Original subtitles

The staging of Richard Wagner's Tristan

in June 1865

cost a fortune to the State.

To that unwise spending, we should add the King's personal expenses

to receive in an adequate way Empress Elisabeth

who instead decided not to attend.

And in doing so, she signaled to everyone her disapproval.

(♪ WAGNER: "Tristan & Isolde", Liebestod)

I hate having anyone wait for me.

And I hate to disappoint people,

arousing false hopes.

I had no hopes. You didn't come to the theater

and I was sure you wouldn't come here.

It was a triumph.

You should have seen it.

The audience applauded for hours, it seemed.

When Wagner appeared on stage, he said...

I wish I could remember the exact words.

He said, "Like Tristan and Isolde who drink..."

- How much did it all cost? - What?

Everything - Wagner, the conductor,

the conductor's family,

a house for Wagner, for the conductor, for his family.

Why do you ask me this?

What does it matter? It was a triumph.

A triumph(!) Triumphs are quickly forgotten.

Royals may have aroused the fiercest criticism,

but here criticism started even before the triumphs.

You, of all people,

worry about the malicious criticism of the public?

Yes, when it is deserved.

What is your ambition?

To go down in history thanks to Richard Wagner?

Like my mother-in-law with her ridiculous painters?

If your Richard Wagner is as great as you say,

then he doesn't need you.

Your pathetic friendship

only gives you the illusion of having created something.

Just as I give you the illusion of love.

You cannot stay alone.

You want me to be your impossible love

to justify yourself somehow.

You need help I cannot give you.

Marry.

Marry Sophie.

But... I have never loved another woman than you.

Love is a duty also.

And your duty is to face reality.

Forget your dreams.

Rulers like us have nothing to do with history.

We are only a display.

History will forget us.

Unless someone makes us seem important by assassinating us.

(♪ Plays delicate, lyrical waltz from "La Périchole" by Jacques Offenbach)

That's the music the German people like, not mine.

Not a day goes by now

without some attack on me in the Munich papers.

Stop reading them.

I shall give orders to keep the newspapers away from you.

You should forbid me to leave the house as well.

People insult me in the street.

I really would like to keep you prisoner,

because then I would know you were working -

for yourself and for me.

Sometimes I wonder if my strength will last.

I must, at least, have faith in you.

I think sometimes it's life itself I fear.

Or life as it was before I met Your Majesty.

Now, as Your Majesty can see,

we've done away with the boxes - the house is like an amphitheater.

The audience is one ideal community with no divisions or rank.

And the orchestra is well below the stage.

But I can show you that more clearly in another drawing.

And the lighting is entirely new.

The spectator will be able to concentrate on the stage.

We must be able to plunge the house into total darkness.

How many seats will there be?

1 ,500... Yes, perhaps 1 ,700.

Semper will go into all that later.

I should like to have at least 2,000,

but the cost...

No doubt they'll finally decide on a much smaller theater,

or cancel the whole project.

Why do you say that?

Because that's the way it will end, I feel sure.

Just think of the talk the performance of Tristan caused.

I can imagine the comments

when the construction of a new theater is announced.

They'll all behave as if they're being robbed.

They will want to arrest me.

It's impossible to work for such and ignorant public.

Great thinkers have always acknowledged

the importance of music to a nation.

But here, they talk only of waste of money.

They count every pfennig.

This much for the tenor, for the soprano, the orchestra.

Such criticism isn't censure. They have another paramount.

It's bloody stupidity!

Forgive me, Sire, but Tristan's success gave me such joy.

Such hope.

Now these vulgar attacks are ruining everything.

They're affecting Your Majesty too.

You are troubled, sad, without enthusiasm.

I? No, no, that's not it.

How can you think that?

If you weren't here with me, I would be in despair.

You, my salvation.

My only comfort.

I am putting all my strength into the building of this theater.

All of my love.

Forgive me for disturbing you, but it is getting dark

and poor Fanny did not dare come and light the lamps.

She asked my help.

Oh, no, you must forgive us.

- May I have the honor of serving tea? - Yes, thank you.

How are you today, Maestro?

- Were you able to rest a bit? - Mmm.

- Milk, Your Majesty? - Thank you.

- Have you been unwell? - No, no. Nothing.

Why wasn't I informed?

Thank you.

- I could have waited until tomorrow - I am quite well.

That is not true.

Anyone with sensitive nerves like me has their ups and downs.

I have had headaches for years.

This was not just a headache.

I don't see why His Majesty shouldn't know the state of your health.

Please,

I want you to tell me the truth about the Maestro's illness.

I have told you the truth.

No!

No.

Well... I can speak as a someone who has lived in daily communication

with the Maestro only for a short time,

but my impressions are the same as my husband's,

who is the Maestro's great friend and collaborator.

It's true, the Maestro has always suffered from nervous strain,

but recently it has got worse.

In addition to his headaches, he has insomnia, and...

Well, I'm quite concerned.

But I think medicine can do little in such cases.

The real reason for the anxiety must be found and eradicated.

I've told him not to worry about those scandal sheets. They're not worth it.

Forgive me, Sire, but it is not that criticism which upsets Maestro.

It's not the uncertainty of the theater project either.

He is worried about the future.

About his inability to settle a painful situation

which has haunted him for too long.

Some debts made in the past... Forgive me, dear Maestro.

His Majesty asked for my opinion, I must give it to him honestly.

All those worries are past now.

- I am here. - Of course, Your Majesty!

But... I must admit that the Maestro is right.

When one is a guest,

one cannot enjoy absolute security.

But the Maestro is not a guest.

He receives a stipend like any collaborator.

Like the most valued of collaborators.

Of course. Why are we discussing such things?

Because they are things you mention often and think of constantly.

- Why not explain them to His Majesty? - Madame von Bülow!

One of these days I must meet Madame von Bülow privately.

She will become my ally.

She will tell me how I can set my friend's mind at rest.

Please, please stay. I know the way.

Give me the pleasure of feeling I'm at home here.

I will see His Majesty out.

I can tell you now what the Maestro needs.

The request he means to send to Your Majesty in a letter, I believe,

so my husband told me.

The Maestro would like to have at his disposal a sum

that would allow him to settle his old debts

and feel confident about the future.

Otherwise, he would prefer to leave Munich.

Oh, no! No... no.

He would require 200,000 gulden.

- 200,000? - Gulden.

Part of the amount could be given him in cash

and the rest in the form of interest in monthly payments.

I would have to ask for a loan from the State Treasury

And it would have to be approved by Pfistermeister and Von der Pfordten.

I will send the Maestro an answer.

(Large door closes)

They promise you heaven and earth,

swear eternal friendship and love, and then what?

Are these the great patrons of art?

This half-witted boy, the latest lunatic in a family of lunatics.

He will give you everything you want, I know he will.

Oh, my darling. My darling.

Darling, Cosima.

(Papers rustle)

(Ludwig) What sort of a country is this?

A nation of policemen?

Pfistermeister used the police

to invite my guests who are then followed -

spied on by the police.

And the letters my guests write and receive,

are brought to me like trophies.

It's outrageous. It's outrageous!

These are normal precautions, Sire.

In this instance, they're all the more excusable since Wagner is a foreigner.

With a record as a revolutionary.

If Richard Wagner weren't an artist

he would be a saint.

His genius has a moral, purifying quality.

His art enlightens.

It is an antidote to the evils and corruptions of our society!

Richard Wagner's name will go down through centuries.

Because art is truth.

What remains of an artist

is not his weaknesses, which may shock you, but his work.

Your Majesty is right, of course.

But, if I may say so, it would be very dangerous

to allow the guardians of law and order to make exceptions.

Their point of view is different from ours.

For them, Richard Wagner is simply a man

who squanders the taxpayers' money

Madame von Bülow is not a muse,

but an adulteress.

And her husband is a contemptible opportunist

who pretends not to know about the relationship

between his own wife and Wagner

in order to keep his position.

Oh slander! Slander! Slander!

No, it's the truth.

As these letters clearly show.

And Your Majesty must realize this.

Wagner's detractors are perhaps insensitive to questions of art,

but they are not liars.

Mr Wagner and the Bülows

are in Your Majesty's antechamber.

They would like to be received with the greatest urgency.

(Faintly) No.

No.

(Scrunches paper)

Show them in.

(Door opens)

His Majesty the King will receive you at once.

Thank you.

Your Majesty advised me

to ignore what the newspapers wrote about me.

The criticisms, attacks, insinuations, the daily insults of the local press...

I have followed Your Majesty's advice.

I have borne everything and I have remained silent.

I would continue this silence if it concerned only me.

But now it is something that does not only concern me.

Your Majesty, an article has appeared in the Volksbote

clearly stating that my wife is the mistress of Richard Wagner.

I have challenged the editor to a duel.

All this is very serious, Sire.

Yes, it is.

It is indeed.

But we are all in this plot together.

Maestro von Bülow knows everything about his wife,

but pretends not to for fear of having to give up

the profitable and distinguished position

of conducting her lover's operas.

And I, who also knows everything,

because my friend Wagner hides nothing from me.

I...

his adviser, his friend.

Especially such an important fact

which affects not only his private life,

but also public opinion.

I...

a friend, admirer and confidant,

naturally want to help my beloved artist.

It is a hateful slander, Your Majesty. It's unforgivable. Unforgivable!

Only Your Majesty can help us and wipe it away.

If Your Majesty were to write a letter to Mr von Bülow,

a simple letter expressing esteem and friendship.

Once that letter was published in the newspapers...

Lohengrin does battle to defend Elsa,

but it is easier to fight a duel than to write a letter.

If it pleases Your Majesty, I have prepared a draft.

"My dear Mr von Bülow,

"having had occasion to appreciate fully

"the noble and generous gifts of your most esteemed wife..."

All right. All right.

I understand.

I will copy it and have it delivered tomorrow.

Doesn't Your Majesty wish me to read the rest?

No, that's not necessary

I am sure it will do very well.

Sire, my gratitude.

It is no more than my duty.

Wagner knows how highly I value true friendship.

(♪ Discordant piano)

His Majesty the King has instructed me

to order you to leave Munich as quickly as possible.

Here is His Majesty's message.

"My dear friend,

"much as it grieves me, I must ask you to carry out

"the request made by Minister Lutz.

"My love for you will endure forever.

"And I beg you to keep forever your friendship for me.

"I could not act otherwise.

"Until death, yours faithfully, Ludwig."

Do not say anything.

I can state that His Majesty, the King of Bavaria

has been afflicted by a certain mental instability

since 1866,

on the eve of our unfortunate participation in the war of that year.

The position taken by our sovereign against the government,

which proposed to maintain our alliance with Austria,

gave rise to much discontent among the people.

His Majesty is not here.

His Majesty is waiting, Your Highness.

(♪ Music box plays)

(Knocks on door)

(Ludwig) Come in.

Your Majesty, His Royal Highness Prince Otto is here.

Are they angry?

They are waiting for me. They think you aren't here.

Let them wait.

We have to go back to Munich tonight.

And then tomorrow...

Tomorrow I leave for the front again.

Do you mind it very much?

Yes, yes, I mind.

I mind the filth and the smell.

And the screams of the soldiers in the hospitals

when they operate without chloroform because the supplies have run out.

What should they want me to do this time?

Come back to Munich.

You are the King.

Ludwig...

We are losing the war.

Look!

The four quarters of the moon.

Remember when we were children we went fishing at night.

Yes. And you were furious because I caught more than you did.

Because I was the King

I did not want this war.

I want everybody to know! They must realize that.

Yes.

(♪ Music box continues to play)

What is wrong?

Oh, I don't know.

My eyes sting.

It must be because I can't sleep anymore.

When I sleep, I dream that I can't sleep,

that I can't close my eyes,

and I lie there asleep,

but it's as if I were awake.

My eyes are wide open and they sting.

You are not well.

Why don't you stay here with me at Berg?

I can't.

You know that.

I have to go back.

It would be dishonorable towards our allies too.

They are our relatives, after all.

Our Prussian enemies are relatives also!

(Stops music box)

We do everything in the family -

fight wars,

marry,

begat children.

And it's all incestuous and fratricidal.

- And we never know why. - You are the King,

if you didn't want the war, you should have forbidden it.

I did.

I'm doing everything possible to make my view clear.

As far as I am concerned, the war doesn't exist.

Tell the generals

the King does not know the war exists.

(Door opens)

(Door closes)

(Ducks begin to quack in the distance)

Who is there? Who is it?

It's me, Sire, Volk!

Why aren't you at the castle?

Who gave you permission to come out?

I thought Your Majesty wouldn't require me, so I...

A groom on duty is forbidden to leave the Royal apartment.

Don't you know that?

Yes, Your Majesty.

Nevertheless, you came here. And you left your post.

I couldn't sleep.

(Guard shouting commands)

Aren't you afraid that the sentries will catch you?

I can hear them coming.

I hide in the bushes.

- Can you swim? - A little, Sire.

But I never go where I can't touch the bottom.

I come from the mountains.

- Are you cold? - Yes, a little, Sire.

Here... Take this.

Help me.

Help me, help me.

I beseech you.

Help me.

(Footsteps approach)

(Man) A matter of the greatest urgency and importance!

(Knocks on door)

Captain Dürckheim asks to be received by His Majesty.

Come in!

We have been defeated, Sire.

We have surrendered.

- Did you suffer many losses? - No.

We did not have many casualties.

The enemy outnumbered us and our troops became demoralised.

Continuing to fight would have led to a useless massacre.

I am glad it's over, and that it lasted such a short time.

Seven weeks, Your Majesty.

And they seemed an eternity to those who lived through them.

Do you have any news of my brother, Otto?

He Prince has come back to Munich. He is very depressed.

You are very fond of my brother, aren't you, Dürckheim?

Yes, Sire.

Very fond.

Otto will be your king one day.

Very soon.

Because I...

His Highness Prince Otto is terribly unhappy.

He is so young.

And yet he seems to have burned his youth away without having lived it.

His ambitions were stifled by disappointments.

And he is filled with a sadness and fear.

He lives in a state of lonely anguish.

He never sleeps more than two hours a night.

He never rests.

He has looked for happiness...

...in what is impossible.

He wants security

in what is outside the rules.

Why shouldn't he?

The world around us is intolerably petty.

Men dream only of material security,

and are prepared to give their lives to achieve it.

I want to be free.

Free to seek happiness in the impossible.

But unlike my brother,

I try to suit my actions to my ideas.

That's why I abandoned this stupid war I was unable to prevent

I am not a coward!

I hate falsehood.

I want to live in truth.

Forgive me, Sire.

Allow a very ordinary man to express an opinion.

Your Majesty says you want to live in truth.

But I think what you mean is

you want to live as a free man

following only your own tastes and instincts.

Without hypocrisy or lies.

Am I right?

In my opinion, the truth doesn't have anything to do

with this search for the impossible.

When freedom is a privilege of the few,

it does not have anything to do with real freedom,

the same freedom that belongs to every man

and that each of us has the right to hold on to.

We live in a world

where there are no innocents,

where nobody has the right to judge anybody.

I am speaking as a friend.

The generosity that Your Majesty showed me

when we were both younger emboldens me now

to speak frankly,

from one man to another.

I am a soldier who was left alone on the battlefield

at a time of danger and bitterness.

But I feel neither contempt nor rancour

for the king who abandoned me.

Instead, I feel great pity.

My king thinks he has made a brave decision,

but he is mistaken if he thinks he can find happiness

outside the rules and the duties of men.

Those who love life cannot afford to search for the impossible.

Instead, they have to tread cautiously.

This is true even for a sovereign.

Even for a sovereign,

because the great power that a monarch has

is limited by the boundaries of the society of which he is part.

What man could follow him beyond those boundaries?

Who?

Certainly not the poor and weak

whose overriding concern is to find security.

Not just material well-being, but also moral.

The same security Your Majesty was talking about with such contempt.

The only people following him

will be the ones who see freedom

as a quest for pleasure without any moral boundaries.

No.

No, you surely do not want this.

Being followed only by low-down servants

opportunists and con artists.

No, I do not believe it. Your Majesty cannot like such creatures.

Who would take advantage of his generosity and would try to deceive him.

Why would a young person, with his whole life ahead of him,

not be tempted to find a different reason to live?

Even if it is difficult because it is the one of common people

who accept mediocrity.

It takes a great deal of courage to accept mediocrity

when you are someone who strives for ideals beyond this world, I know.

But it is the only way to be saved from a terrible loneliness.

- I must speak to my mother. - Her Majesty is still asleep.

Wake her! Go on.

Go! Quickly.

Her Majesty the Queen is awaiting Your Majesty.

I beg your pardon for waking you up at this hour,

but there was something I had to tell you immediately.

I have decided to marry.

Oh, Ludwig.

I was sure this would be good news for you.

Aren't you even going to ask me who the woman of my choice is?

I was waiting for Your Majesty to inform me.

I have complete faith in Your Majesty's judgment.

I want you to go at once

to Possenhofen

and ask Duchess Ludovica for the hand of Princess Sophie.

Sophie will be the ideal wife for you.

I have invited Father Hoffman to come here.

Please, receive him at once.

And I want you to communicate my decision to him.

And I want him to accompany you to Possenhofen,

since Princess Sophie is a Catholic.

- Er, Ludwig... - Goodbye, Helen.

(Bell rings)

- Oh, Your Majesty. - My dressing gown, quickly! Quickly!

Yes, Ma'am.

Quickly!

As soon as Father Hoffman arrives, he's to be shown into my room.

Yes, Your Majesty.

But Father Hoffman is here!

Your Majesty.

- What has happened? - Have you seen my son?

Yes, just now as he was leaving.

But he didn't say a word to me. He seemed very...

Happy.

He is beside himself with joy.

Ludwig is going to marry.

He wished me to tell you.

And he wants you to come with me

to ask for the girl's hand.

Now, this is correct because the princess is Catholic

and the request of a Protestant mother would not be enough.

He means to marry?

Princess Sophie, the sister of Elisabeth.

Isn't this wonderful news?

Father, I feel like I am waking up from a nightmare.

A nightmare you have not helped me much with, truth be known.

- Please, take a seat. - Thank you.

It must be a great relief.

I hope...

that His Majesty has found a stable balance.

It's just that...

a lot of young men struggle to find balance within themselves.

- An inner harmony. - He has found it.

What matters is that he's found it and is getting married.

I'm surprised that His Majesty has never mentioned his intentions to me.

I was saying that I hope that he has weighed this up carefully

before arriving at his decision.

Because...

this choice does not only involve him,

but also his spouse who, with the blessing of the Lord...

Enough, Father Hoffman!

What matters is that they get married,

and that the wedding is celebrated as soon as possible.

This is exactly what we all hoped for.

- Am I right? - Of course. It is a relief for all of us.

And for the country.

We will probably need a papal dispensation,

given the close relationship between the two.

Of course.

I am sure there will not be any problems.

- Their parents are cousins too. - Exactly.

Some believe that's why

the Wittelsbach and Hohenzollers families

have had so many cases of anomalies.

But as far as I know, young Sophie enjoys good health.

And His Majesty the King has never given us any reasons to worry.

We should mention certain timidities and indispositions of His Majesty

so that Sophie can help him and be understanding.

Like her sisters,

Sophie will quickly learn that a woman in her position

does not only have rights and privileges, but also duties.

Many duties.