Beschreibung:

VERDI, Giuseppe (1813-1901). A collection of thirteen related letters comprising: nine autograph letters signed to Enrico Tamberlik, Turin, Busseto, St Petersburg, and Berlin, 5 March 1861-13 December 1862, one autograph letter signed to Achille Tamberlik, with a copy predominantly in the hand of Giuseppina Verdi, Busseto, 30 October 1861, one autograph letter signed to Léon Escudier, Berlin, 13 December 1862, and one autograph letter signed to an unidentified correspondent, an important collection of letters relating to the contract, casting, composition and production of La Forza del destino in St Petersburg, to his travels in Russia, and in passing expressing his shock and grief at the death of Cavour, 24 pages in all, mostly octavo Enrico Tamberlik (or Tamberlick as Verdi spells his name) created the rôle of Alvaro in La Forza de destino which received its first performance at the Court Theatre, St Petersburg, on 10 November 1862. Tamberlik acted as Verdi's representative in the Russian capital and these letters shed light on the negotiations surrounding the commissioning and composition of this opera. They also fill in a gap in the Copialettere for the years around this work. The first letter is written when Verdi was attending the first Italian Parliament for which Cavour had persuaded him to stand. The composer refuses to enter negotiations over a new opera for St Petersburg until a subject suitable for the artists available and agreeable to the authorities has been found. By June, three months after the first letter, Verdi had signed the contract and terms had been agreed. On 12 June 1861 Verdi asks Tamberlik to send the Spanish plays to him. One of these must have been the drama Don Alvaro, o La fuerza de sino by Angelo Pérez de Saavedra, Duke of Rivas, which was to serve as the basis for Piave's libretto for La forza . Six days later Verdi says that he will start work on what would become that opera. In the letter of 12 June he mourns the death of Cavour, La suentura che ci coglie è così grande che io non mi posso riavere. Indeed after the death of the architect of Italian independence and unification, Verdi was rarely seen in the parliament, although he remained a deputy for another four years. The letter to Achille Tamberlik, Enrico's son originally sent by his father to charm Verdi into writing for St Petersburg, follows chronologically (30 October). It announces that Verdi will leave for St Petersburg at the end of next month or early December and it also includes strict instructions regarding the casting of the opera, Prego di prevenire la Direzione del Teatro di St Petersburg che nella distribuzione delle parti della Forza del Destino, oltre al Soprano, Tenore e Baritono, abbisogno: 1 - Un Soprano per fare l'Indovina, parte brillantissima ed importante come il Paggio del Ballo in Maschera. 2 - Un Basso profondo per fare la parte del Padre Guardiano. 3 - Un Baritono brillante per la parte di Fra Melitone, part pure importantissima. By 22 November, Verdi could write that the opera was finished regarding the composition, only the transcription of the last two acts and of the instrumentation into the score remained to be completed. In this letter Verdi refers to the instructions for casting given to Achille Tamberlik, curiously addressing him as Enrico's brother, either through a mistake or because there was a third member of the family who otherwise is not known. Verdi was in St Petersburg in December but the production was postponed because of the illness of the soprano. This meant that Verdi would have to visit Russia twice, returning for a second visit later in 1862. As the correspondence makes clear (or rather it obfuscates an already confused issue) the unexpected delay to the production occasioned some difficulty regarding the composer's fees and travelling expenses. On the first return journey to Italy, Verdi suffered appallingly from the cold of unheated and open trains (letter dated 21 February 1862)