Wagner, Wolfgang (1919-2010)

Wagner, Wolfgang

MUSICAL DIRECTOR (GERMANY)

BORN 30 Aug 1919, Bayreuth, Bayern - DIED 21 Mar 2010, Bayreuth, Bayern
GRAVE LOCATION Bayreuth, Bayern: Stadtfriedhof ((ashes))

Wolfgang Wagner was born at Wahnfried, the Wagner family home in Bayreuth. His father Siegfried was the son of the great composer Richard Wagner, his mother was Winnifred Wagner-Williams. His mother was an admirer of Adolf Hitler and he often visited her and her children (Siegfried died in 1930).

Wolfgang joined the Hitler Youth but he didn't become member of the nazi party. In 1939 he journed the German army but after a serious wound in the arm in Poland he was sent home. Hitler visited him in hospital in 1940.

In 1943 he married Ellen Drexel. In 1945 they had a daughter, Eva, and in 1947 a son, Gottfried. In 1951 together with his brother Wieland he became the leader of the new Festspiele in Bayreuth. After Wieland's death in 1966 he was the sole head of the festival. He divorced Ellen in 1976 and in the same year he married his secretary Gudrun Mack-Armann. With her he had another daughter, Katharina (b.1978).

Alltough attempts were made to find a successor for him, he had a contract for life and was in control of the Festspiele until a solution was found that satisfied him. In 2008 he was was finally succeeded by his daughters Eva and Katharine. By that time his health had worsened and he died in 2010.

Family
• Father: Wagner, Siegfried
• Mother: Wagner-Williams, Winnifred
• Brother: Wagner, Wieland

Images

The Wagner grave at the Stadtfriedhof, Bayreuth.
Picture by Androom (11 Feb 2011)