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
Berlin & Beyond Film Festival Berlin & Beyond Film Festival Berlin & Beyond Film Festival is an annual film festival based in San Francisco, California featuring new cinema from Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Founded in 1996, the festival is a program of San Francisco's branch of the Goethe-Institut and has become one of the largest and most significant German-speaking film festivals outside of Europe. Notable guests have included Mario Adorf, Doris Dörrie, Mara Eibl-Eibesfeldt, Hannelore Elsner, Anke Engelke, Florian David Fitz, Bruno Ganz, Tom Schilling, Aylin Tezel, Michael Verhoeven, and Wim Wenders. Annually, the festival welcomes over 10,000 people, and celebrates seasoned masters, up-and-coming new