[Boito, Arrigo]

a composing manuscript in the hands of Toscanini's collaborators, the majority of the manuscript presumably in the hand of Vincenzo Tommasini, in brown ink, for the most part over pencil, with extensive revisions, additions and corrections in several other hands, including Toscanini, the manuscript containing a number of pastedowns, the various additional entries in black and red ink and red, blue and green crayon, on systems of up to 30 staves per page

166 pages, folio (c.40 x 31cms), 24- and 30-stave paper, no place or date [between 1918 and 1924], the leaves detached and unbound, extensive damp-staining, with some loss, tears and staining throughout, affecting the notation

together with: 2) Autograph score of the song [Do mi sol...La do mi...] for voice and piano, signed at the end ("Arrigo Boito"), 4 pages, 4to (c.24 x 32cms), no place, 1865, nineteenth-century roan, central vertical fold, light spotting and discolouration to paper, strengthened at hinge, bifolium becoming detached; 3) Autograph musical fragment of the serenata "Che luna bianca" from Boito's unfinished opera Basi e Bote, a reduced-score working manuscript, notated on four four-stave systems in black ink, with numerous autograph alterations and cancellations, and extensive autograph annotations above and below the music ("Prolungare il versi d'un quinario di più e modificare un poco tutto il testo della serenata...Questa serenata deve ritornare dopo il quartettino fugato vien sul sandalo che dondola"), 1 page, folio (37 x 28cms), 24-stave paper, some light spotting and creasing; 4) Autograph full score of 'Tema variato per orchesta' by Lorenzo Perosi, signed, and inscribed to Toscanini, 32 pages, plus blanks, folio (c.42 x 29cms), notated in brown ink on 30-stave paper, up to two systems per page, numerous corrections and revisions, disbound, Rome, 1902, extensive dampstaining affecting the notation, edges torn; 5) Autograph memorandum on the nature of art, c.11 x 12.5cms, laid down on white card, with clipped signature laid down at foot, some creasing (5)

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
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The unfinished five-act opera Nerone occupied Boito on and off for nearly 60 years, finally being performed six years after his death, at La Scala on May 1, 1924, Toscanini conducting - in a version completed by the conductor, with the assistance, initially, of Antonio Smareglia and, later, Vincenzo Tommasini. This resurrection of Boito's opera was, as Harvey Sachs notes, 'the most massive undertaking of Toscanini's Scala tenure and probably of his entire career'. The work was published a year later.