Ludwig and Richard Wagner--The King's Visit to Bayreuth
As long as Richard Wagner had lived in Munich it had only been
necessary for him to express a wish with regard to the performance
of his works, for the King at once to fulfil it. After his
departure he had at first in Hans von Bülow a substitute whom he
could safely trust. But when he too left Bavaria the matter grew
more difficult. Baron von Perfall became the manager of the Hof
Theater. Although he made a positive culte of Wagner's works, and
during his tenure of the office, which lasted for twenty-five years,
performed his operas 742 times, the old order of things was changed
during his leadership.
On the 25th of June 1868, the day after the dress rehearsal of Die
Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Perfall received a letter from Wagner
in which he announced his intention of "retiring from all connection
with the Hof Theater." Almost simultaneously Ludwig and Wagner were
seen side by side for the last time in Munich. It was at the first
performance of the Meistersinger. The representation was brilliant,
Hans von Bülow conducting with energy, and entirely in the master's
spirit. The King sat in his great box. He caused Wagner to be summoned
to it.
The composer was enthusiastically recalled after the first act,
but did not appear on the stage because he had been unable to find
his way thither from the royal box. The performance was proceeded
with, and at its conclusion the applause broke forth with redoubled
vigour. Wagner, who was sitting by the King's side, rose and bowed
to the public from the Kaiserloge, an act which occasioned much
annoyance. The unfavourable criticism which his friendship for the
poet-musician was always calling forth had an unfortunate influence
on Ludwig's mental condition, as well as greatly wounding his pride.
Wagner, who had visited Bayreuth in his youth, had preserved a pleasant
impression of this town, situated so far from the noise of industry
and the distracting influences of the outer world. Returning thither
in 1871, a warm friendship sprang up between him and its inhabitants,
who wished to keep him in their midst. The Margrave's large theatre
had for many years been unused. He agreed with the leading men of
the town to take this house, although it was hardly suitable for his
purpose. The inhabitants now offered him a building site which must in
every way have been attractive to him. His scheme of raising a temple
of art in the little town amid the Bavarian mountains was received
with delight by his adherents and friends, who did all in their power
to support the undertaking. Ludwig also stood by his side, a loyal
helper, during the struggle which ensued before his theatre was finally
complete. The foundation-stone was laid in 1872. The King telegraphed:
"From my inmost soul I express to you, my dearest friend, my warmest
and sincerest congratulations on the occasion of this day, which is
of import to the whole of Germany. Success and blessing accompany
the great work! I am to-day more than ever with you in thought."
Richard Wagner's letters to Emil Heckel give an insight into the
immense difficulties which he and his admirers had to overcome. There
was in 1873 a money crisis extending over the whole of Germany and
Austria. Banks which had promised credit were unable to meet their
promises, and this delayed the realisation of his scheme. He had
always calculated upon the King's assistance. On the 16th of January
he wrote to Heckel that he had requested "his ever-generous protector"
to guarantee a loan, but that the latter, for some reason unknown
to him, had refused his assistance.--A German poet had written an
eulogistic ode in Ludwig's honour and had requested Wagner to set it
to music, but the latter, unaware that the King knew the poem, had
coldly refused to do this. Ludwig had been offended. He could not,
however, long be angry with his friend; already in February in the
same year he gave the desired security. The first "Niebelungen-cycle"
was given in Bayreuth from the 13th to the 30th of August 1876. It
was repeated three times before an enthusiastic audience, among whom
were the Emperor of Germany, the Grand Dukes of Weimar and Baden,
the Emperor of Brazil, the Grand Duke Constantine of Russia, and many
other royal personages, as well as literary and artistic celebrities
from all countries.
The King of Bavaria, who was seldom present at anything but separate
performances, determined to visit Bayreuth, despite the fact that
this would necessitate his appearing in public. He drove direct from
Chiemsee to his hunting-box outside the town. Only Wagner was there
to receive him. He met his old friend with warmth, and bade him seat
himself beside him in the carriage. Although he made a detour each
evening in order to avoid the crowd, he was, both inside and outside
the theatre, the object of enthusiastic ovations. He endeavoured to
avoid them, but again and again had to come to the front of his box
and bow his acknowledgments. He looked ill and depressed. Wagner was
the only person with whom he conversed, but he paid no visit to his
private residence, and he left Bayreuth unattended and as quietly as
he had come.
The German, French, and English press took up a cool attitude with
regard to the festival. It could not be denied that it had been
great and successful, but it was said that the "Ring" was long. The
performances showed a deficit of 16,000 marks.
The poet-musician was in the greatest straits for money. His friends
advised him again to address himself to the King. It was his opinion,
however, that he had already taken greater advantage of his protector's
generosity than he ought to have done. As he saw no other way of paying
his debts, he sold the "Ring," on which he had worked for nearly
thirty years, and which the theatre at Bayreuth had been built for,
to a theatre agent. Hard as the sale must have been to him, it helped
him over his difficulties. The "Ring" made a triumphal progress across
the chief stages of Germany. Divergent art tendencies were agreed in
admiration of his work, and his name shone with greater lustre than
before. Since that time enthusiastic hosts of listeners have made
pilgrimages from all parts of Europe and America to the little town,
to do homage to the great poet-composer and his works.
With the lapse of years Ludwig's admiration for his person had somewhat
cooled, and during the visits to Bayreuth no trace had been visible of
his earlier enthusiastic attachment. But if the friendship no longer
had the warmth of youth it was by no means dead. In the year 1879
Wagner wrote to Emil Heckel of a "kind letter which the King had sent
him." The master's works had taken deep root in the King's mind. In
1881 he became the patron of the Bayreuth festival. He ordered that
the orchestra and chorus of the Hof Theater should be for two months
in the year at the disposal of Richard Wagner. In 1882, when Parsifal
was given for the first time, he expressed a wish for a private
performance at which he could be present unnoticed. He changed his
mind, however, at the last moment, perhaps because the German Crown
Prince was to be among the audience. Some time afterwards Parsifal
was played in Munich, with the assistance of the same artists who had
sung at Bayreuth. After the first rehearsals of this opera had taken
place Wagner wrote a treatise in letter form on his person and works,
which he sent to Ludwig. It began with the following words:--
"I will not write another note. My work is complete! I have
successfully and victoriously accomplished my mission, despite the
hostile onrush of a world of opponents." This was one of the last
letters from the composer-poet to this King, who had been to him more
than a friend.
The poet-musician used every year to visit Munich, where his
protector received him with unchanged kindness. In 1882 he came
thither for the last time. He requested as usual an audience of the
King, but Ludwig begged to be excused from receiving him, as he was
indisposed. On the 13th of February, 1883, Richard Wagner died at
Venice. Five thousand telegrams were sent to all parts of the world
to announce the ill tidings. One of the first came to Ludwig. He
violently reproached himself for not having received him. One of his
aides-de-camp went on his behalf to Venice to lay a wreath of Alpine
roses on the composer's coffin. A special train brought the deceased,
his widow, and a number of friends to Bayreuth. At the frontier the
King's secretary was waiting to accompany the coffin and show the
last honour to the poet-musician.
Music, which before had been Ludwig's greatest joy, was from this time
forth not permitted at any of his castles, because it so painfully
reminded him of the friend of his youth. All the pianos on which he
had played were draped with crape. The dead man's works still had
such an effect on him that after every performance of Parsifal he
caused a Mass to be said in his castle. And after the King's death,
busts, portraits, and other mementos of Richard Wagner were found
everywhere in his favourite rooms.