Diary Entry of April 11, 1870
Heinrich Porges arrives unexpectedly to explain and apologize for the king’s mistaken expectation that he might conduct Die Walkuere. His visit brings news of Cosima’s father in Munich and helps clear some of the recent confusion around his role. Dancing lessons and Wagner’s recognition of the teacher through an old Koenigsberg connection give the short entry a note of social coincidence.
Monday, April 11:
Sudden arrival of Heinrich Porges, who, alarmed by the King’s assumption that he will conduct Die Walküre, asks R. to forgive him his lack of caution. He has seen my father in Munich. In the evening a letter from Frl. Meysenbug. Dancing lesson, R. recognizes in the teacher the son of a very old female acquaintance from his Königsberg days, a member of the chorus and friend of his wife’s.