Probably the world's most ornate opera house in a city of Richard Wagner fame - Margravial Opera House Bayreuth 1379
What and Why
The Margravial Opera House (German: Markgräfliches Opernhaus) is a Baroque opera house in Bayreuth, built in the mid-18th century CE. The opera house interior is so beautifully crafted that it is possibly one of the most refined opera houses one will ever see.
The opera house was built and designed by the French architect Joseph Saint-Pierre, for the margrave Frederick III (Friedrich III, né Friedrich Hohenzollern) of Brandenburg-Bayreuth and his wife Princess Wilhelmine (né Wilhelmine Hohenzollern) of Prussia (Preußen). The position of margrave (Markgraf) was originally the mediaeval title for the military commander, the English equivalent of marquess or marquis. In spite of its construction, the opera house was only used for a few years. Performances ceased after Wilhelmine died and the building went into disuse, one reason for its good conservation status.
The famous composer Richard Wagner was attracted to the opera house and chose Bayreuth as his own world-famous music festival centre. This started the long association of the city with Wagner, who lived here since 1872 CE until his death.
Toponymy
Bayreuth came from its old name Baierrute. Baier- indicates from Bavaria (Bayern), while the syllable -rute means clearing in Old German.
See
Margravial Opera House (Markgräfliches Opernhaus)
By comparison, the exterior facade of the opera house is fairly modest and regular; whereas the interior exhibits highly decorated theatre’s tiered loge structure of wood with illusionistic painted canvas intending to represent the ceremonial architectural tradition that was employed in pageants and celebrations for princely self-representation.
When we visited the extraordinary opera house, it was undergoing its renovation since 2012 CE! The opera house was only re-opened in 2018 CE.
New Palace (Neues Schloss)
Just a few steps away from the opera house stands the very elongated Rococo New Palace (Neues Schloss).
Festival Theatre (Festspielhaus)
Commissioned and built by Wagner and dedicated solely to the performance of his stage works, the Festival Theatre (Festspielhaus) is the venue for the annual world-famous Bayreuth Festival (Bayreuther Festspiele).
Hermitage (Eremitage)
The surprise of this road was the discovery of the Hermitage (Eremitage). Following the French King Louis XIV (né Louis Dieudonné), Margrave Georg-Wilhelm (né Georg-Wilhelm Hohenzollern) built the park for his own retreat. He then gave the park to his wife who started planting and decorating. The horse-shoe shaped orangery features very picturesque and colourful mosaics, reminding one of Park Güell (Spanish: Parque Güell) of Antoni Gaudí i Cornet fame.
The orangery panorama.
The orangery curvy mosaic.
Eat and Drink
The traditional 'fast-sandwich' of Bayreuther Bratwürste in a bread roll is sold around the city, as the city is university town.
Getting There and Around
The four main landmarks are quite far apart, and probably the only way is to drive. There is a combination ticket called Die Welt der Wilhelmine EUR 18€ for all the four landmarks.
UNESCO Inscription
A masterpiece of Baroque theatre architecture, built between 1745 and 1750, the Opera House is the only entirely preserved example of its type where an audience of 500 can experience Baroque court opera culture and acoustics authentically, as its auditorium retains its original materials, i.e. wood and canvas. Commissioned by Margravine Wilhelmine, wife of Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg–Bayreuth, it was designed by the renowned theatre architect Giuseppe Galli Bibiena. As a court opera house in a public space, it foreshadowed the large public theatres of the 19th century. The highly decorated theatre’s tiered loge structure of wood with illusionistic painted canvas represents the ephemeral ceremonial architectural tradition that was employed in pageants and celebrations for princely self-representation.
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