The world knew him and he knew the world; he was a personality as highly esteemed as he was often underestimated. His entire life was inextricably linked with the Bayreuth Festival – they are unimaginable without his work. He, the Wagner grandson, who never saw his lineage as a privilege or a mark of quality per se, lived entirely for the Festival, which he by no means considered a sacrifice, but rather a freely chosen and therefore self-evident duty. He fulfilled this duty without much fuss or particular vanity, driven by a deeply internalized sense of responsibility. For decades – he led Bayreuth Festival from 1950, initially jointly with his elder brother Wieland, and then alone after Wieland’s early death until 2008 – he embodied the Festival for many like no other. In the perception of some, this appeared to be a symbiosis, indeed an identification between person and institution. It is only too understandable that this, alongside admiration, also frequently drew criticism. The Wagnerian legacy as a whole and Bayreuth Festival owe him an immeasurable debt, which will be extensively discussed in due course, from a greater distance. “He was a man, take him for all in all, I shall not look upon his like again.” (Shakespeare) Wolfgang Wagner was born in Bayreuth 100 years ago today. We pay our respects.
Wolfgang Wagner, Festival Director – on His 100th Birthday
