Wagners are stolen at Bayreuth

Wagners are stolen at Bayreuth

News

norman lebrecht

August 10, 2023

More than 100 golden mini-Wagner statues that were installed in front of the Festspielhaus in Bayreuth have been stolen by unknown miscreants.

The artist Ottmar Hörl says they are 49 centimeters high.

Watch out for runaways Wagners.

Comments

  • william osborne says:

    You can see a photo of the Bayreuth installation at the url below. The artist, Ottmar Hörl, has done similar installations including one of Karl Marx. More controversially, he’s also created one of Gartenzwerge (garden dwarfs) giving a Hitler salute–no doubt meant as a parody. As is his usual practice, he planned to sell the sculptures after the Bayreuth season was over. The Bayreuth installation was supposed to be under 24 hour guard. Hörl is an art professor in Nuremburg.

    The Bayreuth installation:
    https://www.merkur.de/kultur/neuer-bayreuther-parsifal-jubel-fuer-einspringer-zr-92423383.html

    Gartenzwerge Hitler salute:
    https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/garden-gnomes-give-heil-hitler-salute

  • Von Hasseldorf says:

    49cm high? A statue of limitations maybe but perhaps they’ve gone to keep Alberich company.

  • Barry says:

    Probably a discerning collector – to add to his exquisite collection of golden Eiffel Towers and Big Bens.

  • Richard says:

    What were they doing there anyway?

    Waste of funds.

    And outdoor art sucks! Let the flowers and the grass and the trees be the focus.

  • A.L. says:

    Have they no security cameras onsite?

  • Cosima says:

    Thank you folks!

    You can buy them here, in case you are looking for a souvenir de Bayreuth:

    https://www.ottmar-hoerl.de/de/shop/artikel/119/Richard_Wagner_II.php

  • Pianofortissimo says:

    Very kitsch indeed. Perfect decoration for the living room of people who only listen to the cavalcade of the Valkyries or the overture to the third act of Lohengrin and say “I love Wagner’s music”.

  • Tamino says:

    Installed? Just loosely put into the soil on a pin.
    Good PR. Long live the German Gartenzwerg-Wagner

  • Mr Bling says:

    I wonder if the thieves were in fact just people with good taste?

  • Gustavo says:

    Were they signed by the “artist”?

  • Helen says:

    They could be replaced quite cheaply with garden gnomes.

    Call them Nibelungen.

  • Nicholas says:

    My sources tell me the miscreants thought they were capturing members of the Wagner Group.

  • Anonymous says:

    “The last garden gnome sculpture has already been created. Order yours today for 80 euros” — Wagner’s Great Granddaughter

  • Sue Sonata Form says:

    Hideous kitsch. Best removed from plain sight.

  • Corno di Caccia says:

    I bet that Alberich is behind this …

  • Iphigenia in Aulide says:

    Relax all of you, just concentrate on the music. Who cares …?

  • zandonai says:

    By all accounts Richard Wagner was a midget with a big head.

  • Anne says:

    And people accuse André Rieu of lacking taste.

    Are they animatronic, like Mickey Mouse at Disneyland?

  • Thomas says:

    They should be searching the gardens of known neo-Nazi activists for golden Wagner gnomes. 🙂 😉

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