Richard Wagner (1813-1883)
Autograph letter signed ('Richard Wagner') to [Maria Theresia Löw], Bayreuth, 26 May 1872
In German. Three pages, 210 x 135mm, bifolium. Provenance: Sotheby's,18 May 1995, lot 311.

On the future career of the great Wagnerian soprano Lilli Lehmann. Wagner regrets not having been able to meet Löw in Bayreuth, and although as yet he has only encountered her daughter (Lilli Lehmann) from a distance, he is already convinced of her talent and keen to get to know her better. 'I recognize you in her, dear friend, your beautiful voice, your serious musical talent, and certainly – she is not yet a spoiled "opera singer" of the latest styles. – Enough! Try to arrange your daughter's engagement-relationships in such a way that they cause no obstacles for my plans for the young artist ... My thought was this. At the end of the next season, Tannhäuser or Lohengrin should be performed in Milan with my involvement; they look to me in this for the lead role: I have recommended your daughter. Once introduced by me, she – without a permanent commitment – would subsequently sing my roles periodically only at those theatres that had a good guarantee for the spirit of the performance. So, with worthwhile fees, she should practice and perfect herself in the spirit of my style in order to then take part in my stage festivals in her rightful place'. Wagner hopes to find other talents in the same way in order to form a company appropriate for the performance of his works.

Lilli Lehmann (1848-1929) was indeed to be one of the great Wagnerian sopranos: with her sister Marie she sang at the first performance of the Ring in the inaugural Bayreuth Festival in 1876. Their mother, Maria Theresia Löw (1809-1885), had herself been a celebrated soprano, and was a childhood friend of Wagner's.