Chapter 398 The Flying Dutchman

On February 1, 1843, the premiere of The Flying Dutchman at the Dresden Opera House was a great success.

Wagner, the great artist, became famous from then on, especially when the Netherlands joined the German Customs Union, which brought him another wave of popularity.

However, the court musician of Dresden got into some troubles of his own making.

Before the performance of The Flying Dutchman, Wagner once complained to his friend Samuel that he did not get the treatment he deserved in his hometown of Saxony.

"I have no geographical preference. My hometown, apart from the beautiful hills, forests and valleys, actually quite rejects me.

These Saxons are a group of cursed people - misers, they are slow. Stupid, lazy and vulgar, if I can, I really don't want to have anything to do with them.

I miss the sky of Paris, where the air is so sweet, the people are so friendly, and the river is so clear."

In fact, people have long been accustomed to the complaints of artists. But the problem is that the date of this letter was just when the Luxembourg crisis broke out, which inevitably linked some things together.

The result was that the publication of this letter directly led to the strike of the actors of the Dresden Theater, the audience demanded a refund of their tickets, and people from all walks of life in Saxony took to the streets to demand the expulsion of this "traitorous" court musician.

Under the turbulent public sentiment, Queen Maria Anna ordered the expulsion of the musician most admired by King Augusta II of Saxony.

In fact, this great musician suffered this disaster because of Queen Maria Anna's jealousy. She could accept her husband's lover, but she could not accept her husband's obsession with a man, which was the greatest insult to her feminine charm.

Due to the agreement with Austria, Saxony's strength at this time and Queen Maria Anna's influence were much greater than in history, so she could intercept Wagner's private letters unscrupulously.

Of course, in addition to the Queen's jealousy, Wagner himself also had big problems. He himself was a spendthrift, which made many people dislike him.

Especially Queen Marie, who was frugal by nature, further intensified the conflict between the two sides.

Wagner was unwilling to spend 100 florins to customize a uniform for a court music director that suited his status, but he could borrow 15,000 florins to buy an extremely luxurious villa, which made many nobles feel disgusted.

(House prices were very low at the time. 15,000 florins was definitely an outrageous price.)

Because the performance of "The Flying Dutchman" was very successful, Wagner's talent was recognized by the art world, so Berlin and Vienna threw olive branches.

Then the old man first said that Vienna was flashy and authoritarian, and then said that Berlin was like a village.

Franz could only sigh that the master was too good at talking, and he could do nothing to help. Moreover, Franz was one of those who were authoritarian and exaggerated, so he could only try his best not to embarrass this music master.

In fact, Franz was overthinking. Even artists like Chopin who were openly opposed to Austria could be tolerated, not to mention Wagner who just made a slip of the tongue.

If it weren't for the rising nationalism at that time, there would probably be a group of people booing. However, this situation was not what Franz wanted to see at that time. After all, there were too many ethnic groups in Austria, and one or two extreme ones might appear.

Moreover, although Wagner had a high talent in art, he was really a mess in terms of financial management. Originally, the success of "The Flying Dutchman" would make his financial situation better, and he would go bankrupt in a few years.

However, he was expelled from Saxony at this time and was unable to repay his debts. He was in a mess, and his wife once again escaped from the creditors and fled to Paris like flying.

It is said that "The Flying Dutchman" was based on Wagner and his wife Minna's personal experience of fleeing secretly many times to avoid debts and encountering several storms at sea.

Sure enough, art comes from life.

Although Franz thought Wagner's experience was his own fault, he did not want the king of opera to be unknown.

In fact, there are many people who have the same feelings as Franz, and the most famous and influential one is Archduke John. As the younger brother of the late emperor and the apprentice of the music saint Beethoven, it is not surprising that he spoke out.

But soon Archduke John was banned from speaking because he was a member of the royal family, but he voluntarily gave up his royal status. Some of Archduke John's misconduct may lead to some serious problems, so he had to shut up.

As the saying goes, when a rabbit dies, the fox mourns, and the animals feel sad for their own kind. At this time, the big names in the music industry began to run around and shout, saying that "art is not guilty."

Even Franz received letters from Chopin, Liszt, Robert Schumann, Carl Czerny, Paganini, Berlioz and others. On the one hand, they expounded their views and defended Wagner's opera, and on the other hand, they also wanted Franz to help.

Of course, Franz could not bear the blame himself, let alone the theory of art's innocence.

But this historical mistake was indirectly caused by himself, and he would find a way to remedy it.

Schönbrunn Palace, Royal Garden.

"Why don't you drink what you invented?" Emperor Ferdinand I rarely came out to take a walk today, and he was very happy to hear that his brother wanted to treat him to a drink.

Of course, Ferdinand I didn't really drink alcohol, he just drank some water, because alcohol would aggravate his stroke.

But the strange thing is that his brother didn't drink the Pilsner beer that he was said to have invented.

"My poor brother, can you still eat what you pooped out?"

Ferdinand I and his chief advisor Slote were both at a loss for words. They wanted to refute but were unable to do so. Ferdinand I simply changed the topic.

"My stupid brother, just tell me if you have anything to do. Don't keep drinking here. If you give me a glass of wine and a glass of water, I will vomit. I won't compete with you next time."

The two brothers had previously made a bet that Archduke Franz Karl would drink a glass of wine and Emperor Ferdinand I would drink a glass of water. It seemed that the former suffered the loss, as the latter accepted the competition at the instigation of his chief advisor.

The result was that Archduke Franz Karl drank two bottles of wine and nothing happened, and Ferdinand I almost vomited after drinking two bottles of water.

Then Slote proposed that His Majesty the Emperor was ill and could not drink too much, and that he should drink on his behalf.

As a result, Archduke Franz Karl drank three more bottles, and Slote also drank three bottles of water and vomited all over the floor.

Of course this bad idea must have come from Franz.

"My poor brother, your nephew wants to see The Flying Dutchman, so lift the ban."

"My stupid brother, it's taboo to change orders overnight, and you must have signed this ban."

"My poor brother, can't you be more willful when you become emperor?"

"My stupid brother, I am willful or you are willful. These art people say that art is not guilty. Are they not guilty of painting the King of France as a pear? I don't want to be painted as an almond or an apple. s things."

"My poor brother, I think your head is more like a cucumber. And my son said: 'The artist's mistakes should not be borne by the work of art.'"

"The Flying Dutchman" premiered in Vienna on April 1, 1843.