Synopses & Reviews
In this meticulously researched book, Oliver Hilmes paints a fascinating and revealing picture of the extraordinary Cosima Wagnerand#8212;illegitimate daughter of Franz Liszt, wife of the conductor Hans von Band#252;low, then mistress and subsequently wife of Richard Wagner. After Wagnerand#8217;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.
Review
"A readable, comprehensive and critical summary. . . . There is [in the book] final proof of the intrinsic connection between Wagner and Hitler. The link is Cosima."and#8212;Joachim Kand#246;hler, The Wagner Journal
Review
“Absorbing.”--Norman Lebrecht,
Wall Street Journal
--Joachim Kohler
Review
"Its elegant writing, assured translation, original research, and dispassionate approach make the book a pleasure to read. Hilmes' definitive account is not by a Wagnerian or worse yet by a 'Bayreuthian', but by a scholar."--F. Peter Phillips, The Wagner Society of New York
Review
and#8220;Absorbing.and#8221;--Norman Lebrecht,
Wall Street Journal andnbsp;
Review
"Hilmes shows finesse as a researcher . . . [and] is equally clear in laying out the network of intrigue, pride and prejudice."and#8212;John W. Freeman, Opera News
About the Author
Oliver Hilmes is the author of Cosima's Kinder, a study of the Wagner dynasty, and a best-selling biography of Alma Mahler. Stewart Spencer is an acclaimed translator and editor (with Barry Millington) of Wagner in Performance.