Articles by Beatrice Labonne

Death in the Afternoon in Bayreuth

Seven days later, the body count was close to thirty! And this is quaint Bayreuth, Germany, not war-torn Beirut, Lebanon.  This tally is not taken from a Bruce Willis’ action movie, but from seven of Richard Wagner’s most celebrated operas. Do not recoil; it is not my intention to write about Wagner.  Wagner was both a supremo music composer and a writer; he imagined the “total art form”, his so-called Gesamtkunstwerk.   
In the mid 20th century, his artistic legacy became ensnared into the noxious doctrine of a very unsavory regime.  As a result and over the years, no other composer has attracted so much literary attention.  Relatively controversial during his life, he was made even more so by the authors of the plethora of biographies, articles and conflicting analyses.  These days, it seems that everyone has something to say on Wagner’s life and legacy.  It is true that few people are left indifferent to Wagner’s creativity.  Our small group of Wagner enthusiasts did its share to contribute to the ongoing debate. The inventor of Gesamtkunstwerk who gloriously fused music into drama may deserve to be both revered and reviled.  


Once a year for a month, the Bayreuther Festspiele or Wagner opera festival in Bayreuth attracts throngs of music lovers and Wagnerites from all over the world.  After building a theatre solely dedicated to play his operas, Wagner himself started the festival in 1876.  Many royals were in attendance, including Emperor Dom Pedro II of Brazil.  The festival has taken place every summer since, except for a short interruption at the end of WW II. The festival is still very much a Wagner family affaire; the heirs are totally in charge. It is expected that 80 years old Wolfgang, Wagner’s grandson will soon relinquish the management to a younger member.  Being an utterly dysfunctional family, the hand-over has become a highly publicized squabble.  This year, in addition to high drama on stage, Wagnerites could enjoy a free, family soap opera backstage.  The family intrigues coupled with some its members’ flamboyant behavior, provided refreshing interludes to an otherwise staid routine.   


Who will be selected? Three family members are in the running including Wolfgang’s youngest daughter, the Walkyrie look-alike Katarina.  Will Katarina’s impressive attributes sway the jury in her favour? Matters are never simple in the scandal-prone Wagner family.  The media loves the titillating details of this on-going saga.  Stay tuned. 


The festspielhaus routine is a well oiled business; it can be described as the annual pilgrimage of the Wagner devotees.   Every year, the festival sells 54000 tickets, and the performances are always sold out.  Wagnerites may have to wait for years to get the opportunity of sitting in the festspielhaus.  I consider myself lucky; I got my reward after only three years!  The opera theatre holds 2100 very uncomfortable seats.  To ensure an optimal acoustic quality Wagner adapted the design of famous Greek theatres, their hard seating included.  The performances usually start at 4 pm and go on for up to seven hours.  Relief comes in the form of two one-hour intervals, and a set of cushions.   


Wagner’s operas are weighty dramas with convoluted plots and plenty of casualties.  Many of his characters are killed on stage; others too grief-stricken, disappear or die. Wagner’s master piece, the 14 hour-long saga the “Ring Des Nibelungen” tallies some 23 victims. In Wagner’s mythology, gods are mortal too; the composer is egalitarian.  In a nutshell, Wagner’s male characters are usually weak, selfish, greedy, philandering, and unfaithful, just to list a few of their traits.  Their actions commonly lead to drama or to absolute chaos like at the end of the Ring.   As the Katarina Wagner story points out, Wagner’s women play prominent roles; they frequently have to come forward to clean the mess.  For me, an historic feminist, parallel can be made with today’s politics whereby female politicians are voted in when there is a man-made muddle to fix.  The difference is that 21st century women are not required like Wagner’s heroines to sacrifice themselves to fulfill their humanity redemption duty.   


A Google search will attest that plenty has been written on the moral and philosophical issues related to Wagner’s heroines.   Conversely Google has very few entries on the town of Bayreuth.  Bayreuth is a small sized city located in northern Bavaria.  At some stage, it was the capital of the region of Franken or Franconia in English.  Franconia and France share the same early medieval origin; both were settled by the invading Frank tribes.  Surprisingly, Bayreuth cultural life revolves around not one, but two opera theatres.  These theatres were approximately built 100 years apart, and could not be more unlike.   Whereas, Wagner’s festspielhaus is functional, cold and uncomfortable, the older one is warm, cozy and fabulously Rococo.  Guess what? This theatre was commissioned by a woman.                                             


This outstanding woman was the “Margravine” Wilhelmine von Bayreuth.  She was the favorite sister of Prussia King Frederic the Great.  She would rather have wed the Prince of Wales, but that project failed.  As a result the Prussian princess was shipped to provincial Bayreuth to marry the reigning Margrave.  She was a pure product of the Age of Enlightenment.  She befriended Voltaire and score of other important people in the arts.  She wrote a baroque opera and several pieces of chamber music.  She and her husband embarked in a frenzy of construction, and soon Bayreuth and its surroundings looked like a small Versailles.  Among the buildings, Wilhelmine’s opernhaus is the most dazzling project; it is a gem of gilded Rococo.  Not surprisingly, the margraves drove the state to the verge of bankruptcy!  


Bayreuth never shuns a party, and 2008 and 2009 will be celebration years.  Wilhelimine’s respective 250 year death anniversary and 300 birthday anniversary will be celebrated in style. Rumor has it that the city authorities aim at speeding the designation of the various Wilhelmine’s buildings on the UNESCO heritage landmark list.  These anniversary celebrations will probably advance their agenda. I am a great fan of this princess, and would like to know more about her. Although she has published her own memoirs in French, modern biographies are only available in the German language which I cannot read.   


Am I a fan of Wagner? In a way, I am.   How can I dislike a man who was buried next to his wife and dog?  However, I am not a Wagner devotee, but during the waning moments of the Twilight of the Gods, I like to close my eyes to fully savor the music. 


Beatrice Labonne, August 24, 2007.