Wagner's 200th anniversary celebrated in Geneva To mark the 200th anniversary of Richard Wagner's birth (in Leipzig, Germany) a festival celebrating the artist's work is taking place in Geneva. The drama "Siegfried Nocturne" gives voice to the Wagnerian hero against a musical backdrop by Swiss composer Michael Jarrell. He said: "Wagner's Siegfried is a hero tenor. The character of Siegfried here is a baritone, so it starts with sharp, vocal writing, very tense. He is trying to change the story, the march of time against the idea of the model hero. Siegfried roams through the ruins of postwar Germany having initiated the twilight of the gods. The director is Hervé Loichemol: "Europe in the 20th century is in a mess. Seigfried returns to view the disaster, the catastrophe and compares it to dreams and romance. He can see a huge difference and all he can do is vanish. The festival runs until November 5th during which more than twenty productions celebrating the artist will be performed.