Bayreuth Festival In April 1870, Wagner and his wife Cosima visited Bayreuth. On inspection, the Opera House proved to be inadequate. It was built to accommodate the baroque orchestras of the 18th century and was therefore unsuited for the complex stagings and large orchestras that Wagner's operas required. Nonetheless, the Burgermeisters proved open to assisting Wagner with the construction of an entirely new theatre and the Festival was planned to launch in 1873. After a fruitless meeting in the spring of 1871 with the German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck to obtain funds, Wagner embarked on a fundraising tour across Germany, including Leipzig
Presteigne Festival ‘Open Borders’ Festival, which commissioned twelve new works, one from each of the then European Community countries; 1993 Appointment of George Vass as Artistic Director. Presteigne Festival of Music and the Arts Limited registered as a charity; 1994 Establishment of annual composer-in-residence scheme; 1999 The Festival was short listed for one of the annual Royal Philharmonic Society awards(nominated again in 2003); 2006 Pēteris Vasks first non-British composer-in-residence; Baltic music feature; 2007 25th anniversary festival which included seventeen world premieres. Australian musician Peter Sculthorpe was composer-in-residence; 2008 New executive structure introduced, which enabled the Festival to become more flexible and professional