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Bayreuth: Capital and Anti-capital

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Other Capitals of the Nineteenth Century

Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in Modern European Literature ((PMEL))

Abstract

If Paris was the archetypal metropolis, the paradigmatic centre of commerce, fashion and art as entertainment for a bored bourgeoisie, Richard Wagner selected Bayreuth because it was small, off the beaten track and unknown. He appropriated the town and dedicated it to the notion of art as a timeless spiritual experience of religious intensity. He wrote articles to explain the concept for the location in just these terms. But launching the Bayreuth festival in 1876 required significant capital and Wagner was an inspired and creative entrepreneur. Though not a metropolis, Bayreuth became a centre, at least for a few weeks in the summer. Wagner’s enduring success was proven by the waiting list currently estimated at 10–15 years for the festival, which represents the longest-running such event of the European stage.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of South Carolina, Columbia, USA

    Nicholas Vazsonyi

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  1. Nicholas Vazsonyi
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Correspondence to Nicholas Vazsonyi .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom

    Richard Hibbitt

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Vazsonyi, N. (2017). Bayreuth: Capital and Anti-capital. In: Hibbitt, R. (eds) Other Capitals of the Nineteenth Century. Palgrave Studies in Modern European Literature. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-57085-7_10

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