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.

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Date	From	To	Place	Words	Subject
September 6, 1848	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	Dresden	133	Wagner thanks Liszt for his efforts on his behalf and reports that the planned performance of Tannhauser has been delayed. He explains that Tichatschek's illness and prior obligations to the star singer Formes will likely postpone the opera for about a week, and he sends regards to Princess Wittgenstein.
September 19, 1848	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	Dresden	133	Wagner informs Liszt that Tannhauser is finally scheduled for performance in Dresden on September 24, 1848, though he doubts the notice will allow Liszt to come. He also mentions a jubilee concert for the orchestra on September 22 featuring an excerpt from Lohengrin and says he would be glad to welcome Liszt and Princess Wittgenstein.
January 14, 1849	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	Dresden	318	Wagner thanks Liszt for his continuing interest and reflects anxiously on the difficulty of producing Tannhauser, whose success he thinks depends on unusually capable performers and on Liszt's leadership. He also reports that he is living in reduced circumstances with little hope, though he remains determined to endure and is willing to forgo any honorarium connected with the Weimar plans.
January 17, 1849	Richard Wagner	Baron Vox Biedexfeld	Dresden	592	Wagner explains to Biedenfeld that opera should not use dramatic spectacle merely to fix catchy melodies in memory, but should aim at the complete dramatic artwork enriched by music. Using Beethoven's expansion of orchestral expression and the Song Tournament in Tannhäuser as evidence, he argues that the modern music dramatist must serve drama through the full resources of music, even if his own powers may fall short of that intention.
February 8, 1849	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	Dresden	410	Wagner warmly thanks Liszt for championing his work in Weimar and reflects on the shallow theatrical taste that makes any serious opera difficult to receive fairly. Even so, he trusts Liszt's diligence and goodwill more than outward resources, and he sends his thanks in advance for the forthcoming performance.
February 9, 1849	Franz Liszt	Richard Wagner	—	91	Liszt tells Wagner that the Weimar company is studying Tannhauser with increasing zeal, admiration, and sympathy. He invites Wagner to attend the final rehearsal on February 15 and the performance on February 16, and he thanks him for sending the Faust overture.
February 20, 1849	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	Dresden	670	Wagner offers Liszt an effusive thanks for the Weimar production of Tannhauser, praising the devotion and practical labor with which Liszt made the work understood and successful. He adds that this support has personally sustained him at a moment when humiliations in Dresden had nearly driven him to abandon art altogether.
February 25, 1849	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	—	362	The writer joins the chorus of admiration for Tannhauser, praising Wagner's work for its emotional depth, poetic beauty, and power over the inner life of its listeners. She also regrets that Wagner could not come to Weimar and asks him to believe in the sincere admiration and devotion felt for him there.
February 25, 1849	Richard Wagner	Cecilie Avenarius	Dresden	159	Wagner sends Cecilie birthday wishes on behalf of himself and Minna, joking that Minna trusts his style while she bakes a cake. He playfully contrasts her successful turn to baking with his own effort to improve his Latin handwriting, presenting both as practical skills for life.
February 26, 1849	Franz Liszt	Richard Wagner	—	526	Liszt responds warmly to Wagner's thanks, declaring himself one of Wagner's most devoted admirers and reporting the strong impression Tannhauser made in Weimar. He also proposes publishing piano arrangements of the overture and the Abendstern scene, asks Wagner how they should be disposed of, and sends cordial greetings to Tichatschek.
March 1, 1849	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	Dresden	486	Wagner thanks Liszt for his letter, for the admiration shown him in Weimar, and especially for the Princess's moving praise, which he believes Liszt's advocacy helped to inspire. He gladly leaves Liszt free to arrange and publish the Abendstern as he wishes, thanks Biedenfeld and the Weimar artists, and looks forward eagerly to visiting in May.
March 20, 1849	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	Zurich	779	Wagner reports from his flight into Switzerland that he has safely reached Rorschach and owes his escape to Liszt's counsel and practical help, while already turning his thoughts toward Paris and future artistic work. He asks Liszt to examine the score of Lohengrin, forward his other materials, retain The Flying Dutchman for Weimar, and help secure a safe refuge for his wife outside Saxony.
May 2, 1849	Richard Wagner	August Rockel	Dresden	123	Wagner tells August Röckel that Dresden is in great political excitement, with associations, the Communal Guard, the Prince Albert Regiment, and the Town Council declaring for the German Constitution. He expects a decisive conflict, possibly with Prussian troops, while noting fears of a premature revolution and reports of Hungarian hussars arriving near Freiberg.
May 17, 1849	Richard Wagner	Edward Devrient	Weimar	3,195	Writing from Weimar after the Dresden uprising, Wagner explains to Devrient his sympathy with the constitutional movement, his attempts to encourage fraternization between troops and people, his flight with Minna to Chemnitz, and his belief that the resistance grew from civic rage rather than a planned revolutionary conspiracy. Fearing reactionary prosecution and despairing of his Dresden office, he says Liszt and the Grand Duchess urge him toward Paris and London, asks Devrient to investigate whether he can safely retain leave or a right of return, and hopes to pursue Lohengrin abroad.
May 29, 1849	Richard Wagner	O. L. B. Wolff	Zurich	320	From Zurich, Wagner tells O. L. B. Wolff that travel has revived him and clarified a new Paris mission, which he now sees as the greatest work his nature can produce and as a common undertaking with Liszt. He asks Liszt to examine the score of Lohengrin when Minna sends it, and hopes Liszt can help remove Minna from Dresden to a modest refuge near Weimar with salvaged household goods.
June 5, 1849	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	Paris	1,447	Writing from Paris, Wagner pours out homesickness, gratitude, and dependence on Liszt's friendship while praising Liszt's Debats article on Tannhauser as a work of art in its own right. He describes his distrust of Parisian intrigues, his plans for radical writing and a new French project, his hope for London, and his anxiety over money and over news of his wife.
June 12, 1849*	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	—	840	Deeply distressed by separation from his wife, Wagner decides that Paris is impossible for him without domestic peace and resolves to settle in Zurich, where he hopes to reunite his household and work in quiet on both a Paris opera project and The Death of Siegfried. He asks Liszt to help secure a modest annual allowance from German patrons and to send immediate financial aid so that he and his wife can survive and establish themselves there.
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.
June 19, 1849	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	Reuil	781	Wagner retracts, or at least qualifies, his request that Liszt seek a stipend for him from royal patrons, since his role in the Dresden uprising would make such an appeal awkward and liable to look hypocritical or cowardly. He insists that his deeper impulse was always artistic rather than doctrinaire, and he asks instead for some immediate money so he can leave Paris, probably for Zurich, and recover enough peace to work.
June 29, 1849*	Franz Liszt	Richard Wagner	—	616	Liszt advises Wagner not to seek court patronage for now and instead to pursue practical success in Paris, especially by adapting Rienzi for the Paris Opera and cultivating useful allies such as Roger, Viardot, Janin, Vaez, and Royer. He urges political restraint, promises some financial help, approves a temporary retreat to Zurich, and adds that Lohengrin has impressed him deeply even if he worries about its consistently ideal tone onstage.
July 9, 1849	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	Zurich	963	Now settled in Zurich through Liszt's help, Wagner thanks him and Belloni, explains that he hopes to find peace there for new work, and says he has arranged the outward terms of a Paris collaboration with Gustave Vaez. He rejects the idea of reworking Rienzi for the Grand Opera, defends himself bitterly against charges of ingratitude and worse in Saxony, and asks Liszt to forward the scores and books he needs in Zurich.
July 19, 1849*	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	—	744	Wagner begs Liszt to raise and send money to his wife so that she can leave Dresden, travel to Zurich with her sister, and rejoin him with at least minimal security. He says that reunion with his wife is the one thing necessary to restore his peace and productivity, and he promises renewed work for Paris once this immediate need is met.
July 29, 1849	Franz Liszt	Richard Wagner	Weimar	343	Liszt tells Wagner that he has sent one hundred thalers to Wagner's wife through an anonymous admirer of Tannhauser and has also forwarded Wagner's scores to Zurich. He praises Lohengrin enthusiastically, though still with reservations about its stage effect, and suggests adding a dedication of Tannhauser to the Hereditary Grand Duke of Weimar as a tactful gesture.
August 4, 1849	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	Zurich	373	Wagner sends Liszt a newly revised essay meant for translation and publication in Paris, saying it reflects his deepest artistic convictions without descending into mere political slogans or personal invective. He asks Liszt to forward the manuscript to Otto Wigand in Leipzig, hopes it may bring him a little income, and anxiously mentions that he still has no news from his wife.
August 7, 1849	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	Zurich	352	Wagner thanks Liszt for helping his wife, forwarding his scores, and arranging the proposed dedication of Tannhauser to the Grand Duke, which he accepts without feeling that he has compromised his principles. He says he may have to pawn the score of Lohengrin for ready money, acknowledges Liszt's doubts about its stage effect, and promises that real artistic work will repay all Liszt's care if he can only be given peace.
August 9, 1849	Richard Wagner	Theodore Uhlig	Zurich	572	Wagner tells Uhlig that Liszt urges him toward a Paris opera, though his current subjects, including Siegfried and Jesus of Nazareth, do not suit French expectations and his Art and Revolution shows his distaste for Parisian art business. Settled in Zurich with Liszt's communal support, awaiting Minna and unexpectedly famous through piano arrangements, he refuses any return to his old Dresden role, worries about Heubner, Röckel, and Bakunin, and asks Uhlig to begin a piano arrangement of Lohengrin.
August 11, 1849	Richard Wagner	Minna Wagner	Zurich	307	Wagner writes Minna that separation is painful because it leaves him constantly uncertain about her health, but Liszt's latest letter shows active support, including 100 thalers and prospects for an annual income tied to Wagner's works. He urges her to bring Natalie to Switzerland as practical help, assures her that his passport and residence permit are in order, and says refugees there are irrelevant to his situation.
September 16, 1849	Richard Wagner	Theodore Uhlig	Zurich	596	Wagner tells Uhlig that Zurich, Minna's presence, and temporary financial security keep him in good spirits, though unsettled lodgings have delayed creative work while he finishes The Wibelungs for Wigand after Art and Revolution. He plans The Work of Art of the Future and The Artist of the Future before returning to Siegfried, but feels trapped between Liszt's Paris-opera ambitions for him and his own conviction that happiness and freedom require following inner necessity rather than external opportunity.
October 14, 1849	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	Zurich	1,716	Wagner thanks Liszt for the help that reunited him with his wife, then offers an earnest critique of Liszt's Goethe compositions, admiring their strength while urging him toward the larger, more complete form of opera. He goes on to describe his own material desperation in Zurich, explains why he must devote himself to Siegfried rather than force a Paris project, and implores Liszt to find patrons, purchasers, or immediate funds that will let him keep working and living.
October 28, 1849	Franz Liszt	Richard Wagner	Bockeburg	1,073	Liszt explains that illness, politics, and his own strained finances make it difficult for him to help Wagner immediately, though he may later try to interest the King of Prussia or the Duke of Coburg in Wagner's future. In the meantime he proposes practical expedients such as concert income, publication of songs, and even a possible Byron-based oratorio project for himself, while discreetly planning to reserve some Hamburg festival proceeds for Wagner.
November 21, 1849	Richard Wagner	Karl Ritter	Zurich	151	Wagner writes Karl Ritter about Feuerbach, recommending Death and Immortality and reflecting on the paradox that one must read books to become natural. He praises Feuerbach for emerging as a man rather than merely a philosopher, especially against abstract philosophy, and says he owes him a great debt.
December 1, 1849	Richard Wagner	Clara Wolfram	Zurich	286	Wagner tells Clara Wolfram that he lives quietly in Zurich among a few sympathetic locals and dismisses rumors about both his Dresden Rising involvement and his Swiss life. For Minna's sake he has asked Dresden to remove the phrase “common criminality” from the warrant, while describing Minna's brave companionship as the bond that still holds him to the world.
December 5, 1849	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	Zurich	1,490	Wagner thanks Liszt for his sympathy even when he cannot provide immediate funds, then explains that he has now found a Paris opera subject he can treat in his own way without ceasing to be himself. He asks Liszt to help open London to Lohengrin, to assist once more with travel and living expenses for planned trips to Paris and London, and reports that a possible Zurich benefit concert remains uncertain.
December 27, 1849	Richard Wagner	Theodore Uhlig	Zurich	721	Wagner tells Uhlig that sympathy from women such as Frau Ritter, Frau Laussot, and an unnamed Dresden helper strengthens his sense that freedom comes through loving association, and he prepares to go to Paris with overtures, the plan for Wieland the Smith, and a determination to challenge French grand-opera conventions. He reflects on The Work of Art of the Future as preparation for a revolutionary destruction of obsolete artistic conditions, and argues that the true theatrical revolutionary would unite performer, poet, and composer rather than remain trapped in abstract writing and composing.
January 14, 1850	Franz Liszt	Richard Wagner	Weimar	591	Liszt sends Wagner five hundred francs for his Paris journey and strongly endorses his plan of remaining artistically himself while addressing Paris and, if possible, London. He urges Wagner to persevere through the transition, promises to seek London contacts, and reports current Weimar work including Iphigenia in Aulis and another performance of Tannhauser.
February 8, 1850	Richard Wagner	Theodore Uhlig	Paris	357	From Paris, Wagner tells Uhlig about planned writings, including an article on Art and Climate and a possible self-issued series called Papers on Art and Life, while reflecting that The Wibelungs would have suited a review better than a brochure. He also explains the likely basis of a rumor involving the king: after hearing a false report that Heubner had been sentenced to death, he wrote Frau von Lüttichau urging royal clemency and even friendship toward Heubner.
February 24, 1850	Richard Wagner	Theodore Uhlig	Paris	806	Wagner corrects any impression that Zurich caused his loneliness by naming the young Swiss friends and supporters whose generosity and radical or artistic sympathy sustained his family, then contrasts them with Paris, where he finds artists compromised and society absorbed in business. He reports seeing Meyerbeer's Le Prophète, diagnosing his own troubles as partly nervous, telling Liszt he will not write a Paris opera, and turning instead toward German works and writings such as The Work of Art of the Future, Wieland, Siegfried, and Achilleus.
March 2, 1850	Richard Wagner	Minna Wagner	Paris	216	Wagner urges Minna to recognize Mme. Laussot's financial help as a noble response to the deep effect of his art on a sincere heart. He contrasts this freely offered support with theatrical success won by speculation and public shallowness, arguing that it provides the money they need without betraying his artistic nature.
March 13, 1850	Richard Wagner	Minna Wagner	Paris	130	Wagner tells Minna that he has decided to accept urgent invitations from friends in Bordeaux, who have sent travel money, because remaining in Paris has become useless and exhausting. He explains that Frau Laussot's and Frau Ritter's support is meant to spare him work against his nature, offering them an annual income without burdening anyone else.
March 17, 1850	Richard Wagner	Minna Wagner	Bordeaux	205	Wagner tells Minna that Bordeaux feels heavenly after Paris because the Laussot family and a wealthy German circle receive him with extraordinary kindness and devotion. He feels honored that his works are deeply known there and that these friends want to help him and Minna, though he still would not trade Switzerland for Bordeaux and remains homesick for it.
March 22, 1850	Richard Wagner	Julie Ritter	Bordeaux	274	Wagner writes Julie Ritter that meeting Jessie Laussot has made tangible the circle of affectionate supporters he had previously known only through imagination. He insists their bond is personal rather than merely artistic or beneficent, and longs for Julie and her family to join him in Switzerland so their lives can be shared directly.
March 26, 1850	Richard Wagner	Theodore Uhlig	Bordeaux	111	Wagner tells Uhlig he cannot believe the Saxon ministry would clear him merely to please the court while harshly punishing lesser figures such as Herz. If Dresden tried to acquit and recall him to his former post, he says he would refuse both acquittal and recall to deny their maneuver any public success.
April 17, 1850	Richard Wagner	Minna Wagner	Paris	1,293	Wagner writes Minna a painful reckoning of their marriage, arguing that their essential natures have long been divided and that she has acted from duty rather than the unqualified love that would understand his artistic and political rebellion. Recalling their flight from Dresden, exile, reunion in Zurich, her hopes for a Paris career, and her hostility to his writings and convictions, he concludes that her latest letter has destroyed his remaining illusion that they can live together happily.
April 21, 1850	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	Paris	439	Wagner reports that the hoped-for Paris performance of his overture has failed and says the collapse has severed his remaining ties to a world that was ruining both his mind and health. Turning away from Paris, he urgently asks Liszt to undertake the first performance of Lohengrin, authorizes him to obtain the score from Dresden, and mentions the additional five hundred francs expected through Belloni.
May 4, 1850	Richard Wagner	Minna Wagner	Geneva	471	From Geneva, Wagner writes Minna before a planned journey from Marseilles to Malta, Greece, and Asia Minor, presenting separation as a way to soften the misery caused by their opposed natures. He explains that he wants to escape books, modern art, and Germany's unchanged conditions through physical and spiritual travel, funded by a new London patron who will receive manuscripts of future works, while assuring Minna that support for her living expenses will come from London.
May 11, 1850	Richard Wagner	Julie Ritter	Dresden	201	Wagner writes Julie Ritter in a state of crisis, saying he must hurry to Bordeaux to see Eugène Laussot and that he feels poised between death and a new life. He begs Julie to come to Switzerland and await his return with Karl at Villeneuve, or to send Emilie, because he longs for the loving presence of a dear woman in what he imagines as either a final or reborn moment.
June 9, 1850	Richard Wagner	Julie Ritter	Zermatt	3,276	Writing Julie Ritter from Zermatt after the collapse of his hopes with Jessie Laussot, Wagner pours out despair over love, separation from Minna, homelessness, and the sense that Jessie lacked the strength to free herself, while recounting the Bordeaux crisis and the possible intervention of Jessie's mother with Minna. He asks Julie to remain true and question him rather than judge him, sends Karl to learn whether Minna has been slandered, abandons Wieland as artistically dead, and turns toward essays on genius and a future Achilleus once he can work again.
June 27, 1850	Richard Wagner	Julie Ritter	Thun	999,999	Wagner tells Julie Ritter in detail how Jessie Laussot's abrupt break has left him feeling ruined, arguing that Jessie lacked the strength to free herself and suspecting that her mother may have appealed to Minna by misrepresenting his intentions. He reviews his sudden departure from Paris, Minna's attempted reconciliation, his decision not to wound her further, and Karl's mission to Zurich to discover whether Minna has been slandered, while abandoning Wieland and contemplating writings on genius and Achilleus.
July 2, 1850	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	Thun	1,189	Wagner sends Liszt detailed staging and orchestral instructions for Lohengrin, urges him to perform the opera essentially uncut except for one specified passage in Lohengrin's final narration, and stresses that the work will succeed only if its full conception is respected. He also discusses publication of the libretto and piano score, asks whether he might somehow attend the Weimar premiere incognito despite the danger of arrest, and longs to see Liszt again in Zurich.
July 10, 1850	Richard Wagner	Julie Ritter	Zurich	189	Wagner tells Julie Ritter that recent events have proved Minna's love stronger than her doubts and misunderstandings of him. Even after hearing accusations from Bordeaux, Minna wants only his return and would accept support only from his own hand, making him see her as transformed and compelling him to be truly present for her.
No letters found.

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