Richard Wagner commissioned the opera house, and King Ludwig II of Bavaria provided the primary funding. Otto Brückwald co-supervised construction with Wagner. The article says the design was adapted from Gottfried Semper's unrealized Munich opera project, a claim marked as needing a citation. The foundation stone was laid on May 22, 1872. It was meant to open in 1873 but opened in 1876 with the first complete Ring cycle.
The interior is mainly wood, and the exterior is mostly undecorated brick, except for the ornamented entrance facade. The article calls it one of the largest free-standing timber structures ever erected. The auditorium is a single steeply raked wedge, with galleries only on the back wall.
The orchestra pit is recessed under the stage and covered by a hood, so the orchestra is hidden from the audience. The house has 1,925 seats and a reverberation time of 1.55 seconds. Repairs were completed on July 26, 2015.
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