Richard WAGNER (1813-1883). L.A.S., Paris "16. Rue Newton. C - Lot 215

Richard WAGNER (1813-1883). L.A.S., Paris "16. Rue Newton. Champs Elysées" November 4, 1859, to Josef Tichatscheck [in Dresden]; 4 pages in-8 filled with small, tight handwriting; in German. Very beautiful, long letter to the famous tenor, creator of Rienzi and Tannhäuser, while Wagner takes refuge in Paris and considers him for Tristan, which he is in the process of completing. He is delighted by the services his friend renders him, and to feel him at his side, when so many friends have no idea of the enormous worries weighing down on him. Without Tichatscheck's support, he would succumb. Because of Tristan's delay, he has no means of supporting himself; and Gustave Roger [in charge of translating Tannhäuser's libretto] is working very slowly. Wagner anxiously awaited the 5,000-franc loan his friend was trying to obtain. He has tried everything to settle back in Germany, but has finally, reluctantly, had to settle in Paris, with an ailing wife; all he experiences are setbacks, delays and misfortunes. For example, he can expect nothing from Berlin, where the tenor Formes [who was to sing Lohengrin] has lost his voice and they have no other tenor at all. He goes on to talk about his struggles with German theaters to get paid decent fees: for example, in Wiesbaden for Rienzi, or in Munich and Stuttgart. As for Lüttichau (director of Dresden's Hoftheater), who paid sixty gold louis for Rienzi and Tannhäuser, Wagner thought he would pay at least the same for Lohengrin, and even that, knowing the great popularity of his operas, he would go as high as 100 gold louis; instead, this time he pays 10 gold louis less than for the previous operas, i.e. less than Munich and the smaller Stuttgart. But the fact that the King [Johann I of Saxony] has cancelled the debt on his advance changes the situation. Let Lüttichau now make an effort to get Wagner himself called to Dresden to play Tristan; if he succeeds, Wagner will not only forgive his avarice, but will not demand a penny either for Tristan or for his future works. But if Lüttichau doesn't succeed and one day wants to give a new Wagner opera without him, then he'll be surprised at what he'll have to pay for the score. It's too disgraceful the way these poor devils of authors are treated; in France, they laugh in his face at such a situation. Then Wagner turns to the Tristan project. If he were indeed allowed to come, he would accept this first performance even after a six-month delay. But he warned his beloved Tcheckel. The fact that the tenor still has such incredible strength and freshness in his organ at his age [52] is a unique miracle of nature; but such a strange gift must be appreciated and used with care. If he stops singing once, that's it for everything: Tristan, for example, won't be finished for a long time. Le Pardon de Ploërmel can certainly still be sung after him. But it would be a sacrilegious temptation of nature to waste six wonderfully precious months, and to put off the most difficult and lofty tasks of art, leaving them to chance. Wagner hoped to find his friend just as lively in six months' time! But after half a year, he'll have to be all his own for many more half and whole years... Let him reflect and ask himself whether it wouldn't be better, supposing Wagner were allowed to come, to do Tristan sooner, perhaps as soon as possible, instead of wasting precious time in vain... "Mein lieber Freund! Wie wichtig auch die Dienste sind, die Du mir jetzt leistest, so glaub' doch, dass die herzliche Freude und der liebenswürdige Eifer, mit dem Du mir zur Seite stehst, an sich selbst mich noch mehr beglücken! Ich bin erstaunt, wie stumpfsinnig und gedankenlos die meisten meiner Freunde sind, die sich durchaus nicht einbilden zu können scheinen, welchen Zufällen meine Lage fortwährend ausgesetzt bleibt, welch' zerrüttenden Sorgen ich oft preisgegeben bin, und wie sehr mein Geist belastet ist, der doch nur dann schaffen und der Welt etwas sein kann, wenn er frei und klar ist. So versichere ich Dir denn, wenn Du mir jetzt nicht vollends zu helfen vermagst, dass ich dann wirklich erliegen zu müssen glaube. [...] For the end of the card, see the PDF of the catalog.