For fans of the operas by composer Richard Wagner, attending the annual Bayreuth Festival, in the southern town of Bayreuth, is the ultimate experience. (The Festival Hall itself was built following the composer's specifications, including an enormous orchestra pit to hold the large number of musicians required to play his operas.) The month-long extravaganza is often in the European press due to its avant-garde, oftentimes critically divisive, productions and leadership drama straight out of an...