Wolfgang Wagner (30 August 191921 March 2010) was a
German opera director. He is best known as the director (Festspielleiter) of the
Bayreuth Festival, a position he initially assumed alongside his brother
Wieland in 1951 until the latter's death in 1966. From then on, he assumed total control until he retired in 2008, although many of the productions which he commissioned were severely criticized in their day. He had been plagued by family conflicts and criticism for many years. He was the son of
Siegfried Wagner, the grandson of
Richard Wagner, and the great-grandson of
Franz Liszt.