Cecilie’s letter arrived this morning. - imagine our feelings when we read your good wishes!!!
Well, my dearest children! Let me - in all haste & in utter exhaustion - at the very least drop you a line to report what happened yesterday. I’d prefer you to learn it from someone else - for I’m bound to tell you - that, as everyone assures me, never has an opera been given its first performance in Dresden & been received with such enthusiastic acclaim as was the case with my Rienzi. The whole town was caught up in the excitement, it was a veritable revolution; - I was called on stage four times by the tumultuous applause. I am assured that not even the success of Meyerbeer’s Huguenots, when it was performed here, was comparable with that of my Rienzi. The second performance is the day after tomorrow: - & for the third one, too, all the seats have already been sold. I am dreadfully worn out & exhausted; I’ll write more fully after the second performance. The performance was ravishingly beautiful - Tichatschek - Devrient - everything - everything was more perfect than has ever been seen here previously. Success! Success! You good, loyal & dear people! A new day has dawned! May it shine on you all!
Your
Richard.
Source: Selected Letters of Richard Wagner, trans. and ed. Stewart Spencer and Barry Millington (W. W. Norton & Company, 1988), No. 49