CATALANI AND GOETHE

Angelica Catalani was a vocal superstar—and famously clueless about anything outside singing. At a court dinner in Weimar she sat next to the most important guest and, quite sincerely, asked what instrument he played.

It was Goethe. Someone told her he was the author of *Werther*. She turned to him, beamed, and said how much she admired *Werther*… because it was the funniest thing she’d ever read, a total farce. Goethe was horrified. Later they worked out the misunderstanding: Catalani had only seen a parody and assumed it was the original. Accidental roast, level: legendary.