Wagner Clan, The2013

Director
Christiane Balthasar

Acters

Iris Berben (Cosima Wagner)
Heino Ferch (Houston Stewart Chamberlain)
Justus von Dohnanyi (Richard Wagner)
Petra Schmidt-Schaller (Isolde Wagner)
Lars Eidinger (Siegfried Wagner)
Eva Loebau (Eva Wagner)

Richard Wagner is dead. The flame of his genius must now become an eternal flame; the fruits of his talent the privileges of a family.

It is Cosima’s moment. Wife, manager, matriarch. The iron lady who is acutely aware of the “Master’s” legacy that she must keep alive. Cosima demands from her children Isolde, Eva and Siegfried that they put their lives in the service of the Master. While the talented Isolde is the first to clash with her domineering mother on singers, conductors and stage directors, her younger brother Siegfried is unable to rise beyond mediocrity as a composer and indecisiveness as a manager. Fearing for the family’s fortunes, Cosima – who immediately takes control of the Bayreuth Festival after Wagner’s death – knows that the Wagner legend can only flourish if it remains in the hands of the family. But Siegfried shows little interest in producing an heir, Isolde and her conductor husband fall into disgrace with Cosima, and Eva’s admirer, the right-wing rabble-rouser Houston Chamberlain forms a sinister bond with Cosima, who hopes to turn the rise of the Third Reich to her advantage… As the years go by, the strong-willed Cosima never lets go of her position of power, using the post of festival director as a coveted treasure, a Ring of the Nibelung that will open the doors to the legend of Richard Wagner.

“Rivalries, intrigues, megalomania and disappointments, secret affairs, sky-high successes and poignant defeats: the feuding Wagner clan provides the perfect material for a full-blown family saga.” – 3Sat

 “Sensual and elegantly designed melodrama.” – Tittelbach.tv

“An impressively acted, lavishly furnished drama.” – Film Dienst