Cosima's Diaries

Diary Entry of July 5, 1873

Overview

The main emotional event is the first full sight of the great theater scaffolding and auditorium at the Burgerreuth. What had existed only as an idea now appears overwhelming and almost grave-like, inspiring a fear that is hard to name. The day remains outwardly pleasant, but beneath the cheerful supper there is a sense of awe at the scale and audacity of what is being built.

Content

Saturday, July 5:

Richard is not at all well and had a bad night; but he works a little. In the afternoon, to the sitting, from there via the theater to the Bürgerreuth.

A feeling of fear, which I cannot describe, overcomes me when I see the giant scaffolding and the wide auditorium! As long as it was all just an idea inside us, I was not alarmed by its remoteness from reality, but now, taking shape in front of our eyes, it frightens me with its boldness, and it all looks to me like a grave (the Pyramids!). I keep my feelings to myself, and we eat our supper gaily in the Bürgerreuth before returning home to bed.