Saturday, April 10:
Left at 9:30. R. meets me at the station in Leipzig, is fortunately looking very well, but says that whenever I go away he falls ill. Saw and spoke to Sascha Ritter; his son is coming to us. Klara Wolfram’s daughters are also coming.
Went to the theater in the evening: Schumann’s Genoveva. Utter dismay over the vulgarity and crudeness of this work; R. remembers having advised Schumann at least to let Siegfried see the pictures before he receives the letter, but Schumann did not want that, in order to end the act “more effectively.” The music full of Meyerbeerisms, Marschner, even Reissiger. The overture begins well, but the allegro theme immediately destroys the mood. Terrible! And on top of that an audience attracted only by the vulgarity, and happy to find it in a “classical” work! “When someone from Zwickau starts being vulgar,” R. says. But one cannot say anything to anybody about it. And besides, the clumsy use of the orchestra, which wearies one to death.
(Sent Loldi a telegram.) R. remembers having once, with Minna, visited Nathalie here in an institute of the Moravian Brethren; Gnadauer pretzels remind him of it. At 4 o’clock in Hanover, where I am writing this.
At 7 in the evening a performance of Lohengrin, unfortunately not good, the tenor William Müller making a pleasant impression with his voice at the start, but in the course of the work becoming sugary and absurd; costumes, scenery, tempi terrible; discussed my impression at length afterward with R. — Genoveva done so well, Lohengrin so badly. (The audience very enthusiastic.)