Wagner captivates Louis II of Bavaria

Did you know that the composer Richard Wagner had a unique young man as his patron: King Ludwig II of Bavaria. In this new episode of this special series of "At the heart of history", produced by Europe 1 Studio, Laure Dautriche tells you how the composer abused the fragility of the monarch. Totally fascinated by the musician, the latter did everything to help Wagner achieve the musical project of his life. 

In this year 1862, Richard Wagner was at the end of his strength. He is riddled with debt. His last operas are failures. Too modern for the public, too difficult for artists to sing. Still believing in his genius, he decides to shoot his last card. In the preface to a work he is having printed, Wagner asks the princes of Europe to help him financially. It is another failure. For two years, he did not receive an answer. Harassed by his creditors, he left Vienna in a hurry in March 1864.

But two years later, the miracle finally occurs. He comes from Bavaria, where a young man of nineteen has just taken the throne. Louis II of Bavaria is unlike other sovereigns. He was brought up far from the court, lives in a fairy-tale castle on top of a mountain. The young king has been fascinated by Wagner ever since he attended a performance of Lohengrin on his sixteenth birthday. Since then, he continues to be spellbound by the expressive power of his music. Three years later, just crowned king, Louis II decided to come to his aid.

He instructs his private secretary to find Wagner and bring him to the court in Munich. He also asks her to give him a ring adorned with a ruby ​​and a portrait of the king. When he arrives in Vienna, Wagner is already far away. He finally found him in Stuttgart. The meeting takes place three days later, at the palace of Louis II of Bavaria. On the arrival of the sovereign, shaking up protocol, Wagner threw himself at his feet. For an hour and a half, they confide in each other. 

Louis II, he is hypnotized by the musician: "I loved you even before seeing you", he admits to Wagner. What the king offered him exceeded the composer's hopes. Louis II does not demand anything. He does not ask her to become his music teacher, or even the official court composer. He wants to free him forever from all material necessity so that he can devote himself to the exercise of his art. 

That same evening, Wagner wrote to a friend, Madame Wille, to tell her about his interview: "My friend, I would be the most ungrateful of men if I did not immediately tell you of my immense happiness. You know that the young king of Bavaria asked me to ask. I was taken to his house this very day. He is so handsome and charming, he is so rich in heart and mind that I fear to see his life vanish in this iron world like an inconsistent divine dream. He loves me with the ardor and depth of a first love: he knows everything about me and understands me as well as myself. He wants me to I always stay with him to work, rest, have my works performed. He will give me everything I need for that. I must complete the Ring of Nibelung to then play the Tetralogy as it suits me. I am my master. I have unlimited power. I am no longer a small orchestra conductor, but only Me and the Friend of the King. My friend, isn't it all right? Yes ? Isn't all this a dream? ... My happiness is so great that I am still dizzy. You cannot get an idea of ​​the charm of his eyes. Ah! may he even dwell in this world! There is such a rare wonder! "

The king pays all of his debts

Wagner immediately understands that he will be able to obtain everything from the young sovereign and does not hesitate to take advantage of it. The king pays all of his debts! He also pays him a colossal salary as a minister ... And Wagner goes up a gear. He wants a new conservatory where the best musicians and renowned teachers would be welcomed. He also asks for a theater, to have his operas performed. The king approves ... But the finances of the kingdom are shaky, and under pressure, Louis II gives up.

He finally installs Wagner in a lovely villa in Munich. The composer moves in with two servants, his dog, his twenty-four satin dresses and his scores. Wagner and the King now live side by side and can see each other at any time of the day or night. For hours, they talk about their dreams and the future of German music. 

A fine strategist, Wagner involved the king in his musical activities. He makes sure that Louis II slips into the characters of his operas. In private, he makes him play the role of Siegfried, Parsifal, Lohengrin ... Even if Louis II's incessant calls quickly become boring, Wagner does not lose sight of the fact that he needs him for his music. And he continues to feed the fascination the king has for him.

In total, the two men wrote more than six hundred letters. In this fiery correspondence, Wagner plays with the soul of his young lover ... Louis lives only for himself, blushes, turns pale and trembles at each of his words: "My only friend, my ardently beloved! This afternoon, at at half past three I returned from a magnificent excursion to Switzerland. How this country charmed me! I found your dear letter there: my warmest thanks for it. It filled me with new enthusiasm. . I see that the beloved walks with courage and confidence towards the accomplishment of our great and eternal purposes. I want to overcome all obstacles victoriously like a hero. I want to disperse all storms. Love has strength for everything . You are the star that shines in my life, and to see you always gives me new ardor. I am burning to be near you, oh my saint! My adored! I would be very happy to see my friend here, in eight days We have so much to say to each other May I send back to the dark depths whence arose the curse you are telling me about. How I cherish you, my Unique, my supreme good! Sun of my life! "

Wagner is well aware of the mental fragility of his patron. The king is twenty years old, and some already say he is mad. From their first glance, the musician understood that Louis felt bad in the real world. He offered her a dream escape: his music, and the magical sensation of walking on the clouds.

The people threaten Wagner

But soon, an enemy threatens to end Wagner's ambitions: the people. Indeed, the king's expenses begin to panic the population, who accuses the composer of emptying the state coffers and of wanting to keep the king away from his people. The press even says that Wagner has now acquired such a strong power that he will modify the Constitution. It is his revolutionary past that is also scary. The people are wary of Wagner who participated in the riots in Dresden in 1848.

Fortunately for Wagner, the blinded king does not hear the protests. He abandons his people and his ministers, attends less and less official meetings. Louis II even hangs the portrait of Wagner in his living room, next to those of his ancestors. Like a little boy who is impatient, he is only waiting for the premiere of Tristan and Isolde, his idol's new opera.

This evening in December, the Munich people are curious to see what the music of the king's protégé looks like. Wagner himself conducts the concert. Louis II is seated in his box on the balcony. Measure after measure, Wagner notes the whirlwind of love, passion, torments and doubts like no other composer before him. No opera until then had given this feeling of tumultuous life.

In this work, Wagner deeply renews the musical drama, he modifies the declamation and the acting of the actors… The more the opera advances, the more the emotion of the sovereign is intense. That evening, the king didn't just feel like a spectator, he took himself for Tristan, the hero of the opera ...

However, the more the opera progresses, the more protests are heard. In the hall, the whistles of the crowd begin to drown out the applause. The work ends, overflows were narrowly avoided. Wagner feels that he has triumphed. He walks proudly on stage, in a frock coat and white pants, in the middle of the singers. Louis II, standing, applauded heartily, while the room was already empty.

Wagner can always count on his king. It is perhaps this confidence that will make him commit an irremediable misstep. But in a deeply Catholic and conservative Bavaria, a case will ignite the powder. The composer is bored and he sends to his home a conductor friend, and his wife Cosima. But Cosima is also Wagner's mistress ... For the people, this extra-marital relationship is too much provocation. Louis II, once again, does not understand what is reproached with Wagner. He is far from imagining that a woman can come between him and the object of his adoration. With the aplomb we know him, Wagner swears to Louis II that nothing happens, that his relationship with Cosima does not go beyond the bounds of friendship.

Louis II turns against his government. The king must now choose between Wagner and his people. It will be his people. 

Breakup and anger 

In December 1865, reluctantly, Louis II asked his beloved composer to leave the country: "My dear friend, however painful this blow may be for me, I must ask you to comply with the desire I made you express yesterday by my secretary Believe me I was compelled to act as I did. My love for you will last forever too, please give me proof of your friendship. I can tell you, in full conscience , that I am worthy of you. "" And who then would be able to separate us? I know that you fully sympathize with me. You can measure the depth of my suffering. Be convinced of it I could not act otherwise do not doubt the loyalty of your best friend. But this is not forever! Until death, your faithful. Louis. " 

It is in Switzerland that Wagner takes refuge. But his hold on Louis II is confirmed. The king can't help but think of him. After five months of separation, the sovereign decides, in a desperate movement, to go to him. Wagner welcomes him, plays extracts from his operas to the king. He knows that keeping the ascendancy over the king is the only way to one day realize the great musical project of his life: to have his own theater to play what he calls the "music of the future"

But Wagner will find himself caught in his own trap. Soon, the political situation destabilizes the young sovereign. Bismarck declared war on Bavaria in June 1866 and after only a month of campaigning, the Bavarian troops were everywhere defeated. Panicked, the young sovereign plans to abdicate and hand over the crown to his brother. He wants to join Wagner and live by his side. But if the King of Bavaria abdicates, Wagner knows that he is nothing more. That all his privileges would collapse: his monthly income, his lifestyle, the conservatory he is about to found.

Wagner therefore responds to the king the same day, as a teacher would speak to his pupil ... He explains to him that it is imperative to remain on the throne. Sensitive to the great voice of his hero, Louis goes back to his job as king. Wagner manages to save the day and his future seems safe. The king is inconsolable. He becomes engaged to one of his cousins, but confesses to her one day that the god of his life is Wagner, and that he will remain so forever. After a few months, the engagement is broken. 

After almost a year and a half of absence, Wagner returns to Munich. He especially hopes to return to the front of the stage. But the separation, the distance, have changed the attitude of the sovereign. Their reunion no longer has the same flavor as in the past. Even if he is one of the last to realize this in Munich, Louis II has now understood that Cosima is Wagner's mistress. He feels betrayed like a lover from whom the truth has been hidden. These long months of wounded love made the king even more angry than before.

His theater project comes true

In 1872, Wagner chose to settle in the small town of Bayreuth. He heard that here the sun goes down on old sleeping palaces. It would be a perfect place to build the dream of his life, a theater where he will play his own works. For this extremely expensive project, Wagner began by soliciting sponsors. But the amount of donations is not enough. He then had only one alternative, to appeal to Louis II of Bavaria. Even if they have not seen each other for 8 years, Louis II agrees to help him ... But still on the cold side with Wagner, the king does not come to the laying of the first stone of the theater of Bayreuth, in 1872. 

Months go by and money problems persist. The site is now at a standstill. Wagner goes in desperation to Munich, hoping to be reconciled with Louis II. Arrived at the castle, Wagner learns that he will not be able to see it. The king no longer leaves his room, he now takes his meals in his bed and orders that they do not disturb him. The monarch becomes less and less accessible. And his madness gets worse. But suddenly, after Wagner's visit, Louis II changed his mind, agreed to continue paying… and wrote to Wagner: "it must not end like this, we must go to your aid". Louis II gets into debt and continues to pay ... No doubt also because for several years, the Wagnerian repertoire has filled the coffers of the Court theater.

After four years of construction, the Festpielhaus finally programmed its first performance, in 1876. The whole world of music came. Built on the hill and revealing an ancient-style amphitheater, the building captivates all who approach it. Its columns create an optical illusion. Thanks to Louis II, his theater project, which seemed fifteen years earlier a pure utopia, has finally come true. Wagner could only reveal an extraordinary work under extraordinary circumstances. He projects the ideal society he dreams of in this ideal opera. 

Louis II is there to attend the Tetralogy. But he has become lonely and no longer allows himself to be seduced. He and Wagner barely speak to each other. 4 years later, they will meet again at the court of Munich, in November 1880, and they do not know that they are meeting for the last time. 

The king requested a private concert. Wagner is to lead the court orchestra in the prelude to Parsifal, the master's last opera. Arrived at court, ready on stage with his musicians, the musician loses his calm because the king is late. Wagner no longer wants to be patient…. A few weeks later, Wagner invited by Louis II for a dinner, gives a big punch on the table, overturns the wine decanters, without even apologizing. The king, for his part, will henceforth refuse to receive the composer, and he orders that no more talk of Bayreuth in his presence. He won't give any more money to anyone. But Wagner now had his theater in Bayreuth. His music. He had completed his great work. And no longer needed the king. 

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"At the heart of history" is a Europe 1 Studio podcast

Author and presentation: Laure Dautriche

Project manager: Adèle Ponticelli

Director: Sébastien Guidis

Musical research: Benoît Valentin

Distribution and editing: Clémence Olivier

Graphics: Europe 1 Studio

Bibliography: "These musicians who made history", Laure Dautriche (Tallandier)

Musical references: 

58 sec: opening the ghost ship

3'18: Prelude Lohengrin

4'54: Siegfried's funeral march

6'11: Dich teure Halle (Tannhäuser)

7'25: Opening Tannhäuser

9'09: Tristan und Isolde (prelude)

9'45: Tristan und Isolde (act 3)

11'34: Incantation of thunder (Rhine gold)

12'49: Siegfried idyll

14'50: Engagement march (Lohengrin)

15'54: Opening fairies

16'57: Parsifal good Friday spell

17'55: Rienzi the last of the tribunes (opening)