I am much obliged, dearest friend, for your sending me the Monatsschrift of Kollatschek, which I had been unable to get previously. As soon as I have read the articles which interest me, I shall return them to you, and perhaps you might send me the numbers which contain the continuation of Uhlig's articles on instrumental music.
To my regret, I shall probably miss Uhlig's visit to Weimar, for I shall not be able to leave here till between the 26th and 30th of this month, and shall travel very slowly by Düsseldorf, Cologne, Frankfurt, to Weimar, which I shall not reach till about the 10th of August. But in any case I shall go to see Uhlig at Dresden in the course of the autumn, for I attach real value to the continuance of my friendly relations with him, and I ask you to assure him of this as well as of my sincere and loyal sympathy.
I send you today the letter of M. Philipront, of Brussels, and the draft of my answer, by which you can regulate your subsequent correspondence with those gentlemen. For many reasons, I ask you specially not to give way on the two conditions of your collaboration in the adjustment of the French words to the music and of your presence at the general rehearsals, which I have mentioned distinctly to M. Philipront as necessary, and without which, entre nous, Lohengrin would run a great risk of being abominably cut and slashed. I am delighted that you agree with my opinion about the publication of the score of Lohengrin.
In this, as in other matters, the Hartels have behaved with a tact and good taste for which one ought to be truly thankful, and I feel convinced that the scores of both Siegfried and Lohengrin will appear at short intervals, and in the course of two years. But, all things considered, I think it advisable to begin with the pianoforte score of Lohengrin, to be followed by the full score of Siegfried, and finally that of Lohengrin, in 1853 or perhaps sooner.
If Uhlig leaves you before the end of the month, he might inquire at Bückeburg whether I have left Eilsen, for he is obliged to pass through Bückeburg if he takes the railway from Cologne or Düsseldorf, which will be the shortest route to return to Dresden. I have written this to him in my last letter, which should have reached him. I should like very much to see him here, and you will oblige me by giving him a pressing invitation on my account. What has become of your disciple Ritter? Remember me to him when you see him. The manuscript of Wiland, which is still locked up in a chest at Weimar, will be sent on demand to Uhlig immediately after my return there. The Princess, who, God be thanked, has been perceptibly better these last days, charges me with her admiration for you, to which I add only the simple expression of my friendship and true devotion.
Sir,
As your letter of July 6th did not find me at Weimar, you will kindly excuse the delay of my answer. When Herr Wagner informed me of the proposal of M. Hanssens to perform Lohengrin at the Brussels theatre and asked my opinion of the matter, I advised him to thank M. Hanssens for the hospitality he had offered to that beautiful work and to accept it on two conditions, which seem to me indispensable for its full success. They are that the author should collaborate in the adjustment of the French words to the music, and that the last two rehearsals should take place in his presence. Lohengrin belongs by no means to the ordinary run of operas, but is in all respects an exceptional and sublime work; and it would therefore, in my opinion, be dangerous to attempt a performance which would not be completely identified with the ideas and intentions of the poet-composer. In another fortnight I shall have an opportunity of sending you a copy of my pamphlet on Lohengrin, which will appear at the beginning of August (in French, Brockhaus, Leipzig). If, after having read it, you continue in your intention of giving Lohengrin at the Brussels theatre and of rendering a double service to dramatic art and the author, you can easily communicate direct with Herr Wagner as to the arrangements for carrying out the two conditions made and insisted upon by him.
Franz Liszt
Source: Project Gutenberg eBook #3835, Correspondence of Wagner and Liszt — Volume 1, No. 65