Valued Sir and friend,
Your sterling support for my cause I once again had reason to recognize in the detailed letter in which you entreat me to enumerate my further requirements, and so, trusting wholeheartedly in your enthusiasm and perseverance, I am writing to inform you of the result not only of my experiences but of my well-considered view of our present affair.
Regular performances of “Parsifal” in Bayreuth I regard as a school for the artists taking part, and, since we have had no choice in the matter, these performances, as before, will have to be reserved for a paying audience. In consequence, the Society of Patrons, in its present form, must be considered as having been disbanded. It would be very much after my own heart, however, if you, my valued friend, were to enlist the support of those whom you thought most suitable and if - in Worms - you were then to call into existence a foundation which would make it possible for people without means of their own to attend the performances. Under your chairmanship, such a foundation would have to be completely independent of the running of the festival proper; and it might also be asked to support and promote the “New Bayreuth Blätter”. This seems to me not only the simplest approach, but also the one that affords the greatest moral and intellectual power, enabling us to perform real acts of charity and, in a certain sense, to carry out my original idea, without coming into conflict with the administrative process of the festival, a conflict which until now has been unavoidable.
My valued friend, please accept with these lines the assurance of my sincere respect and devotion.
Yours,
Richard Wagner.
Source: Selected Letters of Richard Wagner, trans. and ed. Stewart Spencer and Barry Millington (W. W. Norton & Company, 1988), No. 493