Imperial Conservatory
of Music
and Declamation
Paris, May 15, 18572
Mr. Worms is authorized to play in a dramatic and
musical sequence, Wednesday, May 20 at 8:00pm in the Salle Herz.3
Director Informervatoire]
Auber
(seal)
NOTES:
1)
Document dimensions: 13.4 cm x 17.4cm
2)
This seal is composed of imperial symbols of an eagle surmounted by a
crown.
Napoleon's decree of July
10, 1804 stipulates that the imperial symbol should be:
" d'azur à
l'aigle à l'antique d'or, empiétant un foudre du même " (azure with a
gold,
ancient eagle clutching a thunderbolt of the same color).
Note the jagged lightening
bolts under the talons.
3) May 15, 1857 was a Friday
4)
A performance hall near the Paris Conservatory named for German
pianist Henri Herz.
According to the Hector Berlioz website
(http://www.hberlioz.com/Paris/BPHerz.html),
the
Salle Herz was located on the site of the present no. 48, rue de la
Victoire. It was
built in 1842 on commission from Henri et Jacques Herz. (See
current investigation below for more)
(Our thanks to D.B. of Paris for the translation and note #4.)
[Under investigation: In Paris, during
1860, "With an offer from one De Lucy to help finance a 'Wagner
experience,' Wagner planned three concerts of his music
including Der fliegende Holländer, Tristan, Tannhäuser and
Lohengrin. The dates were January 25, February 1 and February 8,
1860--all Wednesdays. They were to take place in "a theater"
that accommodated 1,550 persons. "Wagner rehearsed the orchestra
in the theater's Salle Herz." (Paris: The Musical Kaleidoscope
1870-1925 by Elaine Brody (New York:1987) p. 35) Is this the same
Salle Herz reference above in note #4? What was the 1,550-seat theatre
used for performance?
Newman says, "At first he [Wagner] had had in his mind the
bold scheme of starting a German theatre in Paris, giving in
turn Tannhauser, Lohengrin, and Tristan. The Theatre Italien (the
Salle Ventadour) would have been available in May 1860 after the close
of the Italian season;..." Lucy, says Newman, was "a rich
a man and at the time a Receiver-General in Marseilles, who took to
the idea [of the Wagner concerts] immediately." Wagner had to be
content with the Salle Ventadour, says Newman, for a "high rent of
4,000 francs a night for three concerts in January 1860." (Ernest
Newman, The Life of Richard Wagner, Vol. 2, pp/601-602)
Did these concerts ever occur? Brody later says, "Tannhauser,
after inordinate delays and unbelievable obstacles, finally arrived at
the Opéra in March 1861." This was the famous debacle when the members
of the claque, Jockey Club, jeered the performance so strongly it was
closed. (Brody, p. 118)
REV. 02/14/2005
