Richard and Cosima Wagner: Singing around 1900

Abstract Richard Wagner's theoretical writings were intended to institute a tradition of interpretation that has had a major impact on the musical world from 1870 to the present day, in Europe and in the United States. In this essay, I concentrate on excerpts concerning conducting and singing practices, highlighting their interrelation in Wagner's view. I then turn to Cosima Wagner's reinterpretation of her late husband's theories and her attempt to codify this Wagnerian tradition of interpretation, contributing to provide a reassessment of the much-debated “Bayreuth style” of performance.