Wagner's Letters
Correspondence by, to, and around Richard Wagner
Wagner’s letters form one of the great documentary records of nineteenth-century artistic life. They reveal the practical, intellectual, emotional, and ideological world behind the works: artistic plans, financial crises, theatrical battles, friendships, quarrels, patronage, exile, revolution, Bayreuth, family life, philosophical reflection, and the shifting circle of figures who helped shape Wagner’s public and private destiny.
This archive is organized chronologically, but it is also designed as a map of Wagner’s relationships. The letters may be browsed by year and month, by sender and recipient, or by major correspondents such as Friedrich Nietzsche, Theodor Uhlig, and Franz Liszt.
Letters from Wagner should be read beside letters sent to him. The outgoing letters often show Wagner fashioning his own cause, defending his works, pleading for help, or advancing his vision of art. The incoming letters reveal how that vision was received, resisted, misunderstood, supported, or transformed by those around him.
Because the collection contains thousands of letters, the table below is intended as a finding aid rather than a replacement for the individual letter pages. Use the filters to narrow the archive by year, month, correspondent, or direction, then open a letter to read the full text.
Note: An asterisk (*) next to the date indicates an exact date for the letter was unavailable and a date has been interpolated from context and ordering.
| Date | From | To | Place | Words | Subject |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 23, 1839 | Richard Wagner | Edward Avenarius | Boulogne | 504 |
Wagner introduces himself warmly to Edward Avenarius, acknowledging obligations already incurred through his sister Cecilie and the help Avenarius has offered. After describing his hazardous voyage from Riga through London to Boulogne and his plan to finish work before entering Paris, he asks Avenarius to find a cheap furnished room in Paris for himself and Minna.
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| September 13, 1839 | Richard Wagner | Edward Avenarius | Boulogne | 219 |
Wagner tells Avenarius that he will leave Boulogne for Paris on September 16 and asks him again to secure a sufficiently large weekly room in a furnished hotel for himself and Minna. He explains that he stayed in costly Boulogne because he unexpectedly met Meyerbeer there and has tried to attach him to his Paris plans.
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| September 20, 1839 | Richard Wagner | Edward Avenarius | Paris | 97 |
Newly arrived in Paris, Wagner declines Avenarius's invitation to the Italian Opera because he is exhausted after a day of meetings with Garcia, Joly, Dumersan, Meyerbeer, and others. He reports that Garcia has proved especially amiable and helpful, offering him assistance for his plans.
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| April 21, 1842 | Richard Wagner | Edward Avenarius | Berlin | 374 |
From Berlin, Wagner writes Avenarius that leaving Paris and its friendships has been far harder than the hardships endured there, especially for Minna, who longs to return. He says little can yet be done about his Berlin opera prospects until Küstner arrives and Redern can act, leaving him uncertain how he will live through the summer and emotionally fixed on the friends left behind.
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| May 2, 1842 | Richard Wagner | Edward Avenarius | Dresden | 461 |
Wagner reports to Avenarius that Berlin gave no firm date for The Flying Dutchman, but Redern provisionally arranged rehearsals after The Huguenots and Mendelssohn encouraged him about Redern's influence and Küstner's likely support. In Dresden, family members have arranged financial support for the next half-year, Rienzi is fixed for August with rehearsals in July, and Wagner is welcomed enthusiastically though he distrusts leaving the artistic production solely to Reissiger.
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| September 11, 1842 | Richard Wagner | Edward Avenarius | Dresden | 113 |
Wagner jokes to Avenarius that, despite Cecilie's teasing about babies, he and Minna have no prospect of a child and must make do with dogs. He describes their new six-week-old puppy, Peps or Striezel, while wistfully saying he would rather have another Maxel, an impossibility that could happen only once.
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| October 8, 1842 | Richard Wagner | Edward Avenarius | Dresden | 267 |
Wagner tells Avenarius that the forthcoming Rienzi premiere on October 19 is being prepared with extraordinary enthusiasm and that he expects a major success. He praises the singers, orchestra, Devrient, Tichatschek, and even Reissiger for their commitment, noting that he has encountered no ill-will and that public anticipation is growing.
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| October 21, 1842 | Richard Wagner | Edward Avenarius | Dresden | 137 |
Wagner reports to Avenarius that Rienzi has triumphed in Dresden with unprecedented enthusiasm, repeated calls for the composer, and citywide excitement. Exhausted but exultant, he says the second performance is imminent, a third is already sold out, and the singing and staging reached a level he believes Dresden had not known before.
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| November 6, 1842 | Richard Wagner | Edward Avenarius | Dresden | 999,999 |
Wagner writes to his Paris friends through Avenarius about Rienzi's sustained Dresden success, emphasizing packed houses, attentive audiences, and singers so devoted that they resist cuts despite exhaustion. He contrasts rumors of large earnings with the actual 300-thaler honorarium, explaining that debts and basic needs consume it while promising that future income from performances, publishers, or score sales should help his Paris creditors.
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| February 15, 1844 | Richard Wagner | Edward Avenarius | Dresden | 207 |
Wagner tells Avenarius that he is publishing his operas with Meser under favorable terms and wants to protect future French and English copyright. For France, he asks whether Avenarius or another trustworthy Paris contact could act as provisional copyright holder by displaying advance copies of a piano arrangement under a French title on the German publication date.
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| June 18, 1849 | Richard Wagner | Edward Avenarius | Reuil | 157 |
Wagner writes Avenarius from Reuil in deep anxiety because he has had no news of Minna for nearly four weeks after their separation. Repelled by uselessly remaining in cholera-stricken Paris, he plans a temporary Zurich settlement with Minna, supported by income Liszt is arranging, while using any Paris profits to pay Dresden debts.
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| No letters found. | |||||