WEBVTT - The Swan King Went Mad

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of I Heart Radio

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<v Speaker 1>and Aaron Manky listener Discretion is advised. A six year

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<v Speaker 1>old banker in Munich named Debt Love Udermont couldn't stop

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<v Speaker 1>thinking about the day in his childhood that he and

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<v Speaker 1>his mother had gone for tea at the home of

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<v Speaker 1>Countess Josephine von Verba. Countess Detlev was just ten years

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<v Speaker 1>old at the time, and though his father was a

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<v Speaker 1>prominent financier in Munich society, Detlove was unaccustomed to the

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<v Speaker 1>grandeur of the Countess's home. Every surface seemed covered in

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<v Speaker 1>velvet or gilding. Detlev's mother was uncomfortable, too, pulling at

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<v Speaker 1>her hair to when the Countess turned away, and smiling

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<v Speaker 1>too broadly. When the Countess returned bearing a tray of cakes,

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<v Speaker 1>Detlov's mother smacked him under the table so that he

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<v Speaker 1>remembered to fold a napkin on his lap. But the

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<v Speaker 1>Countess didn't seem to notice the discomfort of either young

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<v Speaker 1>Debt Love or his mother. She chatted with the practiced

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<v Speaker 1>ease of a noble woman, someone who knew how to

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<v Speaker 1>fill this silent with lyrical laughter and conspiratorial whispers. Though

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<v Speaker 1>Bavaria was no longer an independent kingdom, hadn't been since

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<v Speaker 1>eighteen seventy, when it first joined the North German Confederation

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<v Speaker 1>and then the German Empire. The Countess Josephine von Verba

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<v Speaker 1>Countage was still old Bavarian royalty. Her family were descendants

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<v Speaker 1>of the victuals Box, and she herself was a relative

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<v Speaker 1>of the former Bavarian King, Ludwig the second. Ludwig the

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<v Speaker 1>Second had enchanted the country. He ascended the throne in

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<v Speaker 1>eighteen young, romantic and handsome, built enormous fairy tale palaces,

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<v Speaker 1>and then died tragically, mysteriously by a suicide by drowning

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<v Speaker 1>at age forty in eighteen eighty six. But that was

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<v Speaker 1>years ago. The Countess finished her tea and put the

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<v Speaker 1>cup delicately back into its saucer. She leaned in and

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<v Speaker 1>dramatically cast her eyes around the room before settling them

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<v Speaker 1>back on young debt Lev and his mother. Do you

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<v Speaker 1>want to know, the countess said, how King Ludwig the

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<v Speaker 1>Second really died. Without waiting for an answer, she swept

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<v Speaker 1>to the back of the room and pulled open an

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<v Speaker 1>antique chest. You see, The countess continued as the victuals

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<v Speaker 1>box last remaining relatives. We've become privy to certain personal

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<v Speaker 1>possessions with the flourish. She pulled out a gray loaded coat.

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<v Speaker 1>At first, debt Lev didn't notice anything strange about it

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<v Speaker 1>until the Countess flipped it around and he could see

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<v Speaker 1>two bullet holes, straight and clean through the back of

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<v Speaker 1>the coat. But the king drowned. Debt Leve chirped, ignoring

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<v Speaker 1>the scolding look from his mother. Ah. The countess said,

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<v Speaker 1>that's exactly what they want you to believe. Debt Lev

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<v Speaker 1>didn't tell anyone about at strange afternoon eating cakes and

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<v Speaker 1>drinking tea in the Countess's drawing room, not until he

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<v Speaker 1>reached sixty and swore a signed affidavit about that memory

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<v Speaker 1>that kept sticking in his brain. But by then it

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<v Speaker 1>was impossible to verify. The countess's home had burned down

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<v Speaker 1>in a fire in the nineteen seventies, a fire that

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<v Speaker 1>killed both the Countess and her husband. Ludwig the Second,

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<v Speaker 1>looms large over Bavaria their fairy tale prints. His influence

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<v Speaker 1>is physical. The massive palaces he constructed during his reign

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<v Speaker 1>remained Bavaria's most popular tourist attractions, but he also has

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<v Speaker 1>a philosophical hold on the people. He's a beloved tragic

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<v Speaker 1>hero whose great misfortune was that he happened to be

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<v Speaker 1>a romantic born at the height of the industrial age,

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<v Speaker 1>and his death continues to fascinate and mystify. The king

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<v Speaker 1>was found face down in a lake in water that

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<v Speaker 1>was only waist deep. The king had been a champion swimmer.

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<v Speaker 1>No official reports mentioned a gray coat with bullet holes.

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<v Speaker 1>But only a day before the king was found dead,

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<v Speaker 1>he had been deposed by his own council, a government

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<v Speaker 1>fed up with his obsession with building palaces, and then

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<v Speaker 1>had him declared insane. All we know for sure is

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<v Speaker 1>the king was found dead, and anyone who knew the

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<v Speaker 1>whole story of how or why is long dead by

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<v Speaker 1>now too. I'm Danis Schwartz, and this is noble blood.

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<v Speaker 1>On June thirteenth, eighteen eighty six, just a day after

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<v Speaker 1>being imprisoned at burgh Castle, Ludwig the Second went for

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<v Speaker 1>a walk with his doctor. Though the former king was

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<v Speaker 1>usually accompanied by attendants, there were none who joined on

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<v Speaker 1>that walk down to the shores of Lake Stromberg that evening.

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<v Speaker 1>It was just Ludwig the Second and Dr Guden, the

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<v Speaker 1>doctor who had declared the king insane only days before

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<v Speaker 1>in order to remove him from power. The government commission

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<v Speaker 1>had arrived at Ludwig's castle Nu Schweinstein at four am

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<v Speaker 1>three days before in order to formally depose him. Ludwig

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<v Speaker 1>had been tipped off by a servant and had local

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<v Speaker 1>police stationed outside the palace to protect him, but it

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<v Speaker 1>wasn't enough, nor was the flailing of forty seven year

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<v Speaker 1>old baroness, who attacked the commission with her umbrella to

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<v Speaker 1>try to delay them. Eventually, a second commission of men arrived,

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<v Speaker 1>doctor Guden among them, who seized the king as he

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<v Speaker 1>attempted to make an escape. How can you declare me insane, Ludwig,

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<v Speaker 1>guess the doctor you've never seen or examined me, doctor

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<v Speaker 1>Guden cleared his throat. An examination was unnecessary, he said.

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<v Speaker 1>The documentary evidence was very copious and completely substantiated. It

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<v Speaker 1>was overwhelming, and so the government installed Ludwig's uncle Luis

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<v Speaker 1>Pold as regent king and installed Ludwig in a prison

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<v Speaker 1>palace on the shores of Lake Starnberg. Builders were still

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<v Speaker 1>putting bars on the windows when Ludwig and his escorts

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<v Speaker 1>arrived the following day. After dinner, Ludwig and his doctor

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<v Speaker 1>went for that walk. They left at six pm, and

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<v Speaker 1>the servants expected them back within the hour by eight

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<v Speaker 1>p m at the latest, if the pair took the

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<v Speaker 1>long way down the path. But eight p m arrived

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<v Speaker 1>and the pair was still gone. Servants were dispatched into

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<v Speaker 1>now heavy rain to find Ludwig in the doctor through

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<v Speaker 1>gail winds and unrelenting downpour. The entire palace staff searched

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<v Speaker 1>the grounds of the castle and the path by the lake.

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<v Speaker 1>It wasn't until ten thirty that night that a servant

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<v Speaker 1>noticed the strange bobbing objects just a few feet away

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<v Speaker 1>from the shore in the water. He shined the light

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<v Speaker 1>towards the water and saw the former king's head and

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<v Speaker 1>shoulders floating, his face bloated and lifeless. The servants shouted

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<v Speaker 1>and more men came and pulled from the shallow waters

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<v Speaker 1>of the lake both King Ludwig and Dr Guden, whose

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<v Speaker 1>corpse was floating just a few feet away. An accident

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<v Speaker 1>seemed implausible. The water was only waist deep, and the

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<v Speaker 1>king had been a strong swimmer since childhood. The autopsy

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<v Speaker 1>report came back with no wounds on his body, but

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<v Speaker 1>also strangely, no water in his lungs. So called dry

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<v Speaker 1>drownings are possible, but they're rare, usually only occurring when

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<v Speaker 1>someone dies of a heart attack or stroke before falling

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<v Speaker 1>beneath the water. The King's watch was stopped at six

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<v Speaker 1>fifty four. The good doctor's autopsy showed blows to the

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<v Speaker 1>head and neck and signs of strangulation, as if there

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<v Speaker 1>had been a fight. Official word came back, declaring that

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<v Speaker 1>the death of the king and his doctor was a

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<v Speaker 1>suicide and accidental murder. The king had been trying to

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<v Speaker 1>kill himself and had fought against the doctor who was

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<v Speaker 1>trying to save him. Conspiracy theorist mumble that the king

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<v Speaker 1>had seemed in fine spirit and that an autopsy doctor

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<v Speaker 1>could have easily been paid off to fictionalize the results.

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<v Speaker 1>Perhaps the king had been shot while he was trying

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<v Speaker 1>to escape, and the doctor killed as well to prevent

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<v Speaker 1>any witnesses. Or maybe the king had just been shot

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<v Speaker 1>as a preventative measure. He was still beloved by the

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<v Speaker 1>people of Bavaria, and while he was alive, the specter

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<v Speaker 1>of his reclaiming power still loomed. Locals tell stories of

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<v Speaker 1>overheard gunshots of commissioned boats and escape plans, but no

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<v Speaker 1>stories are verified. All we know for sure is the

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<v Speaker 1>king and his doctor went for a walk one evening

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<v Speaker 1>and never came back. As a future monarch, Ludwig was

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<v Speaker 1>raised in lonely isolation with strict tutors who demanded focus

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<v Speaker 1>and discipline from a prince who tended to spend most

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<v Speaker 1>of his time gazing out of windows. His brief moments

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<v Speaker 1>of childhood happiness came at his family's summer palace in

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<v Speaker 1>the mountains, where the walls were painted with fairy tale

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<v Speaker 1>murals about the medieval night Lone Grin, the Arthurian swan

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<v Speaker 1>king who comes to rescue a damsel in a swan

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<v Speaker 1>drawn boat and marries her before tragedy pulls them apart.

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<v Speaker 1>And so when young Ludwig first encountered the Upper Lone

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<v Speaker 1>Grin by the composer Wagner, he felt as though his

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<v Speaker 1>life had finally come into focus. To call his interest

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<v Speaker 1>an obsession would be an understatement. He read the libretto daily,

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<v Speaker 1>multiple times a day. He dreamt of Wagner and his opera.

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<v Speaker 1>When Ludwig finally got the chance to see the opera

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<v Speaker 1>performed when he was fifteen, he wept so hard in

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<v Speaker 1>the audience that his fellow patrons were afraid that his

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<v Speaker 1>convulsions were seizures. From then on, Ludwig had a single

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<v Speaker 1>devotion Wagner. He read his work as if they were

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<v Speaker 1>religious texts, all based on legends that were familiar to

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<v Speaker 1>him from the Frescoes and his childhood home. In the

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<v Speaker 1>introduction of Wagner's massive and as he had unproduced epic

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<v Speaker 1>The Ring Cycle, Wagner wrote that he dreamt of a

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<v Speaker 1>prince with all the resources and passion to actually ever

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<v Speaker 1>bring the massive work to his stage. It was as

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<v Speaker 1>if the words were meant for Ludwig alone, a plea

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<v Speaker 1>through time met and answered with a solemn promise. When

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<v Speaker 1>he was eighteen, Ludwig became king, much younger than he expected,

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<v Speaker 1>and still far more interested in fairy tales than the

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<v Speaker 1>minutia of running a kingdom. But the kingdom adored their young, handsome,

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<v Speaker 1>romantic king who stood at six four and whose dramatic

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<v Speaker 1>profile was set off by a thick head of dark curls.

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<v Speaker 1>He was their poet king, and he knew exactly what

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<v Speaker 1>the first thing he wanted to do with his new

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<v Speaker 1>found power was I burn with ardor to behold the

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<v Speaker 1>creator of the words and musings of lone grin? He

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<v Speaker 1>wrote in a letter to Wagner just a few weeks

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<v Speaker 1>after he became king. Ludwig included a ruby ring and

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<v Speaker 1>signed photographs of himself as gestures of his generosity and goodwill.

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<v Speaker 1>He instructed his chief counselor to track down the composure

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<v Speaker 1>and bring him to court. The task was more challenging

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<v Speaker 1>than the counselor anticipated. Wagner was heavily in debt and

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<v Speaker 1>in hiding. When the courts counselor first approached, Wagner fled,

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<v Speaker 1>sure the man was a creditor come to demand payment.

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<v Speaker 1>But soon Wagner would realize all of his financial worries

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<v Speaker 1>were at ned. As soon as he arrived to Ludwig's court,

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<v Speaker 1>the king wiped his debt clean, granted him an income

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<v Speaker 1>and a place to live. You are the world's miracle.

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<v Speaker 1>What am I without you, Ludwig wrote to Wagner. My

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<v Speaker 1>love for you I need not repeat. It will endure forever.

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<v Speaker 1>He called the composer sole source of my delight. From

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<v Speaker 1>my tenderest youth onward, my friend who spoke to my

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<v Speaker 1>heart as no other diad. But devoted as Ludwig was

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<v Speaker 1>to Wagner, the Bavarian people didn't quite feel the same way.

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<v Speaker 1>The public had begun to sour to the composer, whose

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<v Speaker 1>absorbitant spending and political dissonance clashed violently with the humbler

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<v Speaker 1>more pious sensibilities of the people of Bavaria. Ludwig, although

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<v Speaker 1>he didn't publicly admit it was gay, and although there's

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<v Speaker 1>no proof that his relationship with Wagner was ever physical,

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<v Speaker 1>it's clear that Wagner didn't share the king's feelings. While

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<v Speaker 1>Wagner prudently enjoyed the attention and devotion of the King,

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<v Speaker 1>he also had a child out of wedlock with the

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<v Speaker 1>wife of his conductor and engaged with such wild Headenism

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<v Speaker 1>and munich that Ludwig's government all but forced the king

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<v Speaker 1>to banish Wagner from Bavaria. With no choice, the king

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<v Speaker 1>acquiesced and fell into such a period of despondence that

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<v Speaker 1>he considered renouncing his throne and following Wagner into exile.

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<v Speaker 1>Both Wagner and the king's counselors politely dissuaded him from

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<v Speaker 1>the idea, and so instead, while the king continued to

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<v Speaker 1>fund Wagner from abroad. He also half heartedly began his

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<v Speaker 1>attempt to perform at least one of his kingly duties,

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<v Speaker 1>providing the kingdom in air. A year after Wagner's banishment,

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<v Speaker 1>Ludwig announced his engagement to his cousin Sophie, a young

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<v Speaker 1>woman who shared his passion for opera. But Ludwig delayed

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<v Speaker 1>the wedding, first once and then a second time, and

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<v Speaker 1>then after six months he called it off entirely, My

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<v Speaker 1>beloved Elsa, he wrote in a letter after the engagement ended,

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<v Speaker 1>your cruel father has torn us apart eternally, yours Heinrich.

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<v Speaker 1>He was referencing the story from the Wagner opera Lohengrin.

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<v Speaker 1>The King could play make believe in letters, but he

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<v Speaker 1>couldn't bring himself to do it for an entire marriage.

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<v Speaker 1>With no wedding and no Wagner. Ludwig found another devotion

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<v Speaker 1>building palaces. Hugh would build the grandest palaces in Europe,

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<v Speaker 1>play grounds for him to play, act operas and live

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<v Speaker 1>out his life as he always wanted it, as if

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<v Speaker 1>he had been born a century earlier. Ludwig began commissioning

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<v Speaker 1>drawings for castles, engaging not just architects, but theatrical set designers,

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<v Speaker 1>so the palaces would be dramatic in every sense of

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<v Speaker 1>the word. The first palace completed was Linderhof, a Rococo

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<v Speaker 1>jewelry box in the style of Louis, the Son, King

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<v Speaker 1>of France. Ludwig called himself the Moon King, the dark

0:15:30.960 --> 0:15:35.960
<v Speaker 1>shadow counterpart of Louis. The two had a lot in common.

0:15:36.560 --> 0:15:40.360
<v Speaker 1>They shared the same name Ludwig is the germanization of Louis,

0:15:41.120 --> 0:15:44.840
<v Speaker 1>and the same taste for formal gardens and gilded decor.

0:15:45.760 --> 0:15:49.080
<v Speaker 1>At Linderhoff, Ludwig built a grotto in which he could

0:15:49.080 --> 0:15:51.520
<v Speaker 1>be rowed around in a boat shaped like a swan

0:15:52.440 --> 0:15:56.480
<v Speaker 1>through the new miracle of electricity. The grotto was brilliantly

0:15:56.600 --> 0:16:01.040
<v Speaker 1>lit in changing colors, as if Ludwig was always on stage.

0:16:01.480 --> 0:16:04.680
<v Speaker 1>In the woods surrounding the palace, he built a replica

0:16:04.840 --> 0:16:09.200
<v Speaker 1>hut from the set of Wagner's Volk, with an artificial

0:16:09.280 --> 0:16:13.280
<v Speaker 1>tree and an artificial sword embedded in it, waiting for

0:16:13.360 --> 0:16:18.560
<v Speaker 1>the opera's hero Sigmund to come pull it free. Another replica,

0:16:19.000 --> 0:16:22.520
<v Speaker 1>a cottage from the third act of Wagner's Parsifal, was

0:16:22.600 --> 0:16:26.280
<v Speaker 1>built nearby for the king to spend long afternoons reading

0:16:26.280 --> 0:16:31.200
<v Speaker 1>inside his own personal petit, trying on the moon. King

0:16:31.320 --> 0:16:35.720
<v Speaker 1>was largely nocturnal. In the winter, when the moon was bright,

0:16:36.200 --> 0:16:39.760
<v Speaker 1>he would have his footman in elaborate replica eighteenth century

0:16:39.800 --> 0:16:44.280
<v Speaker 1>costumes escored him on sleigh rides through the snow covered meadows.

0:16:45.080 --> 0:16:49.000
<v Speaker 1>Ludwig despised the company of most people. He had a

0:16:49.040 --> 0:16:52.280
<v Speaker 1>clever architect designed a dining room table for him at

0:16:52.360 --> 0:16:56.440
<v Speaker 1>Linderhof that descended on a pulley system down into the

0:16:56.480 --> 0:17:00.480
<v Speaker 1>floor to the kitchen below. There, the staff set the

0:17:00.480 --> 0:17:03.880
<v Speaker 1>table and lay it with food. Then the table would

0:17:03.960 --> 0:17:07.400
<v Speaker 1>rise again to the main dining room, without Ludwig ever

0:17:07.480 --> 0:17:10.919
<v Speaker 1>having to suffer another person coming into the room to

0:17:11.040 --> 0:17:17.720
<v Speaker 1>drop off a plate. But the king wasn't lonely. He

0:17:17.840 --> 0:17:21.119
<v Speaker 1>spent the dinners in long conversations with the portraits he

0:17:21.200 --> 0:17:25.399
<v Speaker 1>hung on the walls, heroines of French royalty, Madame de

0:17:25.520 --> 0:17:30.160
<v Speaker 1>Pompadour and Marie Antoinette. People tended to use the word

0:17:30.280 --> 0:17:35.600
<v Speaker 1>eccentric more and more often about the king. Before Linderholf

0:17:35.640 --> 0:17:39.800
<v Speaker 1>was even finished, he began on nu Schwanstein, a palace

0:17:39.880 --> 0:17:43.280
<v Speaker 1>that would be a celebration of all things Wagner and

0:17:43.359 --> 0:17:47.200
<v Speaker 1>the Swan Knight. The name of the palace itself translates

0:17:47.240 --> 0:17:51.280
<v Speaker 1>to New Swan Stone. It rose in a white froth

0:17:51.560 --> 0:17:55.280
<v Speaker 1>from the wooded mountains south of Munich, swirling with high

0:17:55.480 --> 0:18:00.320
<v Speaker 1>romantic turrets and towers. Inside the palace was filled with

0:18:00.400 --> 0:18:04.159
<v Speaker 1>tapestries and murals depicting the legend of the Holy Grail,

0:18:04.680 --> 0:18:10.320
<v Speaker 1>and of course, the operas of Richard Wagner. Swans were everywhere,

0:18:10.680 --> 0:18:15.280
<v Speaker 1>appearing in murals and carved into furniture, edged into windows

0:18:15.359 --> 0:18:19.240
<v Speaker 1>in tiny porcelain form. The bedding was filled not with

0:18:19.359 --> 0:18:24.200
<v Speaker 1>goostown but with swan feathers. Just off the dining room,

0:18:24.400 --> 0:18:29.640
<v Speaker 1>Ludwig added an artificial indoor grotto, complete with a waterfall

0:18:30.000 --> 0:18:33.600
<v Speaker 1>and a rainbow machine that could illuminate it in multiple colors.

0:18:34.119 --> 0:18:37.520
<v Speaker 1>The grotto also had a false moon that moved through

0:18:37.560 --> 0:18:41.600
<v Speaker 1>regular phases. Even if you've never been to Nusch von Stein,

0:18:41.960 --> 0:18:45.760
<v Speaker 1>it would look familiar to It served as the inspiration

0:18:45.920 --> 0:18:49.800
<v Speaker 1>for Walt Disney when he built Sleeping Beauty's Castle at Disneyland.

0:18:50.800 --> 0:18:54.679
<v Speaker 1>Most royal palaces served a public function, with spaces for

0:18:54.760 --> 0:18:58.760
<v Speaker 1>the activities of royal court. Nuchvan Stein was an entirely

0:18:58.920 --> 0:19:03.840
<v Speaker 1>private resident the king that's own private living, theatrical space,

0:19:04.440 --> 0:19:09.160
<v Speaker 1>a shrine to Wagner. The palace ended up costing almost

0:19:09.200 --> 0:19:14.520
<v Speaker 1>twice its initial estimates and draining the king's substantial personal coffers.

0:19:15.240 --> 0:19:18.920
<v Speaker 1>He opened the lines of credit all over Europe, borrowing

0:19:19.119 --> 0:19:23.080
<v Speaker 1>from every foreign royal family he could. But the king

0:19:23.200 --> 0:19:26.919
<v Speaker 1>wasn't done yet. He was going to build his masterpiece,

0:19:27.560 --> 0:19:31.840
<v Speaker 1>a scale replica of Versailles in Bavaria that would be

0:19:31.920 --> 0:19:37.000
<v Speaker 1>grander and more ambitious than anything built before heron Kim say,

0:19:37.040 --> 0:19:40.320
<v Speaker 1>would be a monument to the divine right of kings,

0:19:40.359 --> 0:19:43.280
<v Speaker 1>even though by this point Bavaria had been absorbed by

0:19:43.320 --> 0:19:48.320
<v Speaker 1>Prussia and no longer operated as an independent kingdom. Ludwig

0:19:48.359 --> 0:19:51.200
<v Speaker 1>would have a hall of mirrors running nearly two hundred

0:19:51.240 --> 0:19:56.040
<v Speaker 1>and fifty feet lit by two thousand, one hundred eight candles,

0:19:56.520 --> 0:20:00.520
<v Speaker 1>which he insisted that his servants light every night and

0:20:00.560 --> 0:20:06.360
<v Speaker 1>replaced the following day with fresh candles. Obsession became mania.

0:20:07.400 --> 0:20:10.240
<v Speaker 1>In the end, the king would spend less than a

0:20:10.240 --> 0:20:17.120
<v Speaker 1>week in his never finished mini Versailles. The Ludwig never

0:20:17.240 --> 0:20:20.960
<v Speaker 1>used the kingdom's funds for his palaces, the government was

0:20:21.000 --> 0:20:25.639
<v Speaker 1>still made uneasy by his blase attitude towards spending and debt.

0:20:26.440 --> 0:20:29.480
<v Speaker 1>They begged him to take an interest in government, to

0:20:29.560 --> 0:20:34.160
<v Speaker 1>meet with ministers, to do something anything other than reading

0:20:34.320 --> 0:20:39.400
<v Speaker 1>and writing and dreaming and spending acting on a stage

0:20:39.960 --> 0:20:45.920
<v Speaker 1>without an audience. Stories of the king's eccentric behavior kept

0:20:45.960 --> 0:20:52.800
<v Speaker 1>trickling into government officials who exchanged sideways glances. Ludwig asked

0:20:52.880 --> 0:20:55.919
<v Speaker 1>his cabinet for a credit of six million marks to

0:20:55.960 --> 0:21:00.280
<v Speaker 1>complete his mini Versailles, which was denied. Ludwig was so

0:21:00.440 --> 0:21:04.159
<v Speaker 1>frustrated he publicly threatened to fire his entire cabinet and

0:21:04.200 --> 0:21:08.480
<v Speaker 1>replace them all. A few weeks later, a government commission

0:21:08.560 --> 0:21:13.560
<v Speaker 1>came to seize King Ludwig the Second and depose him,

0:21:13.600 --> 0:21:17.120
<v Speaker 1>saying that the king was insane and unfit to rule.

0:21:18.160 --> 0:21:21.960
<v Speaker 1>A few days later, Ludwig was dead, a prince who

0:21:22.000 --> 0:21:25.480
<v Speaker 1>lived in a fantasy and died in the shallow waters

0:21:26.240 --> 0:21:36.040
<v Speaker 1>of the lake near prison palace. That's the story of

0:21:36.080 --> 0:21:39.600
<v Speaker 1>the tragic death of King Ludwig the Second of Bavaria.

0:21:40.200 --> 0:21:43.159
<v Speaker 1>But keep listening after a brief sponsor break, to hear

0:21:43.200 --> 0:21:55.480
<v Speaker 1>a little bit more about his relationship with Wagner. Today,

0:21:55.560 --> 0:21:58.760
<v Speaker 1>it's almost impossible to think of Wagner without also thinking

0:21:58.840 --> 0:22:02.840
<v Speaker 1>of his racism and anti Semitism. After all, he was

0:22:02.920 --> 0:22:06.800
<v Speaker 1>Hitler's favorite composer and Hitler's favorite composer for a reason,

0:22:07.480 --> 0:22:11.439
<v Speaker 1>Wagner resented the success of Jewish composers Felix Mendelssohn and

0:22:11.520 --> 0:22:15.320
<v Speaker 1>jiachommayer Beer, the latter who loaned Wagner money and who

0:22:15.359 --> 0:22:20.000
<v Speaker 1>actually arranged the premiere of Wagner's first successful opera, Rinsey.

0:22:20.400 --> 0:22:23.360
<v Speaker 1>Mayer Beer was confused and hurt when he first read

0:22:23.400 --> 0:22:27.159
<v Speaker 1>about Wagner's vitriol towards him and towards all Jews in

0:22:27.200 --> 0:22:31.600
<v Speaker 1>the essay of Wagner wrote called Jewishness in Music. In

0:22:31.640 --> 0:22:35.679
<v Speaker 1>that essay, Wagner argued that Jewish composers would never be

0:22:35.760 --> 0:22:40.960
<v Speaker 1>able to capture a true German spirit. King Ludwig the Second,

0:22:41.000 --> 0:22:44.639
<v Speaker 1>who remained devoted supporter of Wagner even after the composer

0:22:44.720 --> 0:22:49.199
<v Speaker 1>was banished to Switzerland, funded a production of the opera Parsifal.

0:22:49.720 --> 0:22:53.600
<v Speaker 1>Under one condition, Wagner had to accept that the opera

0:22:53.680 --> 0:22:56.720
<v Speaker 1>would be conducted by Herman Levi, the son of a

0:22:56.800 --> 0:23:02.880
<v Speaker 1>rabbi and Ludwig's personal Couplemeister or head conductor. Wagner balked,

0:23:03.200 --> 0:23:06.600
<v Speaker 1>saying that Levi should have to be baptized before conducting

0:23:06.640 --> 0:23:11.680
<v Speaker 1>his opera. But Ludvic didn't act down. Nothing is more repugnant,

0:23:11.920 --> 0:23:17.480
<v Speaker 1>nothing less edifying than such squabbles people, after all our brothers,

0:23:17.720 --> 0:23:22.560
<v Speaker 1>in spite of all denominational differences, Ludwig wrote, and so

0:23:22.920 --> 0:23:28.679
<v Speaker 1>in two Herman Levi conducted the first performance of Parsifal.

0:23:29.600 --> 0:23:33.480
<v Speaker 1>While by all indications Wagner remained an anti Semite for

0:23:33.560 --> 0:23:38.200
<v Speaker 1>his entire life, he and Levi also remained friends. When

0:23:38.200 --> 0:23:42.520
<v Speaker 1>Wagner died, Herman Levi, the son of a rabbi, was

0:23:42.560 --> 0:23:50.880
<v Speaker 1>one of his pall bearers. Noble Blood is a production

0:23:50.920 --> 0:23:53.920
<v Speaker 1>of I Heart Radio and Aaron Mankey. The show was

0:23:53.960 --> 0:23:57.479
<v Speaker 1>written and hosted by Danis Schwartz and produced by Aaron Mankey,

0:23:57.720 --> 0:24:02.159
<v Speaker 1>Matt Frederick, Alex Williams, and Trevor Young. Noble Blood is

0:24:02.200 --> 0:24:05.119
<v Speaker 1>on social media at Noble Blood Tales, and you can

0:24:05.240 --> 0:24:07.600
<v Speaker 1>learn more about the show over at Noble Blood Tales

0:24:07.680 --> 0:24:11.120
<v Speaker 1>dot com. For more podcasts from I Heart Radio, visit

0:24:11.160 --> 0:24:14.439
<v Speaker 1>the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you

0:24:14.480 --> 0:24:17.639
<v Speaker 1>listen to your favorite shows. M M