Dear Friend,
I
have studied your plan most carefully and I have shown it to Breuning
as well - Whatever task you undertake will always be extremely
well done. But from the very beginning I told you that the subject
of 'Alcine' was too well known - I remember many scenes in the
ballet Alcine; and that along makes me feel unhappy about
it; and what an opportunity would that offer for comparisons
to be drawn, especially by the opposition party, in your case
and mine. Take, for instance, the account of the abduction
on Roger's winged horse which in the ballet can really be carried
out before the eyes of the audience. - Bradamante's challenging
Atlas to a duel, his being put in chains - all those incidents
were shown in the ballet - and on the whole the subject closely
resembles that of the ballet - And now there must at all costs
be magic - I cannot deny that on the whole I am prejudiced
against this sort of thing, because it has a soporific effect
on feeling and reason - However, so far as that is concerned,
do as your like. I promise you that even if you stick to this
subject and, moreover, in its present form, I will set it to music
all the same - Well now, I have put forward my objections - As
to the decorations, I have already told H[artl], who endorses
my opinion, that we should not take those which have already been
used - Why should it be that in our work where the public is really
entitled to expect something, less trouble should be taken than
in bungled work? If there is no option I should even prefer
to make less profit. - And on the whole I believe that the whole
business could still be tackled in a different way - I shall not
be here tomorrow. But next week, let us say, Tuesday or Wednesday,
I will call on you - At the moment I have to devote far too much
time to pot-boilers - The reason is that thanks to the
promises and solicitations of my friends, which
in the case of the latter have been made rather slowly and vaguely,
I have been drawing nothing but blanks - All good wishes.
The
friend of the poet Collin
Ludwig
van Beethoven