Cosima's Diaries

Diary Entry of December 14, 1881

Overview

With better rest and steady work behind him, Richard spent the afternoon revisiting the Florio owl and the evening moving restlessly across Bach, Auber, operatic vitality, and his own exhausting task. He presented his article on vivisection to a priest and described Parsifal not as a work of suffering but as his most propitiatory creation, as if its labor were also a kind of offering. The day feels lighter than the previous one, but only because artistic talk kept illness at bay.

Content

Wednesday, December 14:

R. had a good night, and he works diligently. In the afternoon we drive to the Villa Florio and visit the owl, after having received some callers. He gives his article on vivisection to a priest. In the evening our conversation begins with comments on Bach’s organ fugue, which R. cannot imagine sounding good - clear - on the organ. Then we descend to La Muette de Portici and even Fra Diavolo; indeed, he played some things from Le Serment and La Fiancée, with emphasis on Auber’s merits, ideas, and vitality. He complains about his task - but emphasizes that Parsifal is his most propitiatory work.