Chiodos - All Nereids Beware

In order to somehow cope with the impending depression due to forced inaction, Wagner took several short trips outside Vienna. In particular, quite unexpectedly, he received an invitation from the Vezendonks to visit Venice with them. The composer recalled: “God knows what I was counting on when on one gray November day I went by train to Trieste, from there on a boat, where I again had to endure an unpleasant watch (Wagner suffered from seasickness. - M. Z.), to Venice ... My friends, whose relations seemed very good to me, enjoyed running around art galleries. They also tried to introduce me to this, hoping in this way to dispel my gloomy thoughts ... For all my indifference, I must admit that Titian's Ascension made such a strong impression on me,that I suddenly felt an influx of former internal forces. I decided to write the Meistersinger. ”