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 himself, shouting his commands so loudly that they could be heard in the auditorium. (Where is the illusion then!) He was now quite happy, he said: “The Emperor, in his well-known amiability, has lifted my spirits again.”
Yesterday’s performance of Die Walküre went quite well, although Niemann wasn’t quite in his voice. The Valkyries’ ensemble (eight in total) were met with thunderous applause. Calls for acclaim were forbidden by public notice from Wagner. The performance lasted from 4:25 p.m. to 9:50 p.m. After the first act, I spoke to our director von Normann. He had preferred some parts of Das Rheingold in Munich, but liked others here. He was annoyed by the opinions he had already had to hear in such a short time. He called it appalling and said that, on the whole, no theater today could stage something like this so perfectly.
After the second act, I went outside again to get some fresh air. I spoke with our Duke and the Hereditary Prince about the Rheingold performance. He was very friendly and affectionate. I had quite a bit to tell him. After the performance, I dined with Scholz; I was introduced to the poet Bodenstedt. I sat with Adolf Menzel, a friend of Wagner’s, without knowing that he was the great master. I had imagined him quite differently; he is almost a head shorter than me. Scholz, whom I later asked about him, was surprised: “I thought you knew him; I could have introduced you!”
As fate would have it, Wagner arrived just as Scholz was speaking to me. Scholz asked me something, and Wagner overheard Scholz addressing me informally: “No, that Fricke! He’s known to everyone.”
The Emperor had supper at the theater and went straight to the train station to continue his journey at 11:30. After the first act, he summoned Wagner.