Most valued friend,
Not until yesterday evening did I receive the enclosed letter from Herr v. Radowitz (the extraordinary lateness of which you will gather from its contents), so that only now am I in a position to write to you and our esteemed friends on the committee of management in order to express a clearer opinion about the present state of our great undertaking.
I have received no further information in this regard since leaving Bayreuth, other than your announcement that the deficit was turning out to be more and more significant, and that I myself should suggest means of dealing with it. The most obvious solution still seemed to be an appeal to the existing supporters of my enterprise: I drew up such an appeal and forwarded it to you (around the 8th or 10th of October) with the request that you attach it to your report to the Patrons. On the 14th of last month I wrote to Herr von Radowitz who, during the time that he was in Bayreuth, had expressed his willingness to mediate on our behalf in various quarters. At the same time, however, I also wrote a very detailed letter to the King of Bavaria, informing him of my wishes as follows:
he should - either - bring the matter to the attention of the Reich by means of his deputy in the Bundestag, i.e. through the Confederation, -
or, even better, acquire the entire enterprise, including all that we own, for the Bavarian Crown.
To this I added the outline of a plan whereby the theatre and all its accessories would be acquired by the state, and transferred to the magistracy of the town of Bayreuth to be administered by them, in return for which the state would stand security for all debts and encumbrances. - I am still awaiting a reply, and may well suppose that, although not lacking the very best of intentions, the King is in some embarrassment as to the right way to satisfy my wishes.
While waiting for a reply from that quarter, I learned from our friend Heckel of his great regret that I myself should have to make an appeal for contributions to cover the deficit, since, in his opinion, this should be left to my friends to do; he had already expressed himself in this vein to our friends on the committee of management. I told him in my reply that he certainly seemed to be motivated by a feeling of great fairness, and that I should indeed welcome it if friends of my cause were to take the matter in hand. With regard to his suggestion that a 4th (extra) performance at increased prices be given to cover the deficit, my only consideration was that the necessary repayment of our debts could not be delayed until then.
However, I was then still awaiting a reply from Herr v. Radowitz to whom I had written in response to a remark of his concerning a subscription. You will see from his letter not only the incidental reason for the delay in my receiving his reply but also that we can in no way count upon him and his kind. It will also give you a glimpse into the sort of appalling experience I have had to suffer, namely that, while firmly convinced that people exist who are both willing and able to collect together the sum that we need, I know of no one who has it in him to place himself at the head of such an operation. Perhaps this could be achieved by the chairmen of the older Wagner Societies, since it ought to be easier for them to raise their voices now, rather than previously, when the matter was still open to the gravest doubts. At all events, I too regret that the appeal which I sent to you has not been used: its circulation would at least have had the advantage of letting us know where we stood in this regard.
It seems to me therefore that, through no fault of my own, there has been a serious delay here; at the same time I declare my continuing readiness to support any measure that is suggested to me. But at all events it now seems too late to begin preparations to repeat the festival next summer, or even to think of doing so. In order to achieve this goal just once and to show the world what was involved, I was prepared to enter this slough of financial confusion and deceit; but to remain bogged down in it, to be always at the mercy of chance, as a result, for ex., of calumnies in the newspapers, and always to end up in the position of seeing myself exposed to anxieties which I ought never to have to experience, inasmuch as I have never sought financial gain here - this is something I must henceforth reject completely. The great shortcomings in the performance of my work can be explained solely in terms of financial uncertainty and the consequent doubts on the part of those responsible for its realization as to whether the whole undertaking would come off on time. Even as I write, we ought to have at our disposal the means for improving and revivifying the production. Moreover, I would not risk inviting certain of my artists who have caused me difficulties of late to work with me again, unless I were able to promise them a fairly substantial fee; but this could only be done if the deficit on this year’s performances had already been paid off in full. And even if a 4th (extra) performance were to be inflicted upon my singers and musicians for this purpose, it might easily deter them from taking part, since it would be tempting providence to reckon upon repeating the favourable circumstances which allowed us to give 3 uninterrupted performances, one after the other, in so short a period of time.
As a result I find myself forced to the conclusion that all we can do is wait and see whether, in response to any suggestion that may be made, the money we need to cover the deficit can be found in time. If this cannot be done by the 1st of January, next year’s revival of the festival will have to be abandoned, and we shall then have to wait and see whether interest is shown in other quarters, and whether help is then forthcoming. I shall refrain from any further reference to my own person on this occasion, nor shall I draw your attention in any more detail to the state of my health; but I can assure you that even in Italy, under all the impressions that are to be gained here, I am dragging myself from place to place with my entire nervous system in a state of seemingly irrevocable collapse, which, after all that has happened and in view of all the thoroughly disagreeable things that continue to beset me, is scarcely surprising, particularly when one considers that for several years I have been prevented from taking a health cure or such like treatment during the summer. Nevertheless, I cannot regard the undeniable need to repeat the festival next year as binding upon me, unless it takes place in circumstances which at least make the duty of self-sacrifice an agreeable one, i.e. unless I receive some evidence from the friends of my art that they are in some way concerned about me and my cause. I no longer have the ability or the desire to sacrifice my strength to an enterprise that trusts merely to luck.
Since not the slightest blame for this disagreeable state of affairs is to be laid at the door of my estimable friends in Bayreuth, inasmuch as we have jointly achieved something which can arouse only amazement and admiration, it grieves me all the more that I may yet have to cause you a great deal of distress. For I must contemplate the possibility of never being able to hold another festival; this eventuality would become a reality if the deficit could not be covered in time by means of additional contributions, and if repayment could not be postponed any longer, in which case there would be nothing for it but to declare the enterprise bankrupt, and - once a report had been made to the Patrons - transfer all existing property to our creditors. All that belongs to the King of Bavaria would then have to be made over to him; and whatever else there may be of value would be offered to the highest bidder, the proceeds being used to discharge all our remaining debts. I see no other way out, more especially because, for my own part, I am bound to doubt in the success of every one of my independent efforts, and no one who is familiar with the strain I have suffered will expect me to give concerts & the like at present.
Above all, my most valued friend, I must ask you not to interpret this communication as an outburst of ill-humour cruelly intended to cause you discomfort; on the contrary, I have had ample opportunity during these tense last months to consider my real attitude towards my contemporaries, and it is on this basis that I have reached my decision. I have shown them what I can do, and feel justified, but also impelled, to bring to an end my public career as an artist, instead of which it now remains my most pressing concern and obligation to see to the welfare of myself and my family, which I have neglected to do hitherto. -
With my most sincere good wishes to your friends and family, I remain
Your eternally grateful and obedient servant
Richard Wagner
Source: Selected Letters of Richard Wagner, trans. and ed. Stewart Spencer and Barry Millington (W. W. Norton & Company, 1988), No. 444