Wikipedia:Today's featured article/requests/Cosima Wagner

Cosima Wagner
This nomination predates the introduction in April 2014 of article-specific subpages for nominations and has been created from the edit history of Today's featured article/requests.


 * The following discussion is an archived discussion of the TFAR nomination of the article below. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as Wikipedia talk:Today's featured article/requests). Please do not modify this page unless you are renominating the article at TFAR. For renominations, please add   to the top of the discussion and   at the bottom, then complete a new TFAR nom underneath.

The result was: scheduled for Today's featured article/December 24, 2012 by BencherliteTalk 00:42, 7 December 2012‎ (UTC)



Cosima Wagner (1837–1930) was the daughter of pianist and composer Franz Liszt, and the second wife of composer Richard Wagner. She was previously married to the conductor Hans von Bülow. With Wagner she founded the Bayreuth Festival as a showcase for his stage works; after his death she directed the festival for more than 20 years, building its repertoire to form the Bayreuth canon of ten operas and establishing it as a major event in the world of musical theatre. She opposed theatrical innovations and adhered closely to Wagner's original productions of his works, an approach continued by her successors long after her retirement in 1907. Under her influence, Bayreuth became identified with anti-Semitism and theories of German racial and cultural superiority. This was a defining feature of Bayreuth for decades, into the Nazi era which closely followed her death in 1930; thus, although she is widely perceived as the saviour of the festival, her legacy remains controversial. (Full article...)

2 miserable points for her 175th birthday; she's classified under "Music biographies", and Gabriel Fauré was TFA on 4 November. Not quite "widely read" (19 other wikipedias). She was a very important and influential opera impresario, the first woman to wield such power in the musical theatre (and thoroughly nasty, too, but I suppose there are no points for that). Brianboulton (talk) 23:05, 24 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Support - a thoughtful break from the Xmas brouhaha. An excellent article about a strong, influential woman in the world of opera. MathewTownsend (talk) 00:03, 25 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Support as in the FAC, and there are not many women that influential from the 19th century --Gerda Arendt (talk) 00:12, 25 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Support . - I agree, this should get 3 points for a 175th. ~ GabeMc  (talk contribs) 03:50, 26 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Support ditto.--Wehwalt (talk) 04:56, 26 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Support - lovely article, nice time of year to run, good anniversary. Truthkeeper (talk) 16:54, 26 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Oppose - Anti-Semitic sentiments on Christmas Eve? No thank you...Modernist (talk) 23:04, 28 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Reporting the anti-Semtism of others is not the same as "anti-Semitic sentiments". We are not being invited to endorse or admire Frau Wagner, merely to understand something of her. But I can understand the reasons for your comment; let's see if others share your view. Brianboulton (talk) 00:59, 29 November 2012 (UTC)


 * Support - I see - who would not? - why Modernist recoils at Cosima Wagner's anti-semitism, but this was one among many aspects of her character, and it would be a pity to blacklist the article on that account when the suggested date is so eminently suitable. Tim riley (talk) 10:26, 29 November 2012 (UTC)
 * I've added another interwiki link to the newly created Welsh language article about her (thank you Google Translate), but I only make it now 18 interwikis, i.e. 17 previously, not 19. I think you still need two more other-language stubs to get your two bonus points! BencherliteTalk 11:12, 29 November 2012 (UTC)
 * You are right; she will have to sail on with her threadbare points, and hope for the best. Brianboulton (talk) 14:09, 29 November 2012 (UTC)


 * Support. Great article on a powerful woman. The anti-semitism is treated fairly and factually—no objection on those grounds. Binksternet (talk) 22:15, 29 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Support, topics relating to women underrepresented on both Wikipedia generally and the Main Page specifically historically over time. &mdash; Cirt (talk) 01:36, 30 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Support. As others have noted, TFAs on women are scarce, and women of influence at that date were rare. Espresso Addict (talk) 18:19, 4 December 2012 (UTC)
 * Comment a really lovely article, the only comments, on a quick look, would be that the table of performances has no "row" and "col" scopes per WP:ACCESS and misuses bold text for emphasis per WP:BADEMPHASIS. An accompanying symbol and associated text would alleviate that issue.  The Rambling Man (talk) 18:48, 4 December 2012 (UTC)
 * I've updated the table to include row headers and all scopes, as well as using the dagger to signify premières. I've also replaced all the misused html tags with Unbulleted list which are much nicer for screen readers. @TRM: Would you check to see if it now meets the standard for accessibility? Cheers, --RexxS (talk) 01:30, 5 December 2012 (UTC)


 * Support, per Moar Wimmim and anniversary date. KillerChihuahua ?!? 13:19, 5 December 2012 (UTC)