Editing Richard Wagner (section)

=== Bayreuth (1871–1876) ===
In 1871, Wagner decided to move to [[Bayreuth]], which was to be the location of his new opera house.{{sfn|Gregor-Dellin|1983|p=400}} The town council donated a large plot of land—the "Green Hill"—as a site for the theatre. The Wagners moved to the town the following year, and the foundation stone for the [[Bayreuth Festspielhaus]] ("Festival Theatre") was laid. Wagner initially announced the first Bayreuth Festival, at which for the first time the ''Ring'' cycle was presented complete, for 1873,{{sfn|Spotts|1994|p=40}} but since Ludwig had declined to finance the project, the start of building was delayed and the proposed date for the festival was deferred. To raise funds for the construction, "[[International Association of Wagner Societies|Wagner societies]]" were formed in several cities,{{sfn|Newman|1976|loc=IV, pp. 392–393}} and Wagner began touring Germany conducting concerts.{{sfn|Gregor-Dellin|1983|pp=409–418}} By the spring of 1873, only a third of the required funds had been raised; further pleas to Ludwig were initially ignored, but early in 1874, with the project on the verge of collapse, the King relented and provided a loan.{{sfn|Spotts|1994|pp=45–46}}{{sfn|Gregor-Dellin|1983|pp=418–419}}{{refn|In 1873, the King awarded Wagner the [[Bavarian Maximilian Order for Science and Art]]; Wagner was enraged that, at the same time, the honour had been given also to Brahms.{{sfnp|Körner|1984|loc=326}}|group=n}} The full building programme included the family home, "[[Wahnfried]]", into which Wagner, with Cosima and the children, moved from their temporary accommodation on 18 April 1874.{{sfn|Marek|1981|p=156}}{{sfn|Gregor-Dellin|1983|p=419}} The theatre was completed in 1875, and the festival was scheduled for the following year. Commenting on the struggle to finish the building, Wagner remarked to Cosima: "Each stone is red with my blood and yours."<ref>Cited in {{harvnb|Spotts|1994|p=54}}</ref>

[[File:Festspielhaus Bayreuth 1900.jpg|thumb|left|alt=A building stands beyond a part-ploughed field and a row of trees. It has five sections. Farthest away, the tallest part with a v-shaped roof contains the stage. Adjoining it is the auditorium section built of patterned brick. Nearest is the royal entrance, made of stone and brick with arched windows and a portico. Two wings adjoin the auditorium.|The [[Bayreuth Festspielhaus]]: [[photochrom]] print of {{circa|1895}}]]
For the design of the Festspielhaus, Wagner appropriated some of the ideas of his former colleague, Gottfried Semper, which he had previously solicited for a proposed new opera house in Munich.{{sfn|Spotts|1994|p=40}} Wagner was responsible for several theatrical innovations at Bayreuth; these include darkening the auditorium during performances, and placing the orchestra in a pit out of view of the audience.{{sfn|Spotts|1994|p=11}}

The Festspielhaus finally opened on 13 August 1876 with ''Das Rheingold'', at last taking its place as the first evening of the complete ''Ring'' cycle; the 1876 [[Bayreuth Festival]] therefore saw the premiere of the complete cycle, performed as a sequence as the composer had intended.{{sfn|Millington|2001a|p=287}} The 1876 Festival consisted of three full ''Ring'' cycles (under the baton of [[Hans Richter (conductor)|Hans Richter]]).{{sfn|Spotts|1994|pp=61–62}} At the end, critical reactions ranged between that of the Norwegian composer [[Edvard Grieg]], who thought the work "divinely composed", and that of the French newspaper {{lang|fr|[[Le Figaro]]}}, which called the music "the dream of a lunatic".{{sfn|Spotts|1994|pp=71–72}} The disillusioned included Wagner's (then) friend [[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.{{sfn|Newman|1976|loc=IV, pp. 517–539}} The festival firmly established Wagner as an artist of European, and indeed world, importance: attendees included [[Kaiser Wilhelm I]], the Emperor [[Pedro II of Brazil]], [[Anton Bruckner]], [[Camille Saint-Saëns]] and [[Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky]].{{sfn|Spotts|1994|pp=66–67}}

Wagner was far from satisfied with the Festival; Cosima recorded that months later his attitude towards the productions was "Never again, never again!"{{sfn|Cosima Wagner|1994|p=270}} Moreover, the festival finished with a deficit of about 150,000 marks.<ref>{{harvnb|Newman|1976|loc=IV, p. 542}} This was equivalent at the time to about $37,500.</ref> The expenses of Bayreuth and of Wahnfried meant that Wagner still sought further sources of income by conducting or taking on commissions such as the ''Centennial March'' for America, for which he received $5,000.{{sfn|Gregor-Dellin|1983|p=422}}{{sfn|Newman|1976|loc=IV, p. 475}}