Bayreuth Festival 2023: Augmented reality meets tradition

Despite popular belief, the Richard Wagner Festival in Bayreuth is far from conservative. On the contrary, reinvention belongs firmly in the Bayreuth canon of tradition.

From the giant worm to AR glasses

As early as the founding of the festival by the German composer Richard Wagner  —  and the first opera occurred almost 150 years ago —  Bayreuth was committed to experimentation, both artistic and technical. Thus, in 1876, a "giant worm" was ordered in England for the "Ring" premiere on the Grüner Hügel (Green Hill). The body arrived on time, but the head got held up.

"Now all of Bayreuth is in a frenzy," reported composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky, who was on his way to the super event in the Franconian province as a correspondent for the Petersburg News.

"Everyone is just talking about whether the head of the beast will also be there in time for the premiere."  The head arrived, it seems, and everything ultimately went according to plan. The worm's stage presence, however, left no lasting mark on Wagner's reception.

In a digital wonderland

Aesthetically, one is reminded of the computer games of the first generation. The content of the digital storm of images can only be deciphered after a diligent reading of the program booklet or a conversation with the director.

While swans flutter by, shot down by the impetuous young fool Parsifal, or numerous fanciful flowers in the flower girl scenes are to some extent self-explanatory, other images (thorn braids, skulls, snakes biting their tails among others) stem from Wagner's "Parsifal" imagery, which in itself was a wild mixture of Christian, pagan, Buddhist and other symbols.

In his massive farewell work, "Parsifal," Wagner seeks ways to eternal life beyond death and redemption — primarily through the power of love.

Creating or acquiring something new?

The big revelation this year is the use of "augmented reality" glasses through which audience members can see digital images in addition to the real thing on stage. They are the product of the imagination of American director Jay Scheib, thus paying homage to the joy of experimentation of the festival.

However, the glasses aren't available to all. Just 330 of the expected 1,940 spectators will get to enjoy the spectacle through the spectacles. The whole experiment would otherwise have been too expensive, according to the festival's management.

Those who were not among the lucky few will still get to enjoy the colorful costumes (Meentje Nielsen) as the event seeks to rekindle memories of the primeval era of Bayreuth.

The magic of music applies

Richard Wagner may not have been keen on directorial experiments but his music was far more daring and has lost none of its intoxicating effect.

Young Wagnerians present on the Grüner Hügel this week raved about the intensity of feeling that Wagner's music continues to offer. All the more so after the magnificent performance by Spanish maestro Pablo Heras-Casado, who on Tuesday made his Bayreuth debut at the conductor's podium in triumph. He was flanked by arguably the world's finest Wagnerian ensemble: the charismatic Andreas Schager as a stand-in in the title role, Georg Zeppenfeld as Gurnemanz and Elina Garanca as the Hollywood-ready seductress Kundry, a sorceress with a magic voice.

With such a basis, one can attempt further experiments with confidence. 

This article was originally written in German.