Wednesday, December 11:
At last R. had a good night again, thanks to our quiet evening. We walk in the morning through the town, visit the beautiful cathedral, recalling the terrible events which drove the poor people to gather inside it. The tomb of Otto the Great sets us talking about the great emperors; R. summarizes the merit of the present one by saying he has enabled a great man to stay at his side and bring to fruition a great deed which could only be achieved through legitimate power.
At three o'clock arrival in Dessau; met by the conductor Thiele, who was R.'s predecessor in Magdeburg. At 6 o'clock to the theater, a very handsome and elegant auditorium. The manager, Herr von Normann, receives us very charmingly. The performance begins with the Prelude to Die Meistersinger, at the end of which the curtain rises to disclose a tableau vivant, "The Crowning of Hans Sachs"; it touches us deeply. Since part of his company is absent through illness, the ingenious manager seized on this expedient, and with it achieved the finest of effects.
However, it was the performance of Orfeo which revealed to us all the worth of this remarkable man; splendid the first act with the chorus, the second no less so, and, if there were a few mistakes in the Elysian fields, they did not prove at all disturbing. The first really artistic impression from our whole journey! We return home deeply affected by this unexpected discovery, amazed that more is not known about the intelligent management of this theater.