My esteemed benefactor,
There is no one more sensible than I of the debt of gratitude which I owe, more especially, to you, whenever I discover from my dear wife that your own estimable spouse has given yet further proof of her wellnigh self-sacrificial support for my artistic enterprises. And in order that you, too, my esteemed benefactor, may not doubt for a moment in my attitude and feelings in this regard, I make so bold as to appeal to you yourself today in respect of our latest undertaking in order to assure you, above all else, that I am fully conscious of the magnitude of our request.
With regard to Berlin, the capital of the Reich and seat of German politics, I wish to withdraw from all dealings with the city’s operatic life, the more so since I know from experience that it is impossible for me to become involved with it in a seemly fashion. Since, moreover, I consider it my duty to devote myself in every respect to the interests of my enterprise this coming winter, I should have avoided Berlin completely if the inestimable gain that your patronage has brought me had not shown me the way by which I might hope to direct consideration of my question into a sphere where I might see it seriously considered as a matter of some importance, and as one which transcended the common interests of theatre-lovers. Whether, in addition and quite apart from this, I shall also achieve anything in terms of the material interests of my undertaking is something that may be left for now to depend upon individual circumstances; but I should at least like to have assured myself of the one advantage that I have just described to you, namely that the matter be brought before the forum of politics and intellect, regardless for the moment of whether material advantages might also accrue to my enterprise as a result.
The idea occurred to me whereby, after a relatively brief introductory lecture, I might read out a substantial part of my Nibelung poem to the kind of influential gathering that it would perhaps only be granted to a highly favoured minister in the royal household to assemble. I should like to see present on that occasion representatives of both actual political power and of the intellectual discipline that Berlin at present comprises: representatives from an artistic sphere would be considered eligible only insofar as they had no immediate contact with the theatre, by which I mean more or less that I should consider a professor of history or even of theology more worthy of my attention than any man of letters or living author, be they never so celebrated.
Since at the same time, however, I am appealing to the sphere of actual political power, by which I mean princes of the royal house and ministers, the question that must now be asked is whether I might not appear over-presumptuous to you, my esteemed benefactor, and whether I might thus be transcending the bounds of decency in claiming this demonstration of your conspicuously kind disposition towards me.
A mere hint from you will suffice to apprise me of your response and make me desist from a request for the temerity of which I should then have the most pressing occasion to pay a brief visit to Berlin in order to entreat your forgiveness in person.
With the greatest reverence, I remain
Your Excellency’s
most gratefully devoted servant
Richard Wagner
Source: Selected Letters of Richard Wagner, trans. and ed. Stewart Spencer and Barry Millington (W. W. Norton & Company, 1988), No. 416