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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Showing all years in May (76 total)

Date	From	To	Place	Words	Subject
May 6, 1836	Richard Wagner	Theodore Apel	Magdeburg	31	Wagner tells Apel that his circumstances are worsening and accepts the offer of refuge at Ermlitz. He asks Apel to arrange for his reception there and to have a room assigned when he arrives.
May 28, 1836	Richard Wagner	Robert Schumann	Berlin	1,093	From Berlin, Wagner sends Schumann an anonymous article for his journal, explaining that he will continue contributing under the name Wilhelm Drach and reflecting ruefully on German composers being forced into criticism and speculation. He outlines a possible temporary post at the Königstadt opera where he hopes to mount Das Liebesverbot, asks for notice in the paper, and seeks paid work while apologizing for leaving Leipzig without farewell.
May 31, 1836	Richard Wagner	Joanna Geyer	Berlin	999,999	Wagner apologizes to his mother for missing her in Berlin and says that, after much misfortune, the trip has improved his prospects. He reports that Cerf has given him temporary charge of Glaser's position so he can rehearse and produce Das Liebesverbot, while journalists and Laube promote him, though he remains penniless and is also considering Riga.
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.
May 17, 1842	Richard Wagner	Karl Theodor von Küstner	Dresden	600	Wagner urges Küstner to hasten the Berlin production of The Flying Dutchman because a Paris opera, Le Vaisseau Fantôme, is about to appear from a libretto he says plagiarizes his own scenario. He argues that an earlier Berlin staging would assert the priority and value of a German work, protect his artistic interests, and serve the broader cause of German opera against rapid French theatrical imports.
May 2, 1843	Richard Wagner	Baron von Lüttichau	Dresden	921	Wagner writes Lüttichau to clarify his undertaking to avoid orchestral disputes, promising not to alter established tempos in older operas during Lüttichau's absence while reserving artistic judgment for newer works. He defends himself against Lipinski's accusations over Don Juan by arguing that local traditions can corrupt composers' intentions, cites Weber authorities for Euryanthe, and attributes the orchestra's hostility largely to envy and Lipinski's wounded vanity.
May 12, 1843	Richard Wagner	Robert Schumann	Dresden	999,999	Wagner tells Schumann that after eighteen months without composing he is preparing a large choral work for the Dresden men's choir festival, The Love-Feast of the Apostles. He also plans to shorten Rienzi for provincial theatres and says he has completed the three-act libretto for a new opera combining the Tannhäuser legend with the Wartburg song contest, to be composed that summer.
May 20, 1843	Richard Wagner	The Royal and Imperial Court	Dresden	330	Wagner replies to Vienna court-opera interest by explaining that his next new opera is already promised to Dresden, though he has another fresh and censor-safe subject that he could compose for Vienna in the 1844-45 season. For the nearer term, he recommends a rapid Viennese production of Rienzi, noting its suitability to local taste and resources and that he has sent a censorship-adapted libretto to Adalbert Prix.
May 17, 1846	Richard Wagner	Louis Spohr	Gross-Graupe	289	From Gross-Graupe, Wagner tells Spohr that Lüttichau has granted him a three-month freedom from duties, yet he cannot help condemning the intendant's rude treatment of Spohr. He sympathizes with Spohr's insult, criticizes aristocratic theatre administrators who mishandle artists, and hopes later to offer some Dresden service that can offset the offense.
May 30, 1846	Richard Wagner	Hermann Franck	Gross-Graupe	495	Wagner writes Hermann Franck that renewed reflection has confirmed separation as the necessary punishment and dramatic core of Lohengrin, because Elsa's forbidden question makes continued union impossible. He explains the saga's symbolic meaning as the failure of lasting contact between the supernatural and human nature, and says Franck's doubts helped him see the need to clarify Lohengrin's own share in the tragic ending.
May 16, 1848	Richard Wagner	Martin Oberlander	Dresden	212	Wagner asks Martin Oberländer for an urgent hour-long hearing about an institution whose future he says is important to the country's honor and usefulness. Because he is unsure which department has authority, he also asks that Minister von der Pfordten attend so the matter can be judged by the ministers of the interior and religion.
May 19, 1848	Richard Wagner	Wigard	Dresden	476	Wagner urges Wigard to press the Frankfurt Parliament toward decisive revolutionary measures: dissolve the old Federal Diet, concentrate constitutional power in Parliament, arm the people, and ally offensively and defensively with France. He argues that German unity requires redrawing the states into viable populations, confronting hostile princes historically and politically, and clearing this ground before any useful constitution can be made.
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.
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.
May 12, 1851	Richard Wagner	Hans von Bülow	Zurich	521	Wagner tells Hans von Bülow that the difficult St. Gall experience was still valuable because it taught him the seriousness of art, and he urges him toward Weimar under Liszt while discussing the kind of musician-poet Wagner hopes for. He advises Bülow to write separate Oresteia overtures as a new kind of symphony grounded in poetry, and reports that his next opera is commissioned for Weimar but that Siegfried's Death must be preceded by a Young Siegfried.
May 17, 1851	Franz Liszt	Richard Wagner	Weimar	644	Liszt is delighted that Wagner has committed himself to Young Siegfried and urges secrecy until the work is actually delivered, while reporting that the fifth performance of Lohengrin in Weimar was the best yet, even if the local public still largely lags behind it. He also discusses articles and publicity, thanks Wagner for his thoughts on the Goethe foundation, asks to use Wagner's autobiography and Zurich theatre piece for related work, and invites Wagner's practical ideas about repertory and reform.
May 22, 1851	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	Zurich	2,180	Wagner replies at length to Liszt's questions about the Goethe foundation and the Zurich theatre essay, saying he addressed the matter only to Liszt because real reform must begin with strong individuals and because Weimar's promise depends entirely on Liszt's artistic energy. He urges Liszt to build an original theatre by training actors and singers on principle, choosing repertory coherently, writing an opera specifically for Weimar, and creating the needed personnel there, while reporting that Young Siegfried is ready in his head and that he hopes soon to begin it and perhaps write gratefully to the Hereditary Grand Duchess.
May 4, 1852*	Franz Liszt	Richard Wagner	—	622	Liszt regrets that he could not come to Zurich but says the good reports of The Flying Dutchman delighted him, and he plans to stage it at Weimar next winter strictly according to Wagner's wishes, asking for all exact alterations, stage designs, and instructions. He also reports a makeshift court performance pieced together from Tannhauser, Lohengrin, Berlioz, and Cellini because illness made a full opera impossible, notes future Weimar plans for Tannhauser, Spohr's Faust, and Schumann's Manfred, and adds that Wagner's Faust overture made a strong impression.
May 6, 1852	Richard Wagner	Louis Schindelmeisser	Zurich	144	Wagner tells Louis Schindelmeisser that he is wary of sending Tannhäuser unless assured it can be performed in the right spirit, especially given the demands of the leading roles. If Schindelmeisser can meet those difficulties, Wagner welcomes his zeal but asks for a definite honorarium on sale of the score because Saxony may seize later receipts under the high-treason forfeiture.
May 16, 1852	Richard Wagner	Louis Schindelmeisser	Zurich	269	Wagner admires Schindelmeisser's courage in taking on Tannhäuser and hopes his practical skill can overcome the limited rehearsal time and serious difficulties of the work. He says the modern public matters little to him now, but winning Schindelmeisser as both an old and renewed friend through a true understanding of the opera would give him deep satisfaction.
May 25, 1852	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	Zurich	222	Wagner writes briefly to prevent a misunderstanding about the Flying Dutchman sketches, saying that the designer's work is only mediocre and not really worth the five louis d'or proposed for it. He asks Liszt to make only occasional use of the sketches if they are sent and to limit the remuneration to fifty francs, explaining this arrangement to the Weimar management.
May 29, 1852	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	Zurich	1,835	Wagner thanks Liszt for continuing to advance his works, comments on possible publication of the Faust overture and on the practical needs of the Tannhauser overture and Liebesmahl performances, but devotes most of the letter to urging that Tannhauser be given as completely and truthfully as possible. He insists above all on restoring the crucial penitential passage in the second-act finale because it reveals the whole inner meaning of the drama, gives further casting and musical advice for both Tannhauser and The Flying Dutchman, reports the striking success of the Zurich Dutchman, and says his Nibelung tetralogy is now fully planned and will soon be finished in verse.
May 30, 1852	Richard Wagner	Louis Schindelmeisser	Zurich	733	Wagner gives Schindelmeisser detailed performance advice for Tannhäuser, stressing that the stage-manager must know the score deeply because action, staging, and music must mutually justify one another. He insists singers learn recitative-like passages exactly in rhythm and tempo before taking freedom, resists further cuts unless performers are fundamentally inadequate, and warns that the opera succeeds only on different terms from ordinary opera.
May 9, 1853	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	Zurich	280	Amid the turmoil of preparing his Zurich performances, Wagner rereads Liszt's pamphlet on his operas and breaks into renewed gratitude, saying that Liszt alone has kept him from despair during the last four years. He begs Liszt not to frighten him with uncertainty about leave, reports the huge effort and expense of assembling a seventy-player orchestra from across Switzerland and beyond just so that he might finally hear the Lohengrin prelude, and implores Liszt to come at the beginning of June.
May 19, 1853*	Franz Liszt	Richard Wagner	—	660	Liszt says Wagner's splendid Zurich concert program has made him sad because he cannot possibly leave Weimar before late June, owing to court concerts, ceremonies, family duties, and travel with his mother, though he promises to reach Zurich by mid-July at the latest. He also reports on conversations about Tannhauser in Berlin, says the Nibelungen has now been read aloud at the Altenburg and that he wholly approves of it, mentions likely future performances in Prague, Wiesbaden, and Schwerin, and urges Wagner to get seriously to work on the music.
May 29, 1853	Richard Wagner	Louis Schindelmeisser	Zurich	737	Wagner tells Schindelmeisser that Lohengrin must be staged according to his preface, with Lohengrin himself appearing as a miraculous savior, and warns from Weimar's example that cuts or weak staging destroy the work's intended effect of terror and pity. He also urges Schindelmeisser to support Schöneck for the Wiesbaden post over Lux, since Wagner fears an unsympathetic successor who dismisses Tannhäuser could mishandle the newly prepared Lohengrin.
May 29, 1853	Richard Wagner	Mathilde Wesendonck	Zurich	11	No summary available.
May 30, 1853	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	Zurich	1,140	Wagner reports that his Zurich musical performances went brilliantly and that finally hearing the Lohengrin prelude overwhelmed him, confirming his own and the audience's sense that Lohengrin is the best thing he has yet done. He describes the enormous practical effort and expense behind the concerts, the strong public and especially female enthusiasm they aroused, and then turns back to his loneliness, asking how long Liszt can stay, whether he might follow him to St. Moritz, and lamenting once more the Berlin frustrations and what he sees as Liszt's wasted strength at Weimar.
May 2, 1854	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	Zurich	1,122	Wagner tells Liszt that he is ashamed of burdening him with complaints and now wants to turn his sympathy toward Liszt's own hidden troubles, resolving to set aside the proposed letter to the King of Saxony and to concentrate on finishing the Nibelungen. He clarifies the limited truth about his role in the Valais Musical Festival, discusses Munich, Berlin, and Lohengrin matters with some resignation, and concludes that he will probably have to prepare his own fair copies after all.
May 2, 1854	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	Zurich	308	Wagner explains to Liszt that he refused to conduct the Valais Federal Musical Festival as a whole and only agreed to lead Beethoven's A-major Symphony if another conductor handled the festival, though the organizers misleadingly advertised joint direction with Methfessel. He expects little musically from the event because of uncertain orchestra, choir, and rehearsal conditions, and adds that he may have to make the fair copy of his own score because his sketches are too confused for anyone else.
May 20, 1854	Franz Liszt	Richard Wagner	—	874	This letter sets out Liszt's proposed terms for Berlin performances of Wagner's Tannhauser and Lohengrin, insisting on dignified casting, proper rehearsals, and his own authority to negotiate on Wagner's behalf. Liszt offers to come to Berlin to settle artistic arrangements, assures the manager that Wagner's financial demands will be reasonable, and reserves for later decision the question of whether he himself will conduct.
May 26, 1854	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	—	94	Wagner sends a short but urgent reply approving Liszt's draft to Berlin and insisting that the only acceptable payment model is royalties rather than a lump sum. He argues that generous, honorable treatment of the manager is the best way to secure frequent performances and lasting benefit from his operas.
May 2, 1855	Franz Liszt	Richard Wagner	Weimar	350	Liszt says he delayed writing because he had no good news and was absorbed in finishing his great mass, which he describes as something prayed rather than composed. He looks forward to bringing the mass and his printed orchestral works to Zurich in September, encourages Wagner to endure London patiently, and promises that brighter, more consoling days together will come soon.
May 4, 1855	Richard Wagner	Minna Wagner	London	1,276	Writing Minna from London, Wagner discusses delayed payments from Anderson and Sulzer, defends Mme. Wesendonck against gossip and Minna's suspicions, and comments wryly on domestic trust, his grey hairs, and a mistaken report of a gong stroke in the Tannhäuser Overture. He also reports mixed London concert experiences and reviews, criticizing performances of Weber and Fidelio, describing public demonstrations in his favor, and accusing Davison of hostile criticism that paradoxically spreads interest in Lohengrin through a published translation.
May 7, 1855	Franz Liszt	Richard Wagner	—	213	Princess Carolyne asks Wagner for a handwritten copy of lines from Das Rheingold that she treasures as deeply personal, asking him to sign and post them to her. She frames the request as materially small but spiritually immense, and sends him affectionate sympathy in his grief.
May 8, 1855	Richard Wagner	Minna Wagner	London	572	Writing from London, Wagner reports to Minna on the Philharmonic Society orchestra, praising individual players such as Sainton and the Belgian bassoonist while condemning the largely English ensemble as technically competent but mechanical and uninspired. He also describes the honor of a private quartet gathering and vents his bitterness at having to conduct English compositions he regards as correct but unimaginative.
May 16, 1855	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	London	1,045	Wagner answers that Liszt's promised September visit is the only light in his terrible London year, which he now regards as a sinful mistake that has trapped him in degrading concert routine, conventional taste, and artistic sterility. He says the position has crippled his work on Die Walkure and driven him toward thoughts of resignation, but he still longs for companionship with Liszt and news of the Princess and her child.
May 16, 1855	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	London	511	Writing to Liszt from London, Wagner describes his Philharmonic engagement as a spiritual and artistic humiliation, blaming the city, its Mendelssohn cult, and his dispiriting circumstances for stalling work on Die Walküre and Young Siegfried. He notes Klindworth's illness, the devotion of a few supporters, Klindworth's piano arrangement of the first act of Die Walküre, and his hope of hearing Liszt's new compositions in September.
May 22, 1855	Richard Wagner	Otto Wesendonck	London	406	Writing to Otto Wesendonck from London, Wagner confesses intense homesickness and restlessness while insisting that he alone bears responsibility for accepting a trip that has pulled him away from creative work. He contrasts his vocation as a creator with the world's money-making demands and mentions a tentative invitation from New York that threatens to become a second London-like expedition.
May 20, 1856*	Franz Liszt	Richard Wagner	—	367	Liszt advises Wagner not to rely on the Prague-Swiss-citizenship workaround, which he regards as dangerous illusion, and insists that the only realistic path back to Germany is an immediate petition to the King of Saxony. He asks Wagner to send him a copy, recommends that the first request be framed narrowly around a temporary visit to Weimar for artistic reasons, and urges patience while still holding out hope of eventual success.
May 6, 1857	Richard Wagner	Julie Ritter	Zurich	1,673	Writing from his new Zurich retreat to Julie Ritter, Wagner reflects emotionally on their friendship, his need for her mature sympathy, and the sorrow caused by distance and the recent family rupture. He explains that her support remains his only secure income, describes improved health but nervous exhaustion, and reports that Siegfried Act I has exceeded expectations and may become the popular gateway to the whole Nibelung cycle.
May 8, 1857	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	Zurich	2,016	Wagner describes settling into a quiet new country house near Zurich, taking satisfaction in his study, garden, and renewed progress on Siegfried and the Valkyrie finale, while reflecting on his artistic confidence, publication troubles, and practical matters involving Lohengrin, singers, and the Dutchman score. He also thanks Liszt for his help with Hartel, but ends by expressing serious anxiety about Liszt's health and urging him to abandon exhausting obligations, come away for a true rest cure, and take Wagner's concern seriously.
May 8, 1857	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	Zurich	1,402	Wagner thanks Liszt for the reassuring report on his health but remains concerned for the Princess, then announces with pain that he has decided to abandon the completion of the Nibelungen for now after the Hartel negotiations convinced him the project is financially and practically impossible. In its place he plans to finish the more stageable Tristan and Isolde, possibly secure productions in Strasbourg and even Rio, and he ends by hoping intensely that Liszt will visit him in September.
May 8, 1857	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	Zurich	999,999	Writing to Liszt, Wagner reports moving into the small country house near the Wesendoncks' villa, praising Otto Wesendonck as a major benefactor and looking forward to secluded work. He says he will not leave until Siegfried and Brünnhilde are fully realized, boasts of the completed first act, warns against Weimar taking credit for the Nibelungs without support, and jokes about an invitation from the Emperor of Brazil.
May 18, 1857	Richard Wagner	Karl Klindworth	Zurich	999,999	Writing to Klindworth, Wagner downplays his connection with Praeger, saying their intercourse was superficial and served mainly his own need for easy, joking relaxation. He insists Praeger was never in a position to betray any real confidence, because Wagner never placed him on an intimate or serious footing.
May 19, 1857	Richard Wagner	Franz Liszt	—	243	Wagner asks Liszt to send along any useful Hartel correspondence, since he is reluctantly trying every possible means to sell his work and secure a dependable income for the coming years. He says he has invited the publishers to Zurich so he and Klindworth can present part of the Nibelungen to them, requests the return of the Rhinegold piano score for that purpose, and closes by anxiously asking for better news of Liszt's health.
May 21, 1857	Richard Wagner	Mathilde Wesendonck	Zurich	69	Writing to Mathilde Wesendonck, Wagner reports that inspiration is returning as a melody finds its place in Siegfried's final scene. He also describes the opening of Act II emerging as Fafner's Rest, with a humorously comfortable motif.
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