At the theatre, the young Brandt told me that it was impossible to begin the swimming rehearsals on Tuesday. I said to him: “Then please be so kind as to tell the Master yourself. I am not brave enough, and it is not my job to do so.” I stayed until 12½ hours at the theater to study the swimming machines. What fear and concern crept upon me I will not say. The scaffolding in the auditorium is beginning to disappear, the ceiling is finished, and half of it can already be seen. I found Fischer’s brother, the royal master engineer at the railway, in the machine house, where they had installed an old locomotive to produce steam for the theater; in the afternoon, the first attempt will be made. Later on, we will visit the restoration building, where the inauguration will take place this afternoon.
In the afternoon, Unger picked me up. By six o’clock, about 40 people had gathered and taken their places at the table, friends of the Wagner family. Wagner, in the best mood, offered the first toast to the entrepreneurs of the restoration building, Mayor Muncker to the birthday celebrant, and one Herr Assessor Braun to Cosima.
The celebration lasted until 8½ o’clock and was a great feast for everyone. The company mingled easily, the conversation never stalled, and spirits were loosened by the champagne. Lights were brought in and—since all the lighting fixtures were still missing—champagne bottles were used as candlesticks.
The ladies left; Frau Cosima, together with the children, and Frau von Staff-Reitzenstein went home earlier. Groups now formed. Mottl, the already mentioned young music director from Vienna, arrived. I soon spoke with him, and he told me much about Vienna. He knows Lorchen Pauli’s father in the Vienna Opera Orchestra; his admiration for Wagner goes so far that he wears a tailcoat in the orchestra whenever Wagner is performed.