Snapshots from Bayreuth (updated)

The Festspielhaus is under renovation, and much of the façade is hidden behind a protective simulation.

Wahnfried, too, is a construction site, although Wagner's grave is unmolested.

Someone went to the trouble of leaving a festive bone for Russ, the composer's beloved dog, who lies next to him.

I did not try the Wagner cocktail.

Sadly, I will miss the Wagnerian DJ night with Boy George.

The Meisterin may well be thinking, "Get that thing away from me." The artist Ottmar Hörl, who perpetrated the Russ homage  in 2004, is responsible for these multicolored statuettes, which are scattered all over the grounds of the Festspielhaus. I'll have a review of the not uncontroversial new Bayreuth Ring in a future issue of The New Yorker.