The composer of Der Traum in der Christnacht looked upon this work as a peculiarly ‘German composition.’  Hiller had set to music a gruesome play by Raupach, Der Muller und sein Kind (’The Miller and his Child’), in which father and daughter, within but a short space of time, both die of consumption.  He declared that he had conceived the dialogue and the music of this opera in what he called the ‘popular style,’ but this work met with the same fate as that which, according to Liszt, befell all his compositions.  In spite of his undoubted musical merits, which even Rossini acknowledged, and whether he gave them in French in Paris or in Italian in Italy, it was his sad experience always to see his operas fail.  In Germany he had tried the Mendelssohnian style, and had succeeded in composing an oratorio called Die Zerstorung Jerusalems, which luckily was not taken notice of by the moody theatre-going public, and which consequently received the unassailable reputation of being ‘a solid German work.’  He also took Mendelssohn’s place as director of the Leipzig Gewandhaus concerts when the latter was called to Berlin in the capacity of general director.  Hiller’s evil fortune still pursued him, however, and he was unable to retain his position, everybody being given to understand that it was because his wife was not sufficiently acknowledged as concert prima-donna.  Mendelssohn returned and made Hiller leave, and Hiller boasted of having quarrelled with him.

Dresden and the success of my Rienzi now weighed so much upon his mind that he naturally made another attempt to succeed as an opera composer.  Owing to his great energy, and to his position as son of a rich banker (a special attraction even to the director of a court theatre), it happened that he induced them to put aside my poor friend Rockel’s Farinelli (the production of which had been promised him) in favour of his (Hiller’s) own work, Der Traum in der Christnacht.  He was of the opinion that next to Reissiger and myself, a man of greater musical reputation than Rockel was needed.  Luttichau, however, was quite content to have Reissiger and myself as celebrities, particularly as we got on so well together, and he remained deaf to Hiller’s wishes.  To me Der Traum in der Christnacht was a great nuisance.  I had to conduct it a second time, and before an empty house.  Hiller now saw that he had been wrong in not taking my advice before, and in not shortening the opera by one act and altering the end, and he now fancied that he was doing me a great favour by at last declaring himself ready to act on my suggestion in the event of another performance of his opera being possible.  I really managed to have it played once more.  This was, however, to be the last time, and Hiller, who had read my book of Tannhauser, thought that I had a great advantage over him in writing my own words.  He therefore made me promise to help him with the choice and writing of a subject for his next opera.