Regarding the rehearsals of June 20th and 21st, I must add that Wagner changed everything he had arranged on the 19th. He went even further, altering the tempi in the orchestra, and at Brünnhilde’s line, “Live, woman, for love’s sake,” which he had wanted very slowly yesterday, he demanded a complete change. He was terribly excited, jumping around and stamping his feet so vigorously it made one feel afraid for him. The Valkyries, armed with heavy, large shields and spears, were drenched in sweat. Yesterday, Sieglinde had sung her difficult parts to his satisfaction: “Save me, brave one, save my child,” etc. But today, nothing was good enough for him. With a gesture of anger, he turned away from her and muttered angrily to himself; I had never seen him like that before.
Ms. Jachmann had summoned her younger colleagues for 4 o’clock. I had learned that she was staging the scene in the spirit of the master. Everything was turned upside down; I had been careful not to participate. Before the rehearsal began, I said something like this to the Valkyrie ladies: “Ladies, above all, you must avoid symmetrical postures, especially since, armed with shield and spear, your arm positions will appear very uniform. You must keep your eyes open at all times, even though you all have a difficult time singing.” I have noticed that some of you do not express your participation in this important scene with sufficient fervor. You allow yourselves to be distracted from your playing by the grandeur of the music and assume the role of a passive audience, forgetting that you are in the scene where you have an important role to play. Betz arrived with questions, and I immediately corrected the covering of Brünnhilde with the shield in the final scene. Wagner isn’t satisfied with Sieglinde either. Wagner stormed past me in a rage, whispering something of which I only caught the words: “Change, change, Scheffsky is dreadful!”
Yesterday, Dr. Baldamus from Cöthen visited me; he wanted to attend today’s rehearsal. He hoped to gain entry through his acquaintance with Hans Richter and Materna. I told him that this would not be possible, as we had already decided in a conference last year to strictly prohibit attendance at arrangement rehearsals, just as is customary at other theaters. We cannot expect the artists, given Wagner’s unpredictable nature and his unforgiving temper, to expose themselves to the eyes of laypeople and curious onlookers. It is also possible that accounts of such scenes might find their way into the tabloid press. As I had suspected, Baldamus was turned away by Hans Richter, and a letter he had written to Wagner through Anton Seidl could not possibly have reached the address immediately. After the rehearsal, I found him with his wife in front of the theater, and we went into town together. He told me a great deal about Coburg and how he had managed to reintroduce the starlings, which had been absent there for many years. Now, for the past two years, the nightingales have been nesting again. “Listen, Doctor,” said Wagner, “if you promise Wagner that nightingales will be singing in his garden in two years, I promise you that you may attend all the main rehearsals.”
Baldamus readily agreed, and I intend to tell Wagner about it at some point, since he had met Baldamus many years ago at the home of Herr von Behr in Cöthen. This story doesn’t really belong in the diary, but I’m sharing it to demonstrate how many such people came along, imagining that because they had shared a glass of wine with Wagner 20 years earlier, they couldn’t possibly lack the opportunity to have their request for admission to the performances granted.
Den Obergarderobier Ernst Fischer aus Koburg habe ich engagiert. Ich erzählte dem Meister, daß er ein tüchtiger Mensch sei. „Nun,“ meinte Wagner, „wenn er ein so tüchtiger Schneider ist, wie wir zwei, dann wird er seine Stellung schon ausfüllen.“