… und über allem schwebt Richard

The correspondence of two sisters-in-law: Minna Wagner (1809–1866) and Cäcilie Avenarius (1815–1893). Since one was the wife of the composer and the other his half-sister, it is hardly surprising that this correspondence largely focuses on the man to whom his wife, despite great injuries, felt bound for life and to whom his half-sister also remained fundamentally loyal, regardless of her disapproval of Wagner’s private escapades and her sympathy with her sister-in-law. The correspondence will not only be of interest in the narrow field of biographical scholarship on Wagner, but also to Wagnerians who are interested in observing seven years in the life and work of the ‘Meister’ from the perspective of the two women close to him.