‘This is asking a lot of the buttocks’: my 23-hour Wagner marathon on a rock hard seat in a heatwave

The Bayreuth Festival celebrates its 150th anniversary with a week of intense Wagner operas, notorious for unpadded seats and lack of air conditioning. Despite discomfort and perplexing modern stagings, the festival’s unique acoustics and loyal audience remain, highlighting an ongoing internal debate about its identity and legacy.

• The Bayreuth Festival, celebrating 150 years, is prized for experiencing Richard Wagner’s operas, despite notoriously uncomfortable seating, no air conditioning, and a restricted repertoire.
• The festival’s auditorium, designed like a Greek amphitheater, promotes a communal experience but requires audiences to remain still, with minimal padding and no surtitles adding to the challenge.
• Modern stagings, such as the “AI Ring” and a gory Parsifal, are often criticized by attendees, contrasting with the festival’s efforts to commercialize Wagner’s image.
• Despite the discomfort and controversial artistic choices, the festival retains a dedicated audience drawn to its unique acoustic qualities and the profound, albeit demanding, experience of Wagner’s music.