Bayreuth Festspielhaus

The Bayreuth Festspielhaus (German: "Bayreuth Festival House") is an opera house located north of the town of Bayreuth in Germany, dedicated to performing the operas of Richard Wagner. It was designed and built under Wagner's supervision, and its construction principally funded by King Ludwig II of Bavaria. It was first opened for the premiere of the complete cycle of The Ring of the Nibelung, given there one opera each night between 13 and 17 August 1876.

The Festspielhaus is the venue of the annual Richard Wagner Festival, during which Wagner's operas, such as The Ring of the Nibelung and Parsifal, are given on a repertory basis. The festival draws thousands of opera fans to Bayreuth every August. It is very difficult to get tickets, because demand greatly exceeds supply; the waiting list usually takes seven or eight years.

Bibliography: Spotts, Frederic, Bayreuth: A History of the Wagner Festival, New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1994.