. Michel Friedman had been invited to the memorial event titled "Silenced Voices," ("Verstummte Stimmen") which was scheduled for the second day of the festival. It honors the many Jewish artists whose work at Bayreuth was ended by antisemitism, persecution and murder. Friedman, a prominent voice on Jewish life and a former president of the European Jewish Congress, was to speak about antisemitism and the festival's efforts to confront its Nazi past.

"Especially in the year of its 150th anniversary, the Bayreuth Festival is aware of its historical responsibility regarding Richard Wagner's anti-Semitic views, and the festival's subsequent connections, along with those of certain members of the Wagner family, to National Socialism," stated an official release by the Bayreuth Festival.

Due to insufficient security measures, it was suggested that Michel Friedman postpone his commemorative speech to a later date. This mishandling seemed to suggest that Bayreuth was trying to avoid confronting a history marred by anti-Semitism.

Following an apology from the festival management, Michel Friedman will now be attending after all. The event will feature musical works by the Jewish composers Gustav Mahler and Pavel Haas, who died in the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, as well as Richard Wagner's "Siegfried Idyll."

On the festival's website, Katharina Wagner, the festival director and great-granddaughter of the composer, expressed her delight in welcoming Friedman to the Festspielhaus.

A first for Bayreuth: Wagner's 'Rienzi'

This year's special premiere is Wagner's opera "Rienzi," which will be performed at the Bayreuth Festival for the first time. Wagner composed it in the style of French "Grand Opera." But he didn't believe it aligned with the repertoire of operas he would present in his festival theater in later years.

Captivated by the literary adaptation of a true 14th-century story, the rise and fall of the Roman leader Cola di Rienzo, who fought against the aristocracy, Wagner chose it as the subject for an opera.

He was not alone in his interest; "Rienzi" was also among Adolf Hitler's favorite works. Sven Friedrich, the director of the Richard Wagner Museum in Bayreuth, says, "What Hitler appreciated about 'Rienzi' was, of course, the figure of the self-made man who rises to become the sole ruler through his charisma."

The decision to premiere one of Hitler's favorite operas during this significant anniversary year has sparked debate. Nonetheless, Hungarian directors Alexandra Szemerédy and Magdolna Parditka are committed to updating "Rienzi" for contemporary audiences. "That's why we're not focusing solely on this specific dictatorship but rather exploring the boundaries of how a state can gradually evolve from populism into an authoritarian regime."

The sensational AI Ring

The festival is eagerly anticipating the new productions of the opera cycle "The Ring of the Nibelung." This opera explores themes of power, greed and intrigue. According to legend, whoever seizes gold from the Rhine will possess ultimate power. Richard Wagner built his opera house in 1876 specifically for this 16-hour mammoth work.

Artistic Director Katharina Wagner aims to break new ground with this anniversary production by incorporating AI. Curator Marcus Lobbes explains: "We'll be working with image layers partly generated in real-time, creating holographic 3-D spaces."

The team has chosen archival footage of Ring performances from 1876 to 2024 for the AI to analyze for the projections. "The entire composition aims to evoke a sense of a vast, resonant image," says Lobbes. The creators promise a "visually effervescent cosmos of light, texture, history, and association." There will be unexpected moments, not only for the audience but also for Marcus Lobbes's team, as they discover what the AI ultimately produces. The Bayreuth Festival takes place from July 25 to August 26.

Edited by Sarah Hucal.