Bayreuth Festival celebrates 150th anniversary with Spain tour and botanical events

To mark the 150th anniversary of the Bayreuth Festival, the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra will conduct a tour of Spain from 29 August to 6 September 2026. Under the musical direction of Pablo Heras-Casado, the orchestra will perform excerpts from Richard Wagner’s ‘Der Ring des Nibelungen’ at various venues, including the Palau de la Música Catalana in Barcelona, the Festival Internacional de Santander, Teatro de la Maestranza in Seville, Teatro Real in Madrid, and the Palau de la Música de Valencia.

In addition to the musical tour, the University of Bayreuth will host a special event at its Ecological-Botanical Garden on 23 August. A guided tour titled ‘So klingt’s: Hölzer für den Klavierbau’ will explore the relationship between botany and musical instrument craftsmanship, specifically examining how different wood types like spruce, hornbeam, and ebony influence the sound and mechanics of pianos.