Correspondence of Wagner and Liszt Volume II Part 41

A thousand greetings from

Your

R. W.

309.

WEYMAR, September 21st, 1860.

Your glorious letter, dearest Richard, made me breathe the pure atmosphere of high mountains once more. You know what I require, and offer it to me in abundance. I was almost afraid that you might have misunderstood my non-appearance at Soden or Baden, and I am cordially delighted at being set right by you as to this. As I wrote to you before, it was IMPOSSIBLE for me to get away from here before Thursday, August 16th. Well, all is over now, and you have pardoned me. Let us talk of something else. How proud I should be of your visit here, and how beneficial and strengthening prolonged intercourse with you would be to me, I need not tell you. I think it more probable, however, that I shall pay you a visit in Paris first. The exact date I shall not be able to determine until the continued uncertainty and wavering of all my circ.u.mstances here have ceased, which must happen shortly. As regards your visit here, I repeat what I have said to you and others. Weymar owes you a special distinction, and it is necessary that an appropriate and adequate opportunity of presenting yourself here should be offered to you. It is extremely amiable of you to mean princ.i.p.ally me when you p.r.o.nounce the name of Weymar. I wish that this SYNONYM (in an artistic sense) were a little more p.r.o.nounced; that my advice were followed, and my reasonable wishes complied with a little more readily. But this can scarcely be expected, and I must in this, as in other matters, show myself resigned, determined, and consistent. I quite agree with what you say of the "INSUFFICIENT artistic doings" here; however, many things COULD and SHOULD be done, especially for you and your works. You will understand that I cannot abandon this view, and that I shall do all in my power to realise it. The impending performance of "Rienzi" may do something towards it.

I consider Hanover a well-chosen ground for the first performance of "Tristan." The King works magnificently for his theatre, and if the matter is placed before him in the proper way, it may be expected that he will carry out your wishes and intentions.

Unfortunately I cannot be of service to you, for to the particular influence of some of my "FRIENDS" I owe a distinctly p.r.o.nounced dislike on the part of His Majesty. All I can do in the face of this is to wait quietly and resignedly, until the King condescends to adopt a more correct view. Fortunately Niemann is devoted to you, body and soul, chest-voice and head- voice. He will, no doubt, do all in his power to bring about the scenic embodiment.

Berlin and Vienna will probably hold back a little in existing circ.u.mstances, and the rest of Germany, which is united at least in the spirit of NEGATION, will probably wait prudently until the camel comes walking along, after which it will consult no end of folios in order to describe and appreciate it properly. Oh! lazy abomination, your name is--artistic conditions.

At Wiesbaden, Frankfort, and I know not where else, they were waiting for Wagner, and wanted to see him conduct, or at least listen to, "Tannhauser", "Lohengrin", etc., and there would certainly have been no lack of enthusiastic demonstrations; but from a work like "Tristan", at the very first sight of the score of which every one must exclaim: "This is something unheard of, marvellous, sublime," they run away, and hide themselves like fools.

I have taken the liberty of making use of the pa.s.sage of your letter referring to the ready a.s.sistance you receive from the artists, and the management of the Grand Opera in Paris by Imperial command; and in the next number of Brendel's paper you will read something corresponding to your letter in the form of an original correspondence. We had, of course, to adapt some things too true in themselves to our laudable habits here. As I have named Brendel I should like to mention a request, viz., that you should publish the preface to the French translation of your dramas in Germany, simultaneously with the Paris edition, and that you should for that purpose send the ORIGINAL, probably written in German, either to Brendel or some publisher. A translation of that preface will, no doubt, appear, unless you forestall it by the original itself, and thus prevent the travesty of your ideas, or at least of your style. If no German sketch should be in existence, my request of course falls to the ground, for it would be asking you too much to do the work twice over.

Then you are satisfied with the translation of "Tannhauser?" I am extremely pleased, for I confess that I think it no easy task to Frenchify your works in your sense. I am very curious to see the new version of the Venus scene and the ballet. When you have finished it quite, and a copy has been made, you might perhaps lend me the sketch of the new version for a few days, but I hope that this will be made unnecessary by my visit to you.

Truly, dear Richard, we belong together and must come together at last. Cordial thanks for your kind letter, which in these dreary days has been a great and n.o.ble joy to me. Amongst other things you have taken a fine and strikingly correct view of the totally pa.s.sive att.i.tude with regard to the reception and promulgation of my works which I shall observe for the future. Other people have somewhat misunderstood my conduct. What a blessing it is to be able to dispense with the explanation and discussion of certain things!

G.o.d bless you, dearest Richard; keep fresh and brave and upright.

Your

F. LISZT.

I shall write to X. today, and give him news of you. 310.

PARIS, November 24th, 1860,

3, RUE D'AUMALE.

DEAREST FRANZ,

Forgive me for writing but a few lines. I have been severely ill these four weeks, and my recovery is scarcely noticeable. I am still extremely weak.

I have an urgent request to make. Fancy! I do not possess a SINGLE copy of my poem of "The Ring of the Nibelung." I want to publish it, and do not know where to get a copy for the printer.

I remember that at the time I sent a great number of copies to Weimar, and there was such abundance there that (as I think Draseke told me) the book was to be had secondhand. Be kind enough to get me one copy in consideration of my urgent need, and send it me as quickly as possible. If there should not be a single possessor who could make up his mind to part with his copy in spite of the author's great difficulty, I promise to restore to him the identical copy after the completion of the reprint. I may therefore fairly ask even the most ardent admirer of my poem to make this sacrifice on my behalf.

Alas! I begin to perspire, and can write no more.

Come to Paris as you promised, and make me happy!

Your

R.W.

311.

DEAREST RICHARD,

I have managed to get a copy of your "Nibelungen." Counsellor Muller was kind enough to give me his for you; it was taken yesterday to Paris by the courier of the French Emba.s.sy here, together with the volume "Wagner und das Musik-Drama," by Franz Muller, which has just been published. You will receive the little parcel from Monsieur Leree, chef de bureau des departs au ministere des affaires etrangeres. It is not customary for the ministry to transmit private messages, and you therefore must either call on M. Leree personally, or send him a few lines.

I was in bed a whole week at the same time as you. There are moods and conditions in which we bear physical illness better than the uninterrupted sequence of every-day cares and tribulations.

When will the French edition of your three operatic poems appear, and what publisher undertakes the edition of the "Nibelungen?"

Have you arranged with Schott about the publication of the full scores of "Rhinegold" and the "Valkyrie?" Send me word as to these three things.

The first performance of "Rienzi" is announced for Boxing-day. I have conducted several rehearsals, and have undertaken the others as well, but I have declined most positively to conduct the performance. That performance will be a brilliant one according to the circ.u.mstances here, and will probably realise D.'s expectations as to pecuniary success. Capellmeister Stor, who has conducted your three other operas ever since I left the theatre definitely, will undertake the direction of "Rienzi." Our artists are full of enthusiasm.

As a trifle I may mention to you that Muller of Dresden (Messrs.

Meser) will shortly publish two transcriptions by me,--the "Spinning Song" ("Dutchman"), and "Santo Spirito Cavaliere"

("Rienzi"). I shall not talk to you about my coming to Paris until I am able to tell you the exact date; it will be before long.

Your

F. L.

WEYMAR, December 2nd, 1860

312.

PARIS, December 15th, 1860.

DEAREST FRANZ,

I am very slowly regaining my strength. What impedes my recovery, and indeed makes it impossible for the present, are the extraordinary exertions and excitements to which I have to expose my health, which is gradually coming back to me. My daily occupation is this, that by the utmost care and by abstaining from any other kind of activity, however slight, I manage to attend the rehearsals at the opera. The proofs of "Rhinegold", which Messrs. Schott would have liked so much to have published at Christmas, have been lying on my table for seven weeks without my being able to make any progress with them. Guess at my condition from this fact, and forgive me anything that I may have done to shock you.

Pardon, for example, my not having thanked you before for sending me Muller's copy of my "Nibelungen." Good Lord! I wanted so much to hasten the publication, and hurried you in consequence. Now I possess the copy, and have not been able even to look at it. I also found it impossible to send you the book before this; I have a horror of undertaking anything, and apart from this, the Paris publishers treat one with abominable negligence. The German original of my letter to Villot you have probably seen. I have not been able yet to address a single line to my Leipzig publisher in connection with this matter.

For "Tannhauser" I have still to score the grand new scene for Venus, and to compose the whole of the Venusberg dance music. How this is to get done in time without a miracle I fail to perceive.

I wish YOU would at last come to Paris.

But no more of this. I cannot speak of anything at greater length, firstly, because I know too little, and secondly, because I must absolutely conclude these lines.

Farewell, and a thousand greetings.

Your