Bayreuth: A History of the Wagner Festival (Hardcover)

~ Mr. Frederic Spotts (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Stressing that "Bayreuth demands seriousness" of attendees--the author himself has attended every year since 1955--Spotts, who had the cooperation of the Richard Wagner-Gedenkstatte at Bayreuth, here presents a study of due seriousness, a knowing, engrossing, opinionated overview of the shrine that Wagner established to himself in 1876. The material on the founding of the Festival, and on Cosima Wagner's management of Bayreuth from 1883--following her husband Richard's death--to 1906 is familiar, although no less involving for that, as is the contemporary information. But Spotts's research into the Nazification of the Festival and the Winifred Wagner-Hitler friendship makes this a seminal study for a new generation. Because, as the author notes, Wagnerian opera was perceived among Germans as an extension of nationalism, the composer became Messiah and Bayreuth the last bulwark of true German values. Spotts reviews Winifred Wagner's administration of the Festival after the death in 1930 of her husband Siegfried (Cosima died that year as well), the composer's son, who, in 1915 at age 45, married the 17-year-old German-bred British orphan out of fear that his homosexuality would be exposed. Hitler and his devoted Winifred kept Bayreuth functioning throughout WW II, with the Fuhrer underwriting expenses for his War Festivals; annually he rewarded up to 30,000 of his troops and war workers with free attendance to Bayreuth. Spotts, a former member of the American Foreign Service, also tracks the uncertain fate of Bayreuth under the Allies, until the Festival reverted to the Wagner family in 1950, dual control passing to Winifred and Siegfried's sons Wieland and Wolfgang. It took Wieland's genius to de-Nazify Bayreuth and make it a vital Festival, shows Spotts, who is critical of Wolfgang's management after his brother's death in 1966. If Bayreuth is, as the author argues, a simulacrum of the German nation, it is no less so for devotees of Wagner. The Nazi connection is known at least in outline to younger Wagnerites but is little discussed. Spotts does the music world a service by confronting that legacy. Photos not seen by PW .
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

This comprehensive history of opera's oldest summer music festival is directed to the general, music-loving public. Regular attendee Spotts supplements his own perceptions and collection of programs with numerous published sources in German and English. He presents Bayreuth, perpetual showplace for only seven of Richard Wagner's operas, as a cultural icon whose history represents not just the composer's art and his family's functions and dysfunctions but wider German artistic and political ideologies and influence from the late 19th century until today. When the repertory is unchanging, new interpretations such as this keep critics talking and writing. For large music collections.
Bonnie Jo Dopp, formerly with District of Columbia P.L.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 344 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press (May 25, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300057776
• ISBN-13: 978-0300057775
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #960,640 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good read, but some odd editorial errors, October 24, 1999

By A Customer

This is a well-written and hard to put down history of the Bayreuth Festival. Thanks are due to Mr. Spotts for sifting through many works in German that are hard to find. However, there are a couple of curious statements that make me wonder about the veracity of the book as a whole. In his discussion of the 1951 reopening, he refers to Karajan as an up and coming young conductor from Aachen. Well, in 1942 Karajan left Aachen to assume directorship of the Berlin State Opera, and by 1951 his associations with the Vienna Philharmonic and the Philharmonia Orchestra had made him an internationally known recording artist. Hardly a young upstart from the sticks!

In the same chapter, he refers to a society that was organized around Hans Pfitzner to protest the radicalism of Wieland Wagner's productions. However, Pfitzner died in 1949, presumably without seeing the first of Wieland's stagings in 1951. No explanation is given for this statement.

In general, this is a book written by a well-informed and insightful fan, but perhaps one without a strong musical background.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book has it all ... and some., October 27, 1998

By	P. S. Ruckman Jr. (IL) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Bayreuth: A History of the Wagner Festival (Paperback)

I will never forget the excitement of seeing this book on the shelf. Admittedly, the heavy emphasis on outstanding photography made me hesitant. But, having been to the Festival a couple of times (and having cut through many a book related to Wagner), I had to go with it. I was not disappointed. Indeed, I would be hard pressed to suggest a better written book on the festival, its relationship to Nazi Germany, the conflict of schools of interpretation, Wagnerism, or ... Wagner! This book sails and you are sorry when the trip is over. It also provides a serious, well-organized discussion of the development of Wagner's music and the characters who desired the association of the Wagner household. The musician, performer, historian, critic, biographer, and disciple will all be entertained.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bayreuth: A History of the Wagner Festival, January 4, 2000

By	Alexandre Paquin (Montreal, Canada) - See all my reviews

I consider this book to be very informative, on a topic that may not interest everyone, but anyone who is interested in Wagner and his music should read this book. The links the author makes between the Bayreuth festival and Hitler help explain why Wagner's music was considered central to the National Socialist ideology. Another book which I have read and which I highly recommend for people who do not know much on Wagner but would like to know more is "Wagner without Fear" by William Berger. It mentions the Bayreuth festival, but also summarizes all of Wagner's operas (except "Rienzi"), something which is not found in "Bayreuth: A History of the Wagner Festival."