Bayreuth Festival named by Bavaria's culture minister, Thomas Goppel, to take over the Festival. They were to take up their duties immediately, since their father had announced his retirement at the conclusion of the 2008 Festival. They were chosen ahead of the pair of their cousin, Nike Wagner, and Gerard Mortier, who had placed a late bid for the directorship on 24 August. The conductor Christian Thielemann has agreed to act as chief adviser to the new directors, effectively taking the role of music director of the Festival. The festival draws thousands of Wagner fans to Bayreuth every summer. It is very
Bayreuth (district) Bayreuth (district) Bayreuth is a "Landkreis" (district) in Bavaria, Germany. It surrounds, but does not include the city of Bayreuth. The district is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts of Kulmbach, Hof, Wunsiedel, Tirschenreuth, Neustadt an der Waldnaab, Amberg-Sulzbach, Nürnberger Land, Forchheim and Bamberg. The district was established in 1972 by merging the former districts of Bayreuth and Pegnitz, adding the town Gefrees of the former district of Münchberg and the town of Speichersdorf of the former district of Kemnath. The sources of the White Main and the Red Main are both located in the district. The