What is Bayreuth Festspielhaus?
[[File:Bayreuth Festspielhaus 2006-07-16.jpg|thumb|350px|right|Bayreuth Festspielhaus]] The '''Bayreuth Festspielhaus''' (''Bayreuth Festival Theatre'') is an [[opera house]] in the town of [[Bayreuth]], [[Germany]]. The German opera composer [[Richard Wagner]] got the opera house built so that his own music could be performed properly. He had lots of ideas about how opera should be performed, and he thought that there was no opera house in Germany that was good enough for performances of his operas. Today it is still the place where every year there is a festival, the [[Bayreuth Festival]], which is dedicated only to the operas of Richard Wagner. [[Ludwig II of Bavaria|King Ludwig II]] of [[Bavaria]] was a great admirer of Richard Wagner and he gave a lot of money for the opera house to be built. Wagner watched the construction all the time and made sure that everything was built in the way he wanted. Work on the building started on [[22 May]] [[1872]] (Wagner's birthday), and it was ready four years later when, for the first time, all four operas which make up the cycle called ''[[Der Ring des Nibelungen]]'' (''The Ring of the Nibelung''), were performed. The opera house is big enough for an audience of 1,925. One unusual thing is the [[orchestra pit]], which is right under the stage, covered by a hood, so that the [[orchestra]] cannot be seen at all by the audience. Wagner wanted the audience to be able to concentrate properly on the action on the [[Stage (theatre)|stage]] instead of being distracted by watching the orchestra. It makes it very difficult for the orchestra and the singers to be together, and conductors have to get used to the problem. The Festspielhaus also has a double [[proscenium]], which makes it look as if the stage is farther away than it actually is. [[Category:Bayreuth]] [[Category:Buildings and structures in Bavaria]] [[Category:Opera houses in Germany]]