Page:A Dictionary of Music and Musicians vol 4.djvu/379

WAGNER. steadily. Early in 1869 the instrumentation of the third Act of Siegfried was completed, and the composition of the Vorspiel and first Act of Götterdämmerung finished, June 1870.

Aug. 25, 1870, is the date of Wagner's marriage to Cosima von Bülow née Liszt; his first wife, Minna Wagner, having died Jan. 25, 1866; after close upon 25 years of married life she had retired to Dresden in 1861.

1869 he published 'Ueber das Dirigiren' in the Neue Zeitschrift fur Musik. 'Beethoven' appeared in September 1870, during the Franco-Prussian War. The King's plan to build a special theatre for the Nibelungen Ring at Munich being abandoned, Wagner fixed upon Bayreuth.

(1872). The municipality of this little Franconian town did its best to further Wagner's objects; he left Triebschen and settled there in April, and on his 60th birthday May 22, 1872, he was able to celebrate the foundation of his theatre with a magnificent performance of Beethoven's Choral Symphony and his own Kaisermarsch. A large portion of the funds was got together by private subscription. The sum originally estimated, 300,000 thalers (£45,000), was to be raised in accordance with Carl Tausig's plan upon 1000 'Patronatsscheine,' i.e. 1000 certificates of patronage, each entitling the holder to a seat at the three complete performances contemplated. [See, vol. iv. p. 64.] A considerable number of these were taken up before Tausig's death; then Emil Heckel of Mannheim suggested 'Wagner Societies,' and started one himself. It appeared at once that all over Germany there were numbers of people who were ready to contribute their share of work and money, but to whom individually the 300 thalers asked for by Tausig would have been impossible. Societies sprang up on all sides—not only in German towns, but in the most unexpected quarters—St. Petersburg, Warsaw, New York, Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris, Stockholm, Cairo, Milan, London, etc.

In connection with the efforts of the societies, Wagner conducted concerts at Mannheim, Vienna, Hamburg, Schwerin, Berlin, Cologne, etc. In Nov. 1874 the instrumentation of Götterdämmerung was completed; and preliminary rehearsals with the vocalists had already produced satisfactory results. The ensemble rehearsals, with full orchestra, in the summer of 1875 under Hans Richter (Wagner always present) left no doubt as to the possibility of a performance in exact accordance with the master's intentions. The scenery and stage-machinery promised well, and the effects of sonority in the auditorium proved excellent.

It had at first been a matter of some doubt whether the invisible orchestra would answer for the more subtle effects of orchestration; but it turned out eventually that all details were perfectly audible; and, moreover, that certain shortcomings of our customary orchestra-arrangements had been removed. Flutes, oboes, clarinets, and bassoons were heard more distinctly, and the explosive blare which ordinarily seems inseparable from a sudden forte of trumpets and trombones, was less apparent. It may be well here to record the disposition of the Nibelungen orchestra:—conductor (quite invisible from the auditorium) facing the orchestra and the stage; to left of him, 1st violins; to right, 2nd violins; violas near violins; violoncellos and basses flanking to left and right; in the middle of the orchestra, somewhat nearer the stage, the wood-winds; behind these again, partially under the stage, the brass and percussion instruments. Total, exclusive of conductor, 114.

A notion of the auditorium may be gained by fancying a wedge, the thin end of which is supposed to touch the back of the stage, the thick end the back of the auditorium; the seats arranged in a slight curve, each row further from the stage raised a little above the one in front of it, and the several seats so placed that every person seated can look at the stage between the heads of two persons before him; all seats directly facing the stage; no side boxes or side galleries, no prompter's box. Total number of seats 1,500; a little over 1,000 for the patrons, the rest, about 500, for distribution gratis to young musicians, etc.

In November and December 1875 Wagner superintended rehearsals of Tannhäuser and Lohengrin at Vienna, which were performed, 'without cuts,' on Nov. 22 and Dec. 15. Tristan also under his supervision, was given at Berlin on March 20, 1876.

At last, 28 years after its first conception—on Aug. 13, 14, 16, 17, again from 20–23, and from 27–30, 1876—Der Ring des Nibelungen was performed entire at Bayreuth. Wotan, Betz; Loge, Vogel; Alberich, Hill; Mime, Schlosser; Fricka, Frau Grün; Donner and Gunther, Gura; Erda and Waltraute, Frau Jaïde; Siegmund, Niemann; Sieglinde, Frl. Schefzky; Brünnhilde, Frau Materna; Siegfried, Unger; Hagen, Siehr; Gutrune, Frl. Weckerlin; Rheintöchter, Frl. Lili and Marie Lehman and Frl. Lammert. Leader of strings, Wilhelmj; Conductor, Hans Richter. From a musical point of view the performances were correct throughout—in many instances of surpassing excellence; sundry short-comings on the stage were owing more to want of money than to anything else. In spite of the sacrifices readily made by each and all of the artists concerned, there was a heavy deficit, £7500, the responsibility for which pressed upon Wagner. He had hoped to be able to repeat the performances in the following summer; this proved impossible, and his efforts to discharge the debts of the theatre failed for the most part. The largest of these efforts, the so-called Wagner Festival at the Albert Hall in London, 1877, came near to involving him in further difficulties.

, May 1877. Herr Wilhelmj believed that a series of concerts on a large scale under Wagner's personal supervision would pay; but the sequel proved all too clearly that