Bayreuth Festival talented conductor Hermann Levi, who was personally chosen by Richard Wagner to conduct the debut of "Parsifal" in 1882 with the assistance of the young Engelbert Humperdinck. Following Wagner's death, his widow Cosima continued running the festival at one or, more frequently, two-year intervals. She gradually introduced the remaining operas which complete the Bayreuth canon of Wagner's last ten completed operas. Levi, the son of a rabbi, remained the festival's principal conductor for the next two decades. Felix Mottl, who was involved with the festival from 1876 to 1901, conducted "Tristan und Isolde" there in 1886. Until the 1920s, performances
Bayreuth Festival who reluctantly agreed to help. In January 1874, Ludwig granted 100,000 Thaler and construction on the theatre, designed by architect Gottfried Semper, started shortly thereafter. A planned 1875 debut was postponed for a year due to construction and other delays. Since its opening in 1876, the Bayreuth Festival has been a socio-cultural phenomenon. The inauguration took place on 13 August 1876, with a performance of Beethoven's "Choral" Symphony, which tradition has been repeated at every opening ever since. Then came the first performance of "Das Rheingold". Present at this unique musical event were Kaiser Wilhelm, Dom Pedro II of Brazil,