Previous posts for December 2th are here: Orlando Gibbons (2019), Cosima Wagner (2020), Cab Calloway (2021), Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges (2022), and A Christmas Carol (2023)
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Cosima Wagner (24 [sic] December 1837 – 1 April 1930) was the daughter of Franz Liszt and Marie d'Agoult. She became the second wife of Richard Wagner and ran the Bayreuth festival after his death. While her birthday was actually on the 24th, she chose to celebrate it on the 25th. ("Cosima Wagner wurde zwar am 24. Dezember 1837 geboren, feierte ihren Geburtstag aber traditionell am ersten Weihnachtstag. Deshalb ist oft irrtümlich der 25. Dezember als Geburtsdatum angegeben." = German Wikipedia)
The Bayreuth Bark
The subordination of the music to text, diction and character portrayal was a specific feature of the Bayreuth style; Cosima, according to Spotts, turned the principle of clear enunciation into "a fetish ... The resulting harsh declamatory style came to be derided as ... the infamous Bayreuth bark". – Wikipedia
The “bark” heard in Cosima’s Ring
Was a strangely Bayreauthian thing;
Every plosive and fricative
Became fiercely indicative
Of the mythical thoughts singers sing.
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Doing What He Wrote
The primary purpose of all her productions was to follow the instructions and reflect the wishes of the Master: "There is nothing left for us here to create, but only to perfect in detail". – Wikipedia
Cosima Wagner, née Liszt,
Could not be ignored or dismissed.
Innovation was banished,
And novelty vanished
When she shook her Wagnerian fist.
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