In 1804 Carl Maria von Weber was a 17-year-old composer and singer with little conducting experience. He was invited to lead the theater orchestra in Breslau, and accepted the position in part because he hoped that its modest salary would enable him to support his father, an unsuccessful engraver. He tried to bring in new musicians and new repertory , but at every turn he met resistance. Then, in the midst of this series of temporary professional setbacks, Weber suffered a personal calamity that would last a lifetime.

One evening early in 1806 Weber asked a friend, Friedrich Wilhelm Berner, to come to his lodgings to go over the score of an opera Weber was writing. Berner agreed but was delayed until long after Weber had gotten home.

Arriving home, Weber was thirsty and seeing a wine flask , he picked it up and took a long drink. But the fluid in the flask was not wine. It was acid—an etching solution Weber's father had carelessly poured into a wine bottle.

It was late by the time Berner arrived but, seeing a light in the window, he knocked on the door. When there was no reply Berner tried the door and found it unlocked. Entering the dark room he smelled a sharp odor . Then he tripped over a body. It was Weber. Berner cried out and Weber's father, clad in a nightshirt, came running from the next room. They called doctors but Weber's mouth and throat were badly burned and it was a long time before he could even explain what had happened. He was sick for two months and, when he recovered, his beautiful singing voice had been forever burned away.

When he finally returned to the theater Weber found that all of his reforms had been reversed and, fearing that he would be blamed for the worsening performances to follow, he resigned and retreated from Breslau. But years later he would take some comfort from words that he had written before accepting the post: “Nothing harms me which affords me experience.”

譯文

1804年，卡爾?瑪利亞?馮?韋伯還是個年僅17歲的作曲家和歌手，在指揮方面則經驗欠缺。布雷斯勞劇院樂團邀請他去領銜，他接受了這個收入菲薄的職位，部分原因是他想拉老爹一把——他是一個不得志的印刷工人。他嘗試著引進新樂師和劇目，但每次都遇到阻力。隨后的臨時職業生涯中，韋伯遭遇了一系列的挫折，包括一次終生難忘的人身災禍。

1806年初的一個傍晚，韋伯邀請他的朋友弗里德里希?維爾亨?伯勒到他住所來一同切磋他正在寫的一部歌劇樂譜。伯勒答應了，但直到韋伯回家很久之后他才姍姍來遲。

韋伯回家時，渴壞了，他看見一個酒瓶，就拿起來豪飲一口。沒想到，瓶子里裝的居然不是酒，而是酸!——是一種蝕刻用的溶液，韋伯粗心的父親將它倒進了酒瓶。

伯勒來晚了一步，但他從窗口看見燈亮著，他就敲門，但屋里沒有動靜。伯勒發現門虛掩著，就走進漆黑的房間。一股強烈的怪味撲鼻而來，緊接著他被躺在地上一個人體絆倒了，這個人正是韋伯。伯勒大聲求救，韋伯的父親穿著睡衣從隔壁房間跑了出來。他們叫來醫生，但由于韋伯的嘴和喉嚨被嚴重灼傷，所以大家花了很長時間才弄清楚他到底出了什么事。他病了兩個月才痊愈，但他那美妙的嗓子卻一去不返了。

當他重返劇院舞臺，韋伯發現他所有的改革都阻力重重，加上擔心他越來越糟糕的演出會被觀眾責難，就主動請辭，離開了布雷斯勞鎮。好在數年后，他從多年前接受樂團職位前寫的一句歌詞里獲取了慰藉：“任何人生經歷都是一筆財富，不會給我帶來傷害。”

In 1804 Carl Maria von Weber was a 17-year-old composer and singer with little conducting experience. He was invited to lead the theater orchestra in Breslau, and accepted the position in part because he hoped that its modest salary would enable him to support his father, an unsuccessful engraver. He tried to bring in new musicians and new repertory , but at every turn he met resistance. Then, in the midst of this series of temporary professional setbacks, Weber suffered a personal calamity that would last a lifetime.

One evening early in 1806 Weber asked a friend, Friedrich Wilhelm Berner, to come to his lodgings to go over the score of an opera Weber was writing. Berner agreed but was delayed until long after Weber had gotten home.

Arriving home, Weber was thirsty and seeing a wine flask , he picked it up and took a long drink. But the fluid in the flask was not wine. It was acid—an etching solution Weber's father had carelessly poured into a wine bottle.

It was late by the time Berner arrived but, seeing a light in the window, he knocked on the door. When there was no reply Berner tried the door and found it unlocked. Entering the dark room he smelled a sharp odor . Then he tripped over a body. It was Weber. Berner cried out and Weber's father, clad in a nightshirt, came running from the next room. They called doctors but Weber's mouth and throat were badly burned and it was a long time before he could even explain what had happened. He was sick for two months and, when he recovered, his beautiful singing voice had been forever burned away.

When he finally returned to the theater Weber found that all of his reforms had been reversed and, fearing that he would be blamed for the worsening performances to follow, he resigned and retreated from Breslau. But years later he would take some comfort from words that he had written before accepting the post: “Nothing harms me which affords me experience.”

譯文

1804年，卡爾?瑪利亞?馮?韋伯還是個年僅17歲的作曲家和歌手，在指揮方面則經驗欠缺。布雷斯勞劇院樂團邀請他去領銜，他接受了這個收入菲薄的職位，部分原因是他想拉老爹一把——他是一個不得志的印刷工人。他嘗試著引進新樂師和劇目，但每次都遇到阻力。隨后的臨時職業生涯中，韋伯遭遇了一系列的挫折，包括一次終生難忘的人身災禍。

1806年初的一個傍晚，韋伯邀請他的朋友弗里德里希?維爾亨?伯勒到他住所來一同切磋他正在寫的一部歌劇樂譜。伯勒答應了，但直到韋伯回家很久之后他才姍姍來遲。

韋伯回家時，渴壞了，他看見一個酒瓶，就拿起來豪飲一口。沒想到，瓶子里裝的居然不是酒，而是酸!——是一種蝕刻用的溶液，韋伯粗心的父親將它倒進了酒瓶。

伯勒來晚了一步，但他從窗口看見燈亮著，他就敲門，但屋里沒有動靜。伯勒發現門虛掩著，就走進漆黑的房間。一股強烈的怪味撲鼻而來，緊接著他被躺在地上一個人體絆倒了，這個人正是韋伯。伯勒大聲求救，韋伯的父親穿著睡衣從隔壁房間跑了出來。他們叫來醫生，但由于韋伯的嘴和喉嚨被嚴重灼傷，所以大家花了很長時間才弄清楚他到底出了什么事。他病了兩個月才痊愈，但他那美妙的嗓子卻一去不返了。

當他重返劇院舞臺，韋伯發現他所有的改革都阻力重重，加上擔心他越來越糟糕的演出會被觀眾責難，就主動請辭，離開了布雷斯勞鎮。好在數年后，他從多年前接受樂團職位前寫的一句歌詞里獲取了慰藉：“任何人生經歷都是一筆財富，不會給我帶來傷害。”