Wagner, Cosima |
| FESTIVAL MANAGER, SECRETARY (AUSTRIAN EMPIRE) |
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BORN 25 Dec 1837, Bellagio, Lombardia: Hotel Angelo, room 614 - DIED 1 Apr 1930, Bayreuth, Bayern BIRTH NAME Flavigny, Cosima Francesca Gaetana de GRAVE LOCATION Bayreuth, Bayern: Villa 'Wahnfried' (in the garden (ashes)) |
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Cosima de Flavigny was the illegitimate daughter of Franz Liszt and countess Marie d'Agoult. In 1844 Liszt legitimized her together with her sister Blandine and her brother Daniel and her name became Cosima Liszt. Blandine and Cosima were educated in Paris by their grandmother anna Liszt and later at an institution in Paris. In 1855 Liszt brought his daughters to Baroness Franziska von Bülow in Berlin for furhter education. There Cosima met Franziska's son, the conductor Hans von Bülow who was pupil of her father. In 1853 she saw her father for the first time in many years in Paris. Richard Wagner was with him and he noticed her shyness. Cosima married Hans Von Bülow, who was now a well known conductor, in 1857. During their honeymoon they visited Wagner in Zürich. The marriage wasn't happy, but Cosima gave birth to two daughters, Daniela in 1860 and Blandine in 1863. In 1858, when she was only twenty years old, she translated Hebbel's "Maria Magdalena" from German to French. "Die Fabler" by Gustav Freytag followed. Wagner and her husband became close friends. He was 24 years older but she grew fond of him. She visited him in Biebrich in 1862 and when they met in Berlin in 1863 they decided that they belonged to each other during a carriage ride. Cosima became his mistress and offically she acted as his right hand and secretary. She gave birth to two more daughters, Isolde and Eva, before she left Von Bülow for good to live with Wagner. Only after Wagner's son Siegfried was born in 1869 a divorce was filed and the marriage ended on 18 July 1870. On 25 August 1870 she married Wagner in Luzern. Von Bülow was hurt, but he accepted the situation and remained friends with Wagner. Every now and then Wagner was infatuated with other women, but he always returned to Cosima, who lived for him and his work. They moved to Bayreuth in 1872, where a new theatre was built especially for Wagner's operas. Wagner, Cosima and their children moved to the villa Wahnfried in 1874. After his unexpected death in 1883 in Venice Cosima clung to his body for 24 hours before she was willing to let him go. The author Hans von Wolzogen suggested that she would take over the management of the Bayreuth Festival and she managed it until 1906 with the help of Adolph von Gross for the financial management and of musical director Julius Kniese. By 1907 she was seriously ill and Siegfried succeeded her as the leader of the Festspiele. Cosima lived for many more years at the villa Wahnfried and was blind at the time of her death. She was cremated in Coburg and in 1977 her ashes were taken brought from Coburg to Bayreuth and buried in the grave of Richard Wagner in the garden of Wahnfried. The detailed diary of her life with Wagner that she had kept from 1869 until his death in 1883 was published in 1976. Family • Father: Liszt, Franz • Mother: d'Agoult, Marie • Daughter: Bülow, Isolde von • Son: Wagner, Siegfried • Daughter: Bülow, Eva von • Daughter: Bülow, Daniela von • Husband: Bülow, Hans von (1857-1870, Berlin) (divorce or separation) • Husband: Wagner, Richard (1870-1883, Luzern: Matthäuskirche) • Brother: Liszt, Daniel • Sister: d'Agoult, Claire Christine, marquise de Charnacé Related persons • was sculpted by Breker, Arno • was a friend of Franz, Helene, Freifrau von Heldburg • translated work by Hebbel, Friedrich • was painted by Lenbach, Franz von • knew Mahler, Gustav • visited Makart, Hans • was a friend of Richter, Hans • was a friend of Richter-Meyerbeer, Cornelie • knew Strauss, Richard Events |
| 10/10/1853 | First meeting between Richard Wagner and Cosima Liszt [Wagner, Richard] |
| 20/4/1856 | Hans von Bülow asks Franz Liszt for the hand of his daughter Cosima. At first Liszt wouldn't give his blessing because he thought Bülow, with his strange moods and headaches, a scary person. He hoped that she would marry a nobleman. After Cosima's mother Marie d'Agoult declared herself against the marriage, Liszt changed his mind and gave his approval. [Bülow, Hans von][d'Agoult, Marie][Liszt, Franz] |
| 20/7/1857 | Franz Liszt visits the Rubenshuis in Antwerp. He was on his way back from The Netherlands and spent a few days in Brussels with his daughters who had come over from Paris. On this day they they went to Antwerp and apart from the Rubenshuis they also visited the cathedral and the zoo. [Liszt, Franz] |
| 8/2/1862 | Richard Wagner moves to Biebrich. He was once more in financial difficulties and he rented two rooms in a villa built by the architect Frickhöfer at the Rheingaustrasse 137 near Schloss Biebrich. It was also near his publisher Schott in Mainz. He worked there on his future opera "Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg" and he was visited by Hans and Cosima von Bülow. He left Biebrich in November. [Bülow, Hans von][Wagner, Richard] |
| 1/11/1862 | Hans and Cosima von Bülow meet Richard Wagner in Leipzig. There was a concert where Hans von Bülow would play Liszt's new piano concert and Wagner would conduct the Tannhäuser ouverture and a new prelude to "The Meistersinger". Wagner's young friend Wendelin Weissheimer would also present his work. Wagner later stated in his autobiography that at this day he experienced his first feelings for Cosima and that he hardly noticed the music. [Bülow, Hans von][Wagner, Richard] |
| 28/11/1863 | Richard Wagner and Cosima Liszt become lovers. Wagner was staying in Berlin because Cosima's husband Hans von Bülow had asked him to attend a concert. When Von Bülow was busy with the repititions Wagner and Cosima made a coach ride during which they confessed to each other that they belonged together. That night Wagner was staying in Von Bülow's house. [Bülow, Hans von][Wagner, Richard] |
| 14/10/1864 | Franz Liszt and his daughter Cosima visit Émile Ollivier at St. Tropez. Listz's daughter Blandine was married to Ollivier, but she had died in 1862. The next day Liszt left for Rome and Cosima for Germany. [Liszt, Franz] |
| 10/4/1865 | Hans von Bülow conducts the first repetition of "Tristan und Isolde". On the same day his wife Cosima bore a daughter, that was named Isolde. Isolde's father was Richard Wagner, the composer of "Tristan and Isolde". [Bülow, Hans von][Bülow, Isolde von][Wagner, Richard] |
| 0/3/1875 | Festival in honour of Richard Wagner at Makart's studio in Vienna. It had the form of a costume ball and he cooperated with Franz von Lenbach. Franz Liszt played the piano. Apart from Richard Wagner, his wife Cosima, Gottfried Semper and Arnold Böcklin were present. [Böcklin, Arnold][Lenbach, Franz von][Liszt, Franz][Makart, Hans ][Semper, Gottfried][Wagner, Richard] |
| 17/5/1877 | Richard and Cosima Wagner are received by Queen Victoria at Windsor. Queen Victoria had met Wagner before in 1855 and she noted in her diary that he had grown old and stout, with a clever, but not pleasing countenance. [Wagner, Richard] |
| 10/11/1880 | Private performance of Richard Wagner's "Lohengrin" for King Ludwig II at the Court Theatre in Munich. Only Richard Wagner himself was allowed to join Ludwig in the royal box. Elsewhere in the theatre Cosima Wagner and her daughters were hidden. [Wagner, Richard] |
| 5/5/1881 | Creation of Wagner's "Ring" in Berlin by Angelo Neumann's company. It took place from 5-9 May. Richard and Cosima Wagner had travelled to Berlin and attended the performances. [Neumann, Angelo][Wagner, Richard] |
| 29/5/1881 | Emperor William I attends Richard Wagner's "Gotterdämmerung" in Berlin. It was the fourth cycle of performances of Wagner's "Ring" in Berlin by Angelo Neumann's company. Richard and Cosima Wagner attended this cycle in the presence of Arthur de Gobineau and Paul von Joukovsky. [Gobineau, Arthur de][Neumann, Angelo][Wagner, Richard][Wilhelm I, emperor of Germany] |
| 26/9/1881 | Judith Gautier stays with Richard and Cosima Wagner at Wahnfried. She had been invited by the Wagners and was in Bayreuth from 26 September to 1 October. Judith noticed that Wagner was seriously ill. [Wagner, Richard] |
| 11/11/1881 | Richard and Cosima Wagner visit the park of the Villa Giulia in Palermo. They enjoyed the blooming vegetation. It had previously been visited by Goethe as well. [Wagner, Richard] |
| 28/12/1881 | Richard and Cosima Wagner visit the Cathedral at Monreale. Cosima noted in her diary that Wagner was in an ill humor, but the cathedral delighted them. Wagner visited the cathedral several times during their stay in Palermo. [Wagner, Richard] |
| 31/12/1881 | Richard and Cosima Wagner visit the Orto Botanico in Palermo. They admired the splendid trees. [Wagner, Richard] |
| 12/1/1882 | Richard and Cosima Wagner visit the La Zisa castle in Palermo. They also visited the cathedral on this day. [Wagner, Richard] |
| 20/3/1882 | Richard and Cosima Wagner travel from Palermo to Acireale. Count Gravina was with them. [Wagner, Richard] |
| 2/4/1882 | Richard Wagner visits Taormina. He had sufficiently recovered from his heart attack on March, 28th. His wife Cosima was with him. [Wagner, Richard] |
| 24/12/1882 | Richard Wagner conducts a private concert in Venice. It took place at the Apollinee rooms of the Fenice theatre to celebrate the birthday of his wife Cosima. At the time Franz Liszt was visiting them in Venice and he and Wagner were often seen sitting together from the Grand Canal in front of the large window. Liszt was present at this occasion. Requested by Wagner, he played an aria by Rossini. [Liszt, Franz][Wagner, Richard] |
| 25/7/1886 | First Performance of Richard Wagner's "Tristan und Isolde" at the Bayreuther Festspiele. It was staged by Cosima Wagner and conducted by Felix Mottl. Heinrich Gudehus was Tristan and Rosa Sucher was Isolde. Other performers were Gisela Staudigl, Karl Scheidemantel and Gustav Siehr. The stage set was designed by Max Brückner and the costumes were designed by Joseph Flüggen. [Flüggen, Joseph][Gudehus, Heinrich][Mottl, Felix][Scheidemantel, Karl][Wagner, Richard] |
| 3/8/1886 | Funeral of Franz Liszt in Bayreuth. Liszt probably would have wanted to be buried elsewhere, but his daughter Cosima was living in Bayreuth and had quickly decided that he should be buried there. [Liszt, Franz] |
| 24/12/1903 | First performance of "Parsifal" outside Bayreuth at the Metropolitan Opera in New York . The European copyright wasn't valid in the USA and the Metropolitan Opera in New York staged the opera against the wishes of Cosima Wagner. The MET used a publication of the opera by the publisher Schott. [Wagner, Richard] |
| 20/6/1905 | First performance of Wagner's opera "Parsifal" by the Dutch Wagnervereeniging. It took place at the Stadsschouwburg in Amsterdam. Cosima Wagner had protested against the performance, but the Wagnervereeninging was of the opinion that it wasn't against Richard Wagner's wish that Parsifal should only be performed in Bayreuth because it was a private performance. On 22 June a second performance followed. [Litvinne, Félia] |
| 29/3/1918 | Cosima plays the Steinway piano in Bayreuth for the first time since Richard Wagner's death. She played parts of the "Siegfried-Idyll" because of the birth of Wagner's first grandson Wieland. "The Siegfried-Idyll" was composed by Wagner after his son Siegfried was born. Afterwards Cosima would never play the Steinway again. [Wagner, Richard][Wagner, Wieland] |
| Images | ||
 The grave of Richard and Cosima Wagner in the garden of the villa Wahnfried in Bayreuth, Bavaria. Picture by Androom (25 Aug 1996) |
 Cosima Wagner, painted by Franz von Lenbach. (1870) |
 Cosima Wagner statue by Arnold Breker near the Festspielhaus in Bayreuth. Picture by Androom (02 Mar 2009) |
Sources • Blunt, Wilfrid, The Dream King, Penguin Books, Harmondsworth, 1973 • Grosse Frauen der Weltgeschichte, Neuer Kaiser Verlag, Klagenfurt, 1987 • Hamann, Brigitte, Winifred Wagner oder Hitlers Bayreuth, Piper, München, 2003 • Hilmes, Oliver, Herrin des Hügels, Das Leben der Cosima Wagner, Pantheon, 2008 • Hilmes, Oliver, Cosima's Kinder, Siedler Verlag, München, 2009 • Marek, George R., Cosima Wagner, Ein Leben für ein Genie, Knaur, München, 1993 • Wagner, Friedelind, Nacht über Bayreuth, Die Geschichte der Enkelin Richard Wagners, List Taschenbuch, München, 2002 • Villa Wahnfried (Wagner Museum), Bayreuth • Richard Wagner in Sicily 1881-1882 | Wagneropera.net • Full text of "COSIMA WAGNER VOL. II" • Cosima Wagner - Wikipedia (DE) • Tristan und Isolde (Oper) - Wikipedia (DE) • Cosima Wagner - Wikipedia (EN) • Année 1880 – LE MUSÉE VIRTUEL RICHARD WAGNER • Année 1881 – LE MUSÉE VIRTUEL RICHARD WAGNER • Biebrich - richard-wagner.org • Richard Wagner in Sicily 1881-1882 - Wonders of Sicily |
