Two Opera Houses in One Day

We woke up this morning in Lichtenfels, Germany. And got back on the tour bus, of course!

We traveled to two different opera houses in the city of Bayreuth, about an hour away from Lichtenfels.

The first is called the Festspiel Haus, a massive opera house built by composer Richard Wagner in the late 1800s. He was unhappy with the opera house in the city center, so he built a bigger one outside of town.

The Festspiel Opera House

We were lucky to get in for a tour because the house is closed for most of the year to allow for set building and performances and is only open for tours during two months in the spring. Operas are still performed in the house during the summer months, although there is no air conditioning and tickets are extremely hard to get.

The group singing on Wagner's stage

People who want tickets must write a letter to the officials at the opera house. They will then receive an order form which is then sent in. Rejections letters to those orders are then sent out for at least eight years after the initial order because the demand for tickets is so high.

The entire group in front of the Festspiel Haus

We then went to the other opera house, Margravial Opera House in the city center of Bayreuth. It wasn’t quite as huge, but it was very big and ornate. Gold decorations and artwork cover majority of the walls and stage inside.

The Margravial Opera House

One of the few pre-World War II Jewish synagogues still stands next to the Margravial house. Our tour guide said this it is extremely rare that it survived the destruction of the war not only because of what it is, but also because of the city’s proximity to Berlin and the land most occupied by Nazis. But because it is adjacent to the opera house, it was passed by because of the fear that the destruction of the synagogue would cause damage to the opera house.

I couldn't stop taking pictures because it was so cool

And then I wrote my name where all the opera singers write their names after productions behind the stage with chalk. Don't tell anyone, though.

We had lunch in the city and then boarded the bus again to travel back to the Evangelical Luther Kirche Schney in Lichtenfels. The choir had a short rehearsal and then headed back to the host homes for dinner before the concert at 7 p.m., which is where we are now.

This is Marcel, our driver from Luxembourg, with Brandon and Nick, his two American best friends. He gets us through some really small spaces on those European streets.

I'll post an update from tonight's concert later this evening. I've heard the acoustics in the church are very good, so it should be a good show.