BAYREUTH, July 25, 2008 (AFP) - Black limousines rolled up Bayreuth's legendary 'Green Hill' on Friday as Germany's political and social elite arrived for the gala opening of the annual Bayreuth Festival.

In a glitzy first night of the month-long fest dedicated exclusively to the works of Richard Wagner (1813-1883), German Chancellor Angela Merkel topped the guest list, alongside former German Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher, Bavarian state premier Guenther Beckstein, conservative CSU leader Erwin Huber and head of the opposition liberal party Guido Westerwelle.

This year's festival, the 97th edition, was set to be a special occasion, since it was to be the last season with the composer's 88-year-old grandson, Wolfgang Wagner, at the helm after an astonishing 57 years as chief of the oldest and most prestigious summer music festival in the world.

Wolfgang, who turns 89 on August 30, is widely expected to hand over the sceptre of Bayreuth to his two daughters, 30-year-old Katharina and her much older half sister, Eva Wagner-Pasquier, 63.

On the bill on Friday was the premiere of a brand-new production of Wagner's final opera, 'Parsifal', by Norwegian director Stefan Herheim.

Seven different operas are being performed throughout the month-long festival, with 30 performances in all.