I very much regret having let myself be lured here. What would I not give to have followed my instincts and stayed quietly at work in Zurich! In the first place they have got me here much too soon. Since the day before yesterday I have been in this mean hole to no purpose whatever, and the weather is for the most part bad into the bargain. The actual rehearsal is not till to-morrow, as most of the musicians only arrive to-day. But it is not even a genuine Federal Musical Festival at all, only one for this neighbourhood. They will be happy if they get an audience of 500. A poor orchestra has been scraped together in a small church; the whole thing is as wretched as can be. About 35 musicians are coming; the rest are a mere rabble whom it would be better not to let play at all. In short, in this pickle I feel as if I had to play Kapellmeister at a country fair, and I have a very good mind to abscond. I shall presently hear to-day how it sounds in the church. If the echo is too great and if the orchestra sounds as confused and indistinct as I fear it will, I shall hand over the whole kettle of fish to Herr Methfessel, who will lick his chops over it, and come away. It is pure impudence to expect me to handle such rubbish.
Richard Wagner
Source: Letters of Richard Wagner, Volume 1, ed. Altmann/Hull (London: Dent, 1927), No. 265