- 79A
Verdi, Giuseppe
Estimate
1,000 - 1,500 GBP
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Description
- Verdi, Giuseppe
- Telegram to Toscanini thanking him for conducting Falstaff at La Scala, Milan, in 1899.
- paper
addressed to Toscanini at La Scala, Verdi's message reading "Grazie Grazie Grazie + Verdi", dated 19 March [18]99, 1 page, c.18.5 x 25cms, some spotting and tearing, affecting the text
Literature
Sachs (1978), p.70
Condition
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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
Catalogue Note
Verdi's message of threefold thanks was sent a week after Toscanini conducted Falstaff for the first time at La Scala on 12 March, 1899. Though Verdi himself did not attend the performance, his librettist Arrigo Boito gave an enthusiastic report, while the influential music publisher Giulio Ricordi sent him a copy of his rather less favourable review for La Gazzetta musicale di Milano: "...last Saturday's interpretation was characterized by rigidity, thus cancelling a large part of the effects admired before in the same theatre in the same opera...We see a serious danger for Italian art". Boito's account seems the more reliable with hindsight, due in part to his authority as the work's librettist, but also to Ricordi's role in what contemporary journalist Enrico Carozzi described as a public "crusade" targeting Toscanini for his controversial approach to running La Scala.