Cosima's Diaries

Diary Entry of September 10, 1881

Overview

After a restless night Wagner cancels the dentist and the family keeps to themselves before making a pilgrimage to Weber's grave and then to the Marcolini palace, where Wagner conjures memories of Liszt's visit and of completing Lohengrin in its elegant rooms. He traces the route of Weber's funeral procession for Cosima, making Dresden feel like a city deeply entwined with her own life. The evening's Figaro troubles Cosima more than it pleases her, the opera's moral conclusions leaving her unable to fully appreciate its musical beauties.

Content

Saturday, September 10:

R. had a restless night and cancels his visit to the dentist. We eat in our rooms and then drive to the churchyard to visit Weber’s grave, then go on to Marcolini; R. shows us all his familiar places, including the beautiful Neptune fountain. He tells about my father’s visit there, and I am pleased that Lohengrin was completed in this lovely room. Before that he showed me the route Weber’s funeral procession had taken. And thus Dresden has become virtually a second home to me!

In the theater we see Figaro. Much suffering over the subject and the conclusions, both all but unbearable to me, thus making it completely impossible to enjoy its beauties. (R. visited Tichatschek.)