Tuesday, April 20:
First real rehearsal; Herr Bilse makes a speech, and the orchestra seems to be ashamed of itself. As usual there were a few very conscientious people present among them to remind the others of their duty. It goes well from the start; R. jokes and teases the people about their Day of Repentance. He is not too tired at the end.
We drive home and have lunch; R. takes a rest and then goes for a walk, sees “spring, wrapped in canvas, entering Berlin,” that is to say, large dinner; mutual observations about the misery in Germany; everywhere fraud and bad work, the rich people have all their furniture sent from Paris, and our friend traveled to London to have some clothes made. Regarding Bismarck, he says that he wished to bring all the attacks on the Catholic clergy to a head at one time, but experienced so much trouble with all the powers that he will now, as he himself expressed it, have to cut off the dog’s tail in sections. R. says that four years ago he was recommending the Jesuits, now he is recommending the Jews! Bucher also feels that they are gobbling us up; one Israelite is now even a minister (Friedland)!
In the evening Scholz, Dohm, and Niemann; I meet them again when I return from the opera house, where Die Maccabäer was performed; a curious impression of this opera. It definitely seems that one can nowadays only make an effect if one writes in the Wagnerian style.