[Bayreuther Festspiele].

4to (184 x 233 mm). (18) ff. 62 photographic postcards and photographs in corner mounts with handwritten captions and several opera ticket stubs, with 21 additional postcards and 2 signed photographs laid in. Many postcards include manuscript notes. A fine album of photographs, postcards, and ticket stubs from the postwar Bayreuth Festival with further postcards laid in, including two photo portraits and two postcards inscribed and signed by Wilhelm Pitz (1897-1973), the internationally famous choir director who worked not only in Bayreuth but also in London and Vienna. Several more postcards are penned by Pitz's wife, Erna, and discuss the daily goings-on during the festival. Most of the photographs show Bayreuth stage designs and actors as well as scenery around the town of Bayreuth (Markgräfliches Opernhaus, Eremitage, Bad Berneck), and the postcards are decorated with photos of the major names of the Festival, including a young Wolfgang Wagner with his wife Ellen Drexel in evening dress (in other souvenir postcards, Ellen appears laughing with Pitz), Hans "Kna" Knappertsbusch, and Herbert von Karajan. Ticket stubs are tucked behind several of the postcards which include photos of the stage, scenes, and the production choices of the Wagner brothers. Wilhelm and Erna Pitz also appear in the album on a postcard, captioned "Herr Chordirektor mit Gattin". - The album was likely owned by Hanni Kreutz, a resident of Aachen and the sister or sister-in-law of Wilhelm Pitz, to whom most of the postcards are addressed by Wilhelm and Erna. The content of the messages is chatty, personal, and involved in the business of opera. In 1957 Erna writes to Hanni, "Seit 8 Tagen haben wir Willi's Londoner Assistenten (und Frau) hier", and in another undated postcard she informs her "[dass] wir die Premieren Wochen gut überstanden haben und den ersten freien Tag genießen"; in 1963: "Aber eben, während unten der III. Akt seinem Ende zugeht, habe ich noch mit Vati telefoniert und mit ihm auch den Fragebogen besprochen, den ich nur fertiggemacht habe und wegschicke. Willst Du bitte noch die DAK für mich bezahlen! Tausend Dank und viele liebe Grüße von uns beiden [.]" - A few light hints of wear, with several mounts detaching from leaves; quite well preserved with handwritten notes quite legible.