Episode 1 of 1
Inaugural Performance
- When
- 13 August 1876
- Where
- Bayreuth Festspielhaus
The festival opened with Beethoven's Choral Symphony followed by Das Rheingold, starting the Ring cycle as intended.
On 13 August 1876, the Bayreuth Festival began with Beethoven's Choral Symphony. This was followed by Das Rheingold, the first evening of the complete Ring cycle. The performance sequence fulfilled Wagner's vision for the cycle to be presented as a unified whole, distinct from earlier fragmented performances.
Sources
- Bayreuth Festival Wikipedia, revision of 2026-08-17
- Richard Wagner Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-19
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.