Baireuth' or Bayreuth (bī' roit'), famous as the home of Wagner and Jean Paul Richter, is a city of Bavaria, on the Red Main. Its population is about 30,000. The most interesting sight in Bayreuth is the national festival theater, designed by Richard Wagner, and opened in 1876 with a performance of his Ring of the Nibelungen. This theater is devoted to music; and the audience is expected to be silent and refrain from applause during the performances.