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HISTORY, CONCEPTION, CONTENT
The annex on the eastern side of Wahnfried is the Siegfried Wagner House, an extension which later became necessary as the family grew. Construction began in 1896, and a passageway was built in the 1930's, connecting the outer building with Wahnfried. After the decease of Cosima and Richard Wagner, Siegfried Wagner's widow used it as guest house; amongst others Arturo Toscanini and Richard Strauss stayed here, as well as Adolf Hitler from 1936.
It primarily contains:
Bayreuth's Richard Wagner Memorial collection, enriched by numerous valuable documents of the National Archive of the Richard Wagner Foundation (formerly known as the Richard Wagner Family Archive or Wahnfried Archive), which was at the time located in the Neues Schloß, was integrated into the portion of the museum's collection that has been continuously on display. It is the centre of Wagner research and the most comprehensive Wagner archive worldwide. In the vault in the cellar of the building are thousands of hand-written documents of Richard Wagner and his family, as well as several thousand original letters. But it is especially the original manuscripts of his poems and other writings and the autograph scores of "The Flying Dutchman", "Tannhäuser", Lohengrin", "Siegfried", "Götterdämmerung", "Tristan and Isolde" and "Parsifal," which are kept safe here. It is in the representative rooms on the ground floor that the genius loci can be sensed. Marble busts of Richard and Cosima Wagner, Franz Liszt, King Ludwig II and various figures from Wagner's works, along with a grand piano by Breitkopf & Härtl and Wagner's composition piano, are to be found in the central hall which is as high as the building itself. In the neighbouring hall - the library and former drawing room - is Richard Wagner's library, containing approximately 2,500 volumes, as well as the "Wahnfried" grand piano, which was presented to Wagner by the Steinway company in New York for the opening of the first festival in 1876. The original interior was mostly destroyed, making reconstruction impossible. The hall seats 80 persons and today houses the "Museum of Sounds," in which guests can listen to 45-60 minutes of historical and modern Wagner recordings three times a day on request via a high-quality 6-channel audio system. Museum events also take place here, for instance, the monthly "Sunday Soirées". The former dining room, located to the right of the hall, offers a photographic account of the history of Wahnfried and sometimes also hosts special exhibitions. Cosima's "Purple Drawing Room", located to the left of the hall, and the neighbouring rooms are used for special exhibitions. The ongoing exhibition on the life and works of Richard Wagner and the history of the Bayreuth Festival offers a multitude of original written and graphic material and is situated in the rooms of the mezzanine and top floor, the family's former private living quarters, bedrooms, dressing rooms, bathrooms and children's rooms. The cellar contains an impressive amount of original, illuminated stage sets of historical Bayreuth performances (this section is currently not open to the public). Furthermore, the museum also offers a video room, where one can view recordings of festival productions and documentary films, as well as a gallery of Wagner-related curiosities. Some alterations are planned for the 25th anniversary of the museum. The history of the New Bayreuth from 1951 onwards is to be presented multimedially in future, and in the newly-created space an exhibition focusing on Wagner's non-artistic, political and ideological endeavours is to be presented. Wagner's antisemitism and its consequences, as well as the problematic connection of his works and the Bayreuth Festival with the Third Reich will also form part of this exhibition.
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Richard
Wagner came to Bayreuth in 1872. Here, after many struggles, setbacks
and disappointments he would finally manage to realize his life's dream,
which was also one of the most daring artistic visions of modern times.
On his 59th birthday, the 22nd of May 1872, the construction of his own
theatre, the Festspielhaus, began on the Green Hill just north of Bayreuth.
This was the opportunity for him to free himself from the limitations
of the repertoire theatres in the cities, which had often caused him despair.
By selecting Bayreuth, he made quite sure that his festival would be removed
from the routine and complacency of city cultural institutions. Here in
Bayreuth the festival was initiated as an alternative to the theatre of
his day.
His conviction that his life's dream had been
fulfilled here is manifested in the opening
speech Wagner held; the motto is engraved on
the front of his house: "Here where my delusions
have found peace, let this place be named Wahnfried."
He envisioned a democratic art festival, where
art-lovers could gather in the light-hearted
summer atmosphere, far away from the worries
of everyday life. The conservative traditionalism,
the ideololgical portrayal of Richard Wagner
and his works and his unfortunate advancement
as a chauvinistic manifestation of so-called
German Spirit were a product of subsequent generations,
whose ideology, in connection with subjectively
transfigured, uncritical depictions of the National
Socialism spirit finally led to a catastrophe.
Only after 1951 could the new Bayreuth return
to the aesthetic essence of Richard Wagner's
works of art.
Construction
of his villa, Wahnfried, which was sponsored
by his royal patron Ludwig II of Bavaria with
a contribution of 25,000 Thaler, began in 1872
and was completed in 1874; Wagner and his family
- his second wife Cosima, a daughter of Franz
Liszt, the children Daniela, Blandine (from
Cosima's previous marriage with Hans von Bülow),
Isolde, Eva and Siegfried - moved in on the
28th of April. Here, on the 21st of November
1874, he completed the score of "Götterdämmerung"
from "Der Ring des Nibelungen" - the largest
work in musical history - and started on his
final composition and "farewell work" "Parsifal",
which he completed at Wahnfried on 13th of January
1882 with the famous last words "It is finished!".
Richard Wagner passed away on the 13th February
1883 in Venice. His body was brought to Bayreuth
and buried in the joint grave in the garden
of Wahnfried, where Cosima would also find her
final resting place.
During
the war, Wahnfried was hit by a bomb on the
5th of April 1945, which partially destroyed
the side facing the garden. The hall and the
upper levels were burnt completely; and if Richard
Wagner's library had not been transferred two
weeks before due to Wolfgang Wagner's recommendations,
it too would have gone up in flames. Only the
front of the house is still original, the garden
side has been reconstructed. After the end of
the war the house was initially under American
administration, an officer's mess was established
in the Siegfried Wagner House. After the American
occupying forces had left, Winifred Wagner stayed
here right up to her death in 1980. After being
found guilty of passively supporting the National
Socialist regime, she was no longer permitted
to direct the festival; she therefore handed
over responsibility to her two sons Wieland
and Wolfgang, who were successful in re-launching
the festival in 1951.
The
Wagner family occupied the house up until the death of Wieland Wagner
in 1966. Since that time Wolfgang Wagner has been solely responsible for
managing the Bayreuth Festival. In 1973 the Richard Wagner Foundation
was established, whose objective is the administration and maintenance
of Richard Wagner's estate. The Wagner family handed over the Festspielhaus
and the Richard Wagner Archive to the foundation and donated Wahnfried
to the town of Bayreuth. It was decided to establish a Richard Wagner
Museum in time for the centennial of the