On 1 February 1843, The Flying Dutchman had a very successful premiere at the Dresden Opera.

Wagner, a great artist, has since become famous, especially in time for the Netherlands to join the German Customs Union, which has gained another wave of popularity.

But the court musician of Dresden was caught in some trouble of his own making.

Before the performance of The Flying Dutchman, Wagner complained to his friend Samuel that he was not being treated in his hometown of Saxony.

"I don't have a geographical preference. My hometown, in addition to its beautiful hills, forests, and valleys, is actually quite exclusionary to me.

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

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

In fact, people have long been accustomed to the complaints of artists. But the problem is that the letter was published at the time of the Luxembourg crisis, which makes it impossible to associate a number of things.

As a result, the publication of the letter led directly to the boycott of the actors of the Dresden theater, the audience demanded a refund of the tickets, and the Saxon community took to the streets to demand the expulsion of the "traitorous" court musician.

In the midst of the turmoil, Queen Marianne ordered the expulsion of the musician, whom King Augusta II of Saxony admired.

In fact, the great musician suffered this disaster because of Queen Marianne's jealousy. She can accept that her husband is looking for a lover, but she can't accept that her husband is obsessed with a man, which is the biggest insult to her feminine charm.

Thanks to the agreement with Austria, Saxony's power and Queen Marianne's influence were much greater than in history, so she was able to intercept Wagner's private letters with impunity.

Of course, in addition to Her Royal Highness's Heavenly Flying Vinegar, Wagner himself also has big problems. He is a spendthrift himself, which makes many people dislike him.

Especially Queen Mary, who was frugal by nature, the contradictions between the two sides further increased.

Wagner refused to spend 100 florins on a uniform worthy of his status as a court celeste, but he was able to borrow 15,000 florins to buy a villa of luxury, much to the disgust of many aristocrats.

(Housing prices were low at the time.) 15000 florin is definitely a very outrageous price. ）

Due to the success of the performance of "The Flying Dutchman" and the recognition of Wagner's talent in the art world, Berlin and Vienna threw olive branches.

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

Franz could only sigh that this master was too good at talking, and he couldn't help himself. And Franz is one of those tyrannical and pompous members, and he can only try not to embarrass this musical giant.

In fact, Franz was too worried, and even Austria, an artist like Chopin, who was clearly opposed, could tolerate it, let alone a man like Wagner, who was only a gaffe.

If it weren't for the rise of nationalism at this time, there would still be a group of people who would have cheered. However, this situation is not what Franz wants to see at this time, after all, there are too many nationalities in Austria, and there will be one or two extremes.

And although Wagner himself has a very high talent in art, he is really a mess in terms of financial management, and the success of "The Flying Dutchman" will make his financial situation better, and he will not go bankrupt in a few years.

But after being expelled from Saxony, he was unable to repay his debts and fell into a state of utter ruin, and his wife once again flew away from her creditors and fled to Paris.

The legend "The Flying Dutchman" comes from the personal experience of Wagner and his wife Minna who secretly fled many times to avoid debts and encountered several storms at sea.

Sure enough, art comes from life.

Although Franz saw Wagner's fate as self-inflicted, he did not want the king of opera to be left unnamed.

In fact, there are many people who have the same mood as Franz, and the most famous and influential of them is Archduke John. As the emperor's own brother, the apprentice of Le Saint Beethoven, it is not surprising that he spoke out.

But soon Archduke John was silenced because he was royal, but voluntarily renounced his royal status. Some misconduct on the part of Archduke John could lead to some serious problems, so he had to shut up.

The so-called rabbit died and the fox was sad and hurt, and 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, Karl Czerny, Paganini, Berlioz, and others. On the one hand, they made their arguments and defended Wagner's opera, and on the other hand, they wanted Franz to help.

Of course, it is impossible for Franz to carry this black pot by himself, let alone engage in any artistic innocence.

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

Schönbrunn Palace, the Royal Gardens.

"Why don't you drink what you invented yourself?" Emperor Ferdinand I had a hard time going out to let loose today, and he was still very happy to hear that his brother was going to invite him to drink.

Of course, Ferdinand I didn't really drink alcohol, just some water, because alcohol aggravated his stroke.

But the strange thing is that his brother didn't drink the legendary Pilsner that he invented.

"My poor brother, will you eat what you pulled out?"

Ferdinand I and his chief adviser were speechless for a while, and they wanted to refute but were a little powerless, so Ferdinand I simply changed the subject.

"My stupid brother, tell me anything. Don't keep drinking here, I'm going to vomit with a glass of wine and a glass of water, and I won't compete with you next time. ”

The two brothers had 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 was at the expense of the former, and the latter accepted the contest at the instigation of his chief adviser.

As a result, Archduke Franz Karl had nothing to do with two bottles of wine, and Ferdinand I drank two bottles of water and almost didn't vomit.

Then proposed that His Majesty the Emperor was sick and could not drink more, and that he should drink on his behalf.

As a result, Archduke Franz Karl drank three more bottles, and followed suit with three bottles of water in a row, and vomited all over the place.

Of course, this bad idea must have been the brainchild of Franz.

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

"My stupid brother, it's taboo to change the order every day, and you signed this ban."

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

"My stupid brother, I'm willful or you're willful. This group of people engaged in art say that art is not guilty, but are they not guilty of painting the king of France as a pear? I don't want to be drawn as almonds or apples or anything like that. ”

"My poor brother, I think your head is more like a cucumber. And my son said, 'The artist's mistakes are not to be borne by the art.'" ’”

On April 1, 1843, "The Flying Dutchman" was performed in Vienna.

(End of chapter)