Cosima's Diaries

Diary Entry of January 13, 1873

Overview

The final entry is crowded with reunions, visits, and the practical inconveniences of a performance that cannot fully satisfy. The author sees old friends and family members, while R. walks and later hears Queisser, whose emotional loyalty to Bayreuth stands out. Riemann’s performance still interests her, but the cuts in the fourth act are exasperating. Overall, the day feels like a mix of hospitality, artistic seriousness, and frustration with compromise.

Content

Monday, January 13:

Good night; welcomed by Elis. Krockow; visits to the Wesendoncks, nieces Ottilie and Marianne, sister Cacilie, the Pusinellis - took up a lot of my time, during which R. went walking. In the evening R. and Queisser, the old trumpeter, splendid; he says he wept because he could not come to the Bayreuth festival - Count Platen had forbidden anyone to go there. Rienzi, better here than in Vienna, again keeps me very interested, but the absurd cuts in the 4th act drive us out. In the evening the Wesendoncks visited us.