Category: Diary Richard Fricke

Yesterday's performance of "Götterdämmerung." So much sweat and anxiety! The final scene was utterly unacceptable! The criticism I had to endure – the direction was torn to shreds! Brandt's performance was widely attacked. I had to remain silent; some of it was, unfortunately, all too true. And despite everything, the…

Betz had recovered his strength and sang as usual. During the intermission, I spoke to the Duke and the director; they were delighted with "Siegfried," and Normann instructed me to persuade Wagner to grant us "Siegfried" for Dessau. Last night I celebrated a reunion after 25 years with Professor Krigar…

No performance today! Betz is hoarse. What's going to happen? The whole thing is falling apart. The ticket holders only rented for specific days; with the start of the second performance, other guests will arrive. I was glad to have a day off and accepted an invitation to go to…

A hot day! The Emperor with his entourage, the Grand Duke of Weimar, the Duke and the Hereditary Prince of Anhalt visited the theater yesterday morning. The old Emperor soothed Brandt's misfortune over the errors in Das Rheingold during the transformations, which had so agitated Brandt that he was beside…

Two most interesting days have passed. What a crowd of people in their formal attire thronged the streets as early as Saturday noon! I didn't put on my formal dress, as Feustel had previously planned, to form a guard of honor at the train station. Instead, I plunged into the…

Today was a rest day; I slept in very late and then drove to Berneck with colleagues. Although it was a hot day, we climbed around the mountains and ruins of Berneck and then ate like there was no tomorrow: soup, crayfish, trout, and roast duck.

Final rehearsal, Götterdämmerung. With great difficulty, as they say, and for me amidst sweat and anxiety, the rehearsal ended between 5 and 11:15. The final scene went miserably and will likely be a fiasco unless Brandt pulls out all the stops and some fortunate circumstances intervene. I am deeply concerned…

At 10:30 I went to Wagner's. He received me extremely agitated, but also joyfully moved. We went into the dining room and drank a glass of wine. He looked at me and drummed his fingers against his forehead. — What was going through the master's mind? He gradually recovered. I…

The king had arrived during the night. From Bayreuth he went directly to the Eremitage. Wagner had been waiting for him at the station, traveled with him, and stayed with him until 3 a.m. without any court officials.  This morning, the city, adorned in its finest, saw the top officials…