At the theatre he learnt the final lesson needed to prepare him for writing operas of his own. Masaniello in its way opened his eyes as much as Beethoven’s symphonies had done.  Not only the bustle, but the clean sweep of the thing from beginning to finish of each act, with brilliant climaxes in the finales, made him stare and gasp in amazement.  Weber he admired; but Weber’s power lay in the beauty and picturesqueness of his music:  in Masaniello the music made its effect because of the theatrical skill with which it was used.  The same thing he felt in William Tell.  These two men, Auber and Rossini, were masters of the art of writing effectively for the theatre.  The drama of their operas was not particularly striking nor lofty, the music did not come near Beethoven’s, Mozart’s, nor even Weber’s in beauty, but their mastery in writing theatre-music carried them through triumphantly.  The problem was, then, to acquire their skill and use it for a high and noble purpose; and this Richard at once attempted to do.  He planned and wrote the words of Die Hochzeit.  He laid it aside because Rosalie disliked the plot; but immediately he proceeded to another opera, Die Feen, which he completed at Wuerzburg.  The book of Die Hochzeit is dated December 5, 1832, Leipzig.  On January 10 of the following year his symphony was given; on the 12th he replied to his brother Albert—­now singer, actor and stage-manager at the Wuerzburg theatre—­accepting an invitation to stay with him; a few days later he set out, reaching his destination towards the end of the month.

III

Wagner had scarcely time to look around him before his brother Albert offered him the post of chorus-master.  The salary was magnificent—­L1 (of our money) per month for about six months in the year; the work was hard.  We need only note with regard to it that he here heard, and in the process of drilling his choristers undoubtedly got to know very well, all the popular successes of the day.  His own account is that he liked them; and it is significant that during this period he heard Meyerbeer’s Robert the Devil.  At the moment it does not seem to have affected his compositions; but in a very few years Meyerbeer’s example, if not his music, had a most marked influence in shaping his career.  For the present he worked at Die Feen, and as soon as the theatre closed and Albert and his wife went elsewhere to perform in the off-season—­just as German, French, Italian and American singers come to Covent Garden now during the summer—­he had plenty of time.  By New Year’s day of ’34 the work was complete.  Parts of it were rendered by some Music Union; but soon Richard left Wuerzburg, having gained much experience if not any money.  He was offered a post at Zurich; but though that town was destined to be his home for years long afterwards, it evidently did not tempt him then, for he returned to Leipzig.