Cosima Wagner [[electronic resource] ] : the lady of Bayreuth / / Oliver Hilmes ; translated by Stewart Spencer

• Record Nr.: UNINA9910462357503321
• Autore: Hilmes Oliver
• Pubbl/distr/stampa: New Haven, : Yale University Press, 2010
• ISBN: 0-300-16823-3
• Descrizione fisica: 1 online resource (354 p.)
• Altri autori (Persone): SpencerStewart
• Disciplina: 782.1092; B
• Soggetti: Opera producers and directors - Germany - Bayreuth; Electronic books.
• Lingua di pubblicazione: Inglese
• Formato: Materiale a stampa
• Livello bibliografico: Monografia
• Note generali: Description based upon print version of record.
• Nota di bibliografia: Includes bibliographical references (p. [349]-354) and index.
• Nota di contenuto: A childhood without parents (1837-55) -- A marriage of convenience (1855-64) -- Wagner (1864-83) -- The first lady of Bayreuth (1883-1900) -- A new era (1900-14) -- The long end (1914-30).
• Sommario/riassunto: In this meticulously researched book, Oliver Hilmes paints a fascinating and revealing picture of the extraordinary Cosima Wagner-illegitimate daughter of Franz Liszt, wife of the conductor Hans von Bülow, then mistress and subsequently wife of Richard Wagner. After Wagner's death in 1883 Cosima played a crucial role in the promulgation and politicization of his works, assuming control of the Bayreuth Festival and transforming it into a shrine to German nationalism. The High Priestess of the Wagnerian cult, Cosima lived on for almost fifty years, crafting the image of Richard Wagner through her organizational ability and ideological tenacity.The first book to make use of the available documentation at Bayreuth, this biography explores the achievements of this remarkable and obsessive woman while illuminating a still-hidden chapter of European cultural history.