Monday, February 12:
Rehearsals of Rheingold with the children for the toy theater made by Judith, great exertions, morning, afternoon, and evening rehearsals with music.
As a reward I am able to hear many things from Die Meistersinger in the evening, after which R. enthusiastically shows the young musicians several Bach motets and recommends them for further study.
The chorus singers, who had reminded R. of the promise he made a year ago to conduct them, now write to put him off, after R. had agreed. Probably it would suit neither Herr Betz, Herr Niemann, Herr Eckert, nor Herr von Hülsen, were R. to arrive now! ... As he works on Parsifal, R. seems to me now like Walther [von Stolzing] in the song we have just heard about the wonderful bird who spread his wings despite all the crows and jackdaws! He tells me today that he will treat the women in Klingsor's castle like saplings - this has been suggested to him by the melody of his chorus, and he says he wants to present them as languishing figures, not as demons.