Richard Wagner is a drag queen, and Shlomi Moto Wagner’s great-grandfather was her drag mother. Together, they share not only family roots, but also a drag heritage in the Jewish House of Mazeltov. This pseudo-documentary musical theater performance delves into forgotten rumors and repressed facts about Wagner’s personality: his obsession with pink, the scandalous satin orders, and the question of whether hiding his desires was related to the hatred he simultaneously projected onto the world.

Could this project be his belated coming-out statement? Between classical Wagner motifs, electronic beats, lip-syncing, video projections, and lots of pink satin, a queer musical theater spectacle for the 21st century emerges.

So, Mazeltov Queen Richard Wagner—let’s go!

Directed, performed, and composed by Shlomi Moto Wagner — interdisciplinary performer*, trained opera singer*, composer*, author*, and drag queen a.k.a. Mazy Mazeltov, who charges classical music and forms with pop culture and queer mythology and reassembles them. Together with dramaturge and co-director Anne Welenc, a glittering and unsparing examination of arguably the most polarizing figure in opera history emerges. Jones Seitz provides the technical magic, while the 3D imagery is created in an exciting new collaboration with digital artist Alejandro Spano. Michel Wagenschütz designs the costumes, combining historical fantasy with the sensuality of drag. Together, the team creates an immersive performance about gender, heritage, and redemption—on stage and in the present moment of history.

With special thanks to
Mima Milo – The one and only Yiddish Isolde
Mendi Cahan – Yiddish translation of Mild und Leise
Mila Wagner Vishnavskaya – Shlomi’s mother, for the phone-call contributions
Dr. Reinhold Brunner und das Reuter-Wagner-Museum in Eisenach – for their help with archival material
Anne Welenc – The voice of Katherina Wagner
Stefanie Altenhofer – The voice of Fräulein Bertha Goldwag
Antina Christ – Fabulous Cosima updo wig
Phillip Lawton – Deutsche Oper Library, providing the Yiddish score of Tristan und Isolde