Synopsis Lohengrin
Wagner en Lohengrin
Graalsvertelling Deel 2
Voorspel tot Lohengrin
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Richard Wagner on Lohengrin
Quotes from 'My Life'
1841
end of the year - first encounter with Lohengrin
1845 - summer in Bohemia (1)
1845 - summer in Bohemia (2)
1846 - Lohengrin poem completed
1846 - argument about Lohengrin
1846 - in Dresden, act 3 of Lohengrin
1847 summer - composing of Lohengrin completed
1848 february - death of mother
1850 april - Chez Homo (alone in Paris)
1850 august in Switzerland (Liszt conducts Uraufführung
Lohengrin in Weimar)
1853 may - in Zürich, the three-day music
festival
1860 march - brief trip to Antwerp
1860 in Vienna - Richard Wagner sees Lohengrin for
the first time
1862 Lohengrin in Karlsruhe "No cuts"
1862 Lohengrin in Wiesbaden
1862 september, Lohengrin in Frankfurt
1841 end of the year - first encounter with
Lohengrin
In the same volume (annual proceedings of the Königsberg Germanic
Society) I also found a piece of criticism about the poem of Lohengrin,
together with a lengthy narrative of the principle contents of this
rambling epic. This was a completely new world for me, and for the
moment I was unable to find the form in which to master the Lohengrin
material; yet the image lived inextinguishably within me from then on,
so that when I later became acquainted with various ramifications of the
Lohengrin legend, I could visualize it with a clarity equal to that of
my picture of Tannhäuser when I first began to think about that
subject.
1845 - summer in Bohemia (1)
Lohengrin, the first conception of which dates from the latter part of
my time in Paris, stood suddenly revealed before me in full armour at
the center of a comprehensive dramatic adaptation of the whole material.
Among all the many strands in the complex of myths that I was studying
at this time, it was the legend of the Knight of the Swan, occupying
such a significant position in their midst, which now stimulated my
fantasy inordinately.
1845 - summer in Bohemia (2)
No sooner had I stepped into my noonday bath than I was seized by such
desire to write Lohengrin that, incapable of lingering in the bath for
the prescribed hour, I leapt out after only a few minutes, scarcely took
the time to clothe myself again properly, and ran like a madman to my
quarters to put what was obsessing me on paper. This went on for several
days, until the entire dramatic plan for Lohengrin had been set down in
full detail.
1846 - Lohengrin poem completed
Just a few weeks after these performances (Tannhäuser) I had completed
the poem for Lohengrin. As early as November I read this poem to my
close friends, and shortly afterwards to Hiller's circle as well. It was
praised and deemed 'effective'. Schumann also liked it, yet couldn't
find any passages suitable for traditional musical numbers. I then had
some fun reading him different parts of my poem just as if they were in
aria and cavatina form, so that in the end he smilingly conceded the
point.
1846 - argument about Lohengrin
Serious reflection aroused some deeper reservations about the nature of
the tragic material itself, as suggested delicately and thoughtfully to
me by Franck. He considered the punishment of Elsa by Lohengrin's
departure unseemly: he understood perfectly well that it was precisely
the most characteristic element in the legend that was expressed in this
highly poetic event, but he doubted whether it did full justice to the
sense of tragedy when allowance was also made for dramatic realism. He
would have preferred to see Lohengrin die before our eyes as a result of
Elsa's betrayal. At any rate, as this did not seem permissable, he
wanted to see him riveted to the spot by some powerful motivating force
and prevented from leaving.
As I naturally wouldn't even think of such a thing, I nevertheless began
considering whether the cruel seperation could not be eliminated, while
still retaining Lohengrin's indispensable departure for distant realms.
I tried to find a means of permitting Elsa to depart with him, to do
some sort of penance which would require her too to withdraw from the
world; this struck my friends as more hopeful. While I was languishing
in uncertainty about this, I gave my poem to Frau von Lüttichau for
perusal and for consideration of the objections Franck had raised. In a
little note expressing her delight with my poem, she stated flatly on
this particular matter that Franck had to be utterly devoid of poetic
sense if he thought Lohengrin could end in any other way than my text
depicted, thus Lohengrin remained the way it had been.
1846 - in Dresden, act 3 of Lohengrin
To fortify myself, my only recourse was to resume work on Lohengrin. In
so doing, I adopted a course of action I was never to repeat: I
completed the third act first, a procedure dictated by the
aforementioned critcism of the dramatic character of this act and its
close, which had made me determined to establish the act, to my own
complete satisfaction, as the core of the whole work, if only for the
sake of the musical material of the Grail narration.
1847 summer - composing of Lohengrin completed
All this (study of Greek and German mythology) was growing and ripening
in me while I was finishing, in true transports of joy, the first two
acts of Lohengrin, and the last to be completed. As I thus proceeded
backwards to finish my opera and looked forwards into the new world I
was fabricating for myself, my health and my frame of mind improved to
such an extent that I became so merry I could even forget all the
difficulties of my situation for a lengthy period.
1848 february - death of mother
Early that February I received word of my mother's death. I rushed to
Leipzig to her funeral and was deeply moved to behold the wonderfully
peaceful and sweet expression on the countenance of the deceased. It was
a bitingly cold morning when we lowered the casket into the grave in the
churchyard; the frozen clumps of earth, which we scattered on the lid of
the casket instead of the customary handfuls of loose soil, frightened
me by their ferocious clatter. On the short trip back to Dresden the
realization of my complete loneliness came over me for the first time
with full clarity, as I could not help recognizing that the death of my
mother had severed all the natural ties with my family, whose members
were all preoccupied with their own special affairs. So I went coldly
and gloomily about the sole task that could warm and cheer me: the
orchestration of my Lohengrin and my studies of German antiquity.
1850 april - Chez Homo (alone in Paris)
The old creative instinct bestirred itself; I leafed through my
Lohengrin score and quickly decided to send it to Liszt,and leave it to
him to find a way to get it performed, as best as he could.
1850 august in Switzerland (Liszt conducts Uraufführung
Lohengrin in Weimar)
We (Richard and Minna) spent the evening of August 28th, on which the
first performance of Lohengrin was given in Weimar, in Lucerne in the
Swan tavern, watching the clock and closely following the hour of its
beginning and presumed end. But there were always some elements of worry,
discomfort, and irritation whenever I tried to spend such pleasantly
animated hours in the company of my wife. The reports I got as to the
initial performance were, moreover, not such as to afford me any clear
and reassuring picture of it. Karl Ritter soon came back to Zürich; he
told me in particular about scenic deficiencies in the performance, as
well as of a highly unfortunate casting of the title role, yet on the
whole of a succesful outcome.
1853 may - in Zürich, the three-day music
festival
These three evening concerts were especially moving for me, for it was
the first time I had been able to perform anything from my Lohengrin and
thus gain an impression of the effect of my instrumentation of the
prelude to this work.
1860 march - brief trip to Antwerp
I contented myself with a tour of its (Antwerp) external sights, which
seemed to offer less of antiquarian interest than I had expected. I was
especially disconcerted at the placement of my famous citadel. In
conceiving the scene for the first act of my Lohengrin, I had assumed
that this citadel, which I envisioned as the old castle of Antwerp,
would necessarily, be a prominent sight when beheld from beyond the
Scheldt; instead, nothing could be seen except a flat and unremarkable
plain, with fortifications dug into the ground. After this, whenever I
saw Lohengrin I usually had to smile at the scene-painter's castle,
perched high in the background on top of a stately hill.
1860 in Vienna - Richard Wagner sees Lohengrin for
the first time
It was here (Vienna) I first heard my Lohengrin performed on the stage.
Although the opera had already been given very frequently, the whole
ensemble got together for the complete rehearsal I had requested. The
orchestra immediately played the prelude with such beauty and warmth,
and the voices of the singers and their good qualities were displayed to
such good advantage in the performance of a work they already knew well
that, overcome by these impressions, I lost all inclination to criticize
any aspect of the production.
The performance of Lohengrin I attended turned into one of those
unending and fervent ovations such as I have only experienced at the
hands of the Viennese public.
1862 Lohengrin in Karlsruhe "No cuts"
In accordance with the instructions received from the Grand Duke, Eduard
Devrient now approached me with regard to the production of Lohengrin in
Karlsruhe under my direction. The arrogant and downright angry tone of
the reproach contained in this letter to me concerning my desire to have
Lohengrin performed without cuts was admirably calculated to open my
eyes about the person I had once so blindly esteemed. I notified him at
once of my anger about this and my decision to have nothing to do with
Lohengrin in Karlsruhe.
1862 Lohengrin in Wiesbaden
The visit we (Richard Wagner, Hans and Cosima von Bülow) paid together
to Wiesbaden for a performance of Lohengrin turned out less happily.
After we had been quite well satisfied and put into a good mood by the
first act, the production lapsed throughout the rest of the work into
such infuriating distortion as I had not believed possible; I left the
theatre in a rage before the performance was over, while Hans remained
in martyrdom to the end at Cosima's behest in order to preserve
appearances, though both were no less angry than I.
1862 september, Lohengrin in Frankfurt
At the end of September I went to Frankfurt for a week to take command
of the rehearsels for Lohengrin. Here again I went through the same
experience as so often before: after the first contact with the company
I was ready to give up the whole undertaking immediately; but the
general consternation and the entreaties to persevere had their effect,
and I succumbed to their influence until I finally began to take
interest in the effect to be achieved by an uncut performance, correct
tempi, as well as proper scenic direction, and tried to ignore the
miserable singers. Yet Friederike Meyer was probably the only one who
felt this effect to the full; the public was as "animated" as
usual, but I was told later that the subsequent performances directed by
Herr Ignaz Lachner, who was held in the highest esteem in Frankfurt and
was un utterly wretched and incompetent conductor, fell off so badly in
their effect that, in order to keep the opera on the boards, the old
butchery had to be resumed.
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