Richard Wagner of the Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg, who thought the work "divinely composed", and that of the French newspaper "Le Figaro", which called the music "the dream of a lunatic". Amongst the disillusioned were Wagner's friend and disciple Friedrich Nietzsche, who, having published his eulogistic essay "Richard Wagner in Bayreuth" before the festival as part of his "Untimely Meditations", was bitterly disappointed by what he saw as Wagner's pandering to increasingly exclusivist German nationalism; his breach with Wagner began at this time. The festival firmly established Wagner as an artist of European, and indeed world, importance: attendees included Kaiser Wilhelm I,
Paula Wagner also the recipient of the Excellence in Producing Award at the Sarasota Film Festival and served as the president of the First-Time Directors Jury at the Venice Film Festival. In 2008, Wagner was honored by the Costume Designers Guild with its Swarovski President's Award, and in 2011, she earned the Chicago International Film Festival’s Renaissance Award. In 2012, Wagner was honored at the 38th Deauville American Film Festival, which ran from August 31 to September 9 in Normandy, France. In 2012, Wagner executive produced Tony-nominated "The Heiress" and in 2014, "Mothers and Sons", nominated for best new play. Paula Wagner