13 - 1876: Bayreuth and the premiere of Wagner’s Ring

Summary

As I have already mentioned, on August 15, [1876], I was in Bayreuth with Baron d’Erlanger for the premiere of the Tetralogy. D’Erlanger had been Richard Wagner's banker, and the latter was not very keen on his presence, which reminded him of this. During the performance we saw Wagner at the entrance to the orchestra seats, but we did not go to Wahnfried. On the day of the Tetralogy's premiere, I noticed that the hall, although of trapezoidal shape [in its seating area], is absolutely square with a large royal box at the back. Kaiser Wilhelm I was surrounded by a number of princes, but not King Ludwig II of Bavaria. He had attended the rehearsal the day before, but had refused to meet the German Emperor who had unified Germany and thus confiscated his State. Very few French people were noticed at this premiere.

Mme Amalie Materna [in the role of Brünnhilde], magnificent on her black mare, descended from the flies above the stage as a consummate horsewoman, without showing any fear. The hall was obviously very clear as far as the acoustics were concerned, as is the case with any rectangular hall. But the orchestra in the low pit caused some disappointment. I remember that the dazzling “Ride of the Walkyries” in Act III did not seem to me any more sonorous than the Prelude to Act III of [Léo Delibes’s] ballet Sylvia, which had just been staged at the Opéra and in which a horn call is somewhat reminiscent of Wagner's famous theme. The Bayreuth performances took place in the afternoon, as everyone knows, and during the intermissions we strolled in the garden surrounding Wagner's theatre. I left the day after the last performance and returned to France via Switzerland, joining my family near Lyon.