Verdi, Giuseppe

in which he describes how he imagines the character of Otello at key moments in the drama, including where the hero faints overcome by jealousy, when Iago stands over him, revelling in in his power over his master, urging Morelli to depict the scene as a sequel to the sketch he sent him of the Duke of Kent in King Lear, and thanking him for sending him photographs of his painting of Le tentazioni di Sant'Antonio, being a working manuscript containing many deletions, revisions, alterations and differences from the known version of this letter, found in Verdi's letter-book

...E quanto è bello quel Bozzetto di Rè Lear. Desolante come in soggetto!  E come esser deve potente l'espressione quella figura che credo sia il vecchio Kent...E perchè non fai il pendant a questo bozzeto con una scena d'Otello? Per es: quando Otello soffoca Desdemona o meglio ancora e più nuovo quando Otello straziato dalla Gelosia sviene, e Jago la guarda con un sorriso d'interno [...] dicendo "opera farmaco mio"...



3 pages, 8vo, Genoa, 4 January 1880, creasing along fold, small tear to margin

H. Busch, Verdi's Otello and Simon Boccanegra (revised version) in Letters and Documents, (1988), volume 1, p.15;  A. Cesari & A. Luzio, I copialettere di Giuseppe Verdi, (1913), pp.692-693 (appendix to letter CCLXXXI)

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."

This is a remarkable early letter about Otello, which shows how Verdi already had a complete understanding of its dramatic potential, long before he set about composing the opera late in 1884.  At the time of this letter, Verdi professed to have no interest in undertaking the monumental task of composing what would prove to be his tragic masterpiece. It is plain that Verdi already had a clear idea of the opera's third act finale, where Otello's public glory is portrayed by off-stage chorus and brass, whilst his inner turmoil is dramatized on-stage with Iago exultant over his collapsing master.  The long campaign that Giulio Ricordi and Arrigo Boito fought to persuade Verdi to write Otello from 1879 until 1887 is one of the most remarkable in the history of Italian opera.  The final version of this letter is recorded by Verdi in his copy-book (I Copialettere), which dates from two days later.  The present drafts would appear to have been originally begun as a letter to a French correspondent.