Gudrun Wagner, 63, Key Bayreuth Opera Figure

Gudrun Wagner, wife of the director of the Bayreuth Opera Festival Wolfgang Wagner, and a partner in helping him stage the annual event, died yesterday in a Bayreuth hospital. She was 63 and the cause of death was not announced.

Her death comes amid a feud over who will succeed Wolfgang Wagner — a grandson of the composer Richard Wagner — as festival director. Wolfgang is now 88. He had long insisted that Gudrun, his second wife and partner in directing and staging the festival, was the only person capable of taking over.

But recently, Wagner has indicated that he would be prepared to step aside in favor of the couple's 29-year-old daughter, Katharina.

Wolfgang Wagner has led the Bayreuth festival showcasing Richard Wagner's operas since 1951 — at first jointly with his brother, Wieland, and on his own since his brother's death in 1966. He married Gudrun in 1976.

He recently faced calls to step aside from the festival leadership, despite his lifetime contract, amid concerns about his health and the festival's vitality.

In early November, the foundation overseeing the festival urged members of the Wagner family to come forward with ideas for the event's future.

Wolfgang's niece, Nike, and Eva, a daughter from his first marriage — both experienced managers of artistic or musical events in their 60s — have also indicated interest.

Katharina made her directorial debut at Bayreuth this year, producing a closely watched interpretation of "Die Meistersinger." Katharina has argued that the current festival leadership has already signed contracts with artists as far ahead as 2015. She told the Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper in September that her rivals would be "well above retirement age" before they were able to put their own stamp on the event.