Paper Abstracts

Peter P. Pachl

Festive Manifestations, Festivals, “Event”. Humanistic Ideal or Marketing, Possibilities and Experiences

Next to the various attempts which had as a goal the organization of exceptional festive representations, it was the scenic festivals of Richard Wagner at Bayreuth which contributed decisively to the redefinition of the notion “festive representation” from the last third of the 19^th century onwards. Traditional court festivals and representations of the Passions among peasantry can be traced back to much earlier times. As in the representations just mentioned, so in the case of Richard Wagner an appeal is made to cult festivities. The development of the idea of a festival within the framework of a small system governed by commercial relations led on the one hand to the mass media of the cinema, while on the other it led to a “festivalitis”: to a number of festivals, which are opposed to the criterion of uniqueness and exclusivity. Starting with the revival of the “Ancient Festive Representations of Germany” at Rudolstadt in the ’90s, the exceptionally successful from a financial point of view festivals of Bregenz, as well as a quaint revival of Bayreuth at Erl, the relevant developments (framed by personal experiences) are here presented.

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