My Dear Friend!
I have received news which — in spite of the most unfavourable circumstances — has compelled me to go to Paris at once, in order to safeguard the publishing rights of my operas, particularly Tannhäuser. Although my operas were published in Germany before 1852, the year when France and Saxony concluded an agreement regarding literary copyrights, it is still necessary for me to safeguard this copyright on my works, which is done as soon as I submit two copies of the large piano-arrangements and pay a fee of a few francs. Naturally it is the author's place to manage the copyrights for France as long as he has not definitely assigned his rights in this matter to his German publisher. In order to be able to settle my debts to you and Kriete soon, I declare myself ready to assign to you both the copyrights which I am about to claim here. Therefore, you have only to forward at once two copies each of my three operas, Rienzi, The Flying Dutchman, and Tannhäuser, to Messrs. Depoully, 45 Rue de l'Orillon, Belleville à Paris; and through this I hope to achieve the following: It appears very probable that there will be a performance of Tannhäuser in the Grand Opéra within a year or so, although as yet I have no definite engagement. It is problematic whether I am to receive any compensation for the performance, because the theatrical rights are not included in the literary agreement. However, through such a declaration we shall be able to sell the translated Tannhäuser and its copyright to a Paris publisher, in the happy event of a success. I then promise to turn over to you the purchase-price of this opera — and possibly of the other two operas — to the extent of your outstanding claims against me. This is a serious matter, and in it I see the hope of settling with you soon, in full.
I feel particularly urged to make this explanation to you, my dear Anton, because on the other hand I must ask you to release me from the promise which I made as a proposal and which for the time being you accepted — my promise to give you for your own use the next opera of mine that would be practical for publication. I am uneasy about my near future, and the prospect of establishing myself safely becomes ever more dismal: so far I have lived from hand to mouth, because a year ago I had to abandon, for special reasons, that arrangement with Herr Wesendonck in Zurich that you know of already. Since the possibility of a performance of the Ring of the Nibelungs becomes more and more remote, and since I can see no way at all of making money on it, I have therefore seized upon my project of a Tristan and Isolde in order to complete it at once and so have something new to offer the theatres. Last year I had to defray the expense of furnishing a small country-house near Zurich — something long desired; I also had to fit it up for the winter. As I was uneasy about raising the funds, I hit upon Tristan with the hope also of seeing my way to a definite income from its sale to Breitkopf & Härtel. I am now negotiating this, and I ask you — as I have already said — please not to make any protest at this. Of course a fixed fee, paid immediately on publication, can never amount to very much (in Germany); real profits could be made only by publishing on one's own account — and — as you know — only in the course of a number of years. But in exchange I can now offer a much more definite prospect (for the kind of people who can afford to wait a little) of large receipts, through the cession of the French copyrights of my older operas. If Härtel's accept, I would nevertheless have only just the amount I urgently need for paying for the furnishing of the cottage that is let to me. — I hope that because of your love for me you will not scruple over this with me.
From my present distressful situation, you can see how other things stand with me. During the whole winter my only receipts from theatres were royalties from Berlin and Vienna. From Berlin I received at New Year's a tantième from the only performance given during the preceding quarter; but as for Vienna, I had to send a warrant there for suing the director, who is in extreme debt and has sent me no money. Therefore, my only hope rested on the subsidy which the Ritter family has continued to give me. This it was now necessary to pay to the son Karl, because the 400 thalers advanced by him to Hiebendahl were not repaid to him by this year. Tell me, dear friend, what am I to think of that? Both you and Kriete positively agreed (to my relief) to pay back the 400 thalers from the first profits of the business which I had assigned. Thereupon a third friend advanced the money. Towards Easter the former Meser attorney presented me (unexpectedly) with a report which announced that there was a surplus at my disposal, which I at once transferred to you both. Likewise your attorney informed me (at the same time) that there was a surplus there which — according to your instructions — was to be paid to a Herr Ritter, and he asked where the latter was to be found. I referred him to the mother of the gentleman in question, in Dresden, and I asked this lady to receive the money for her son. She was spending the summer in travel and requested me particularly not to expect her to be troubled with looking after this money — her son had instructed her, if it was not received, to retain my subvention instead, at the end of this year (now past), and in this connexion she asked me to arrange the matter with you yourselves. The result is that now I am in a most difficult embarrassment. I received news which made it most imperative for me to safeguard the copyright of my operas in Paris (because if it occurred to anyone to get out a pirated edition, this right — unless reserved in advance — would be lost), but I was literally unable to raise the funds for the trip; I waited 2 weeks and then, since the thing was becoming more and more urgent, I borrowed the money from poor Semper, the head of a family; in addition, I had to endure the reproaches of my wife, whom I had to leave practically without money — right after New Year's, when expenses are unusually large. And I can't go away from here, if I don't get some money. Will you then be offended if now, under circumstances which have such close and direct bearing on you, I appeal to you, in case you haven't formally retracted your approval of that assignment to Ritter (for Hiebendahl), to take steps without delay to have that money, or at least a part of it, remitted to me here? For this is the money which I have been deprived of and because of which I have now fallen into the most disgusting situation.
I truly hope that in spite of the somewhat depressing silence with which you met my communications last year, you will come to my assistance like a trusted friend and not refuse my urgent appeal.
Since my other interests are not yet sufficiently advanced, I do not need to delay here for long; my stay now depends, on the one hand, on the speed with which the piano scores are sent, and, on the other, on the remittance so necessary to me of the money which I have been deprived of — in the manner related. I beg you not to leave me in this great embarrassment! I postponed writing to you for this money since New Year's because I hoped I would be able at the same time to give you important news from Paris in your own interest.
Now Rienzi is soon to be put on! There will also be a performance in Weimar in February, something of special importance because this will be a means of disproving the exaggerated difficulty of presenting the opera in small theatres. In addition, I shall invite other theatres also, and in this manner I hope to assist in bringing about a profitable operation of the publishing business. As soon as you have relieved me (as I am certain you will), I shall give you further information regarding myself. Good-bye, and maintain your friendship and loyalty!
Your
Richard Wagner
My address is: Hôtel du Louvre (No. 364), Paris
Source: The Letters of Richard Wagner to Anton Pusinelli, trans. and ed. Elbert Lenrow (Alfred A. Knopf, 1932), No. 17