Thursday, August 17:
R. had a good night, but there is never a day free from vexation: today it is a letter from Dr. Strecker making protests about the, indeed very surprising, Italian edition of Parsifal planned by Mme Lucca. We have a family lunch, and at 3 o’clock a rehearsal with Frau Materna and Herr Winkelmann, during which R. lays down the main points to be observed in the scene in the 2nd act. He divides up the character of Kundry: first the temptress, who has no recollection of what has gone before; then, after so flatterten die Locken, remembering in wild horror, and desiring loving pity from her redeemer; and, finally, blazing with fury. He also arranges the stage positions of Kundry and Parsifal in this scene. In the evening we hold our reception, and R. is unusually hospitable despite his exhausting work in the afternoon.