The Richard Wagner collection in Eisenach contains the estates of several important 19th century Wagner performers. The inheritance of the Heldentenor Joseph Tichatschek provides insight into the live and influence of the tenor. Tichatschek is considered as one of the greatest German speaking tenors of his generation and performed the leading roles in the world premieres of Richard Wagner’s Rienzi und Tannhäuser. The paper provides an introduction into the extensive networks Tichatschek apparently used to promote his own career as well as the works of composers close to him, like Richard Wagner. The study focusses on Tichatschek’s connections to the German courts, newspaper editors, and artists. The daughter of the singer, Josephine Rudolph-Tichatschek – wife to the German tenor Eduard Rudolph –, appears as a so far completely unknown figure with likewise extensive networks which helped to preserve the inheritance of her father after his death.

Were there any aristocratic residences in Moravia, where operas were performed even after the year 1800? Surprisingly, the answer is yes. There were two such places in the music history of that country. The first residence was the castle at Náměst'' nad Oslavou, a smaller town about forty kilometres west of Brno. The second one was the castle in the town of Telč, situated another fifty kilometres west of Brno. Let us have a closer look at these two cases.