Encouraged by the success of a series of concerts he had given in Russia, he spent his money recklessly in Vienna, and borrowed more, at usurious rates, because he had been invited for another tour in Russia. Through no fault of his own, this came to naught, and he had to fly from Vienna to escape a debtor’s prison. First he went to Switzerland, then to Stuttgart. In a moment of despair he had bought a pistol to end his life; but better counsel prevailed, and he decided to hide in the Swabian Alps, there to complete the score of his comic opera. The wagon had already been ordered, and he was packing his trunk, when a card was brought up with the name of Baron Pfistenmeister, court secretary of the king of Bavaria.
SIEGFRIED AND FAFNER THE DRAGON. From the painting by Hermann Hendrich
Ludwig II had but recently ascended the throne of Bavaria. He was very young, and very enthusiastic over Wagner’s operas. He knew that the great composer needed help, and one of his first actions was to send his secretary to find him. He was promptly brought to Munich, where he was enabled to live in luxury at the king’s expense. Not only were his operas staged at once, but also two of his music-dramas,—“Tristan and Isolde” and “Die Meistersinger.”
He now returned to his “Siegfried,” which, with tears in his eyes, he had abandoned in the middle of the second act. His plan was to complete this and “Götterdämmerung,” and then have the whole “Ring” staged in a new theater to be specially constructed in Munich. The king cordially approved this plan; but the courtiers and the populace, jealous of the great composer because of the influence he had on the king, made such a row over it that Wagner left the city to complete his work elsewhere.
BAYREUTH AND THE FIRST FESTIVAL
AMALIA MATERNA
Famous dramatic soprano who created the role of Brünnhilde in the original performance at Bayreuth
