"Aus meinem Leben (Schluß)"

Name of traveller

Eduard Hanslick (1825-1904) and Sophie Hanslick (b. 1856)

Reason for travel

  • invitation to visit the opera singer Adelina Patti at her home

Date of travel

June 1886

"John, Nummer vierzehn!" John eilt zu dem Instrumentalofen, heizt ihn mit einem neuen Scheit Musik, und die Arie sprüht heraus. Die Traviata vor Adelina Patti von einem Automaten georgelt! (Hanslick 43)

Content

  • architecture:
    • describes recent architectural changes and additions to the original structures of Craig-y-Nos Castle under the supervision of Adelina Patti
    • electric lighting in use at Craig-y-Nos
    • description of the lavish interior of the country house
  • art:
    • feels ambivalent towards the orchestrion in use at Craig-y-Nos that had been imported from Germany
    • describes Craig-y-Nos as a musical household, but Adelina Patti refuses to sing for her guests
  • customs: feels out of place with the gentrified life-style and entertainment offered to invited guests at Craig-y-Nos
  • people:
    • travels together with his wife Sophie Hanslick (née Wohlmuth, b. 1856)
    • visits the home of internationally famous Italo-American soprano Adelina Patti (1843-1919) shortly after her wedding to the French tenor Ernesto Nicolini (1834-1898)
    • many international guests in attendance at Craig-y-Nos, such as the German conductor Wilhelm Ganz (1833-1914)
  • recreation: immediate surroundings of Craig-y-Nos unsatisfactory for walking excursions
  • terrain:
    • pleasant, rural countryside around Brecon giving way to darker and monotonous valleys towards Swansea
    • disappointed by the landscape surrounding Craig-y-Nos
  • transport:
    • modes of travel: carriage; on foot; train
    • positively surprised by the professional handling of luggage on the trains
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Nationality of traveller

Bohemian, Austrian

Language of publication

German

Gender of traveller

Male, Female

Type of publication

autobiography

Citation

Hanslick, Eduard. "Aus meinem Leben (Schluß)." Deutsche Rundschau 80 (July-Sep. 1894): 33-55.  Print.

Entry created: 29 October 2015
Entry last updated: 23 September 2016