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 had to go with him to the city, and then he told me about the king. This morning, at the earliest hour, he had received a letter of thanks, describing the king to me in the most endearing light, so that I am completely reconciled with this eccentric. He clings to the master with almost childlike adoration.
Arriving at the Eremitage after the Valkyrie rehearsal, he strolled in the park with his entourage and sang. Then he ordered the waterworks to be illuminated with Bengal lights. The following morning, he received the top officials, including the mayor, and personally thanked them for the reception. After the first act of Die Walküre, in which Niemann commanded the stage magnificently, Wagner came onto the stage (from the king’s box) and was so moved that his voice failed him; sobbing, he clung to Niemann’s chest. Tears welled up in all our eyes. Before the second act began, Wagner went to the orchestra and thanked them, his voice choked with tears. The king had ordered a full house for Die Walküre, and free tickets were distributed. Some 1,300 to 1,400 people were in the theater, listening to Wagner’s address to the musicians, and at the end, the first thunderous applause erupted.
Yesterday, free admission to Siegfried was revoked. The rush for tickets had caused terrible chaos in Bayreuth. Now, a ticket costs 20 marks. The free tickets had been grossly misused; they had been sold at exorbitant prices.