Valued Friend and Associate!
. . . On October 31 the contracts are to be granted. . . . I beg of you with all my might and main to be present. It is no small matter to be obliged to dispense with you in any question connected with our undertaking; you are the head and support of the entire performance. . . . For the execution of this undertaking we shall have to rely upon lucky inspirations, and these you alone have, while from other quarters I fear only reluctance and unwillingness. Therefore my urgent request of you to come here. I will also write to Hoffmann to-day! The man does not displease me in spite of the ponderousness which makes him tiresome now and then. If, in addition to his deep understanding of the matter, he really paints well, there is hope for us. We find no talent quite ready for us; we shall have to bring it to maturity.
With the most cordial greetings.
Yours very faithfully,
Richard Wagner.
Source: The Story of Bayreuth as Told in the Bayreuth Letters of Richard Wagner, trans. and ed. Caroline V. Kerr (Small, Maynard and Company, 1912), No. 35