Richard Wagner autograph document signed, 30 October 1875....

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Richard Wagner autograph document signed, 30 October 1875. Wagner, Richard. Autograph document signed ("Richard Wagner"), 1 page (8.6 x 5.5 in.; 218 x 140 mm.), in German, Bayreuth, 30 October 1875, concerning the publishing rights for one of his operas. Minor separations at vertical fold. Writing from Bayreuth, the future location of the Wagner-centric Bayreuth Festival, Richard Wagner grants performance rights for additional scenes executed for his opera "Tannhäuser and the Minstrel Contest at Wartburg". Wagner writes in full: I herewith announce. Those theaters that can document that they have acquired the performance rights for my opera "Tannhäuser and the Minstrel Contest at Wartburg" can order the new scenes that I have reworked and executed for it, from the publisher, Mr. A. Fürstner in Berlin, without any additional cost beyond the price of the score, as I do not insist on any further separate author's performance rights for them. For this reason, I have granted permission to the publisher for the sale of the score of these scenes along with performance rights. Richard Wagner There is little doubt that Wagner was in Bayreuth planning for the inaugural Bayreuth Festival which showcases the composer's own works exclusively. Performances take place in the Bayreuth Festspielhaus, a theater over which Wagner personally supervised the design and construction. The inauguration took place 13 August 1876, with a performance of Das Rheingold. Present were Kaiser Wilhelm, Dom Pedro II of Brazil, King Ludwig, and other members of nobility, as well as Friedrich Nietzsche who committed great effort to helping his then good friend Wagner establish the festival. In the final days of World War II, two-thirds of the town was destroyed by Allied bombing (the theater itself was undamaged). The Bayreuth Festival began anew in 1951 and continues annually to this day. It has become a pilgrimage destination for Wagner enthusiasts, who often must wait years to obtain tickets.