Leipzig: Breitkopf & Härtel. 1852. First edition. 352 pp. Original front wrapper and complete text block bound in contemporary paper boards with gilt-stamped title plate to spine. Oesterlein No. 8; Stag IV, 1426; Wolffheim II, 628; Small p. 35 (giving 1851 as year of publication). With the ownership signature of the music critic and later owner of the "Allgemeinen Musik-Zeitung," Otto Lessmann. A little browned, some modest mildew stains scattered towards the end. Read More...
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Four striking and vividly colored original set design paintings from an unknown 1940 production of Die Walküre. Each signed and dated 10.25.1940 by the artist, Alden Cummings. Nicely matted and framed with the artist's signature and descriptive texts shown in a separate window, each measuring 17" x 14" overall.
206. Wagner, Richard. (1813–1883). Lohengrin: romantische Oper in drei Akten von Richard Wagner; vollständiger Klavierauszug von Theodor Uhlig. [SIGNED BY JOHANNA JACHMANN-WAGNER and with Original Early Performance Programs and Clippings]
Leipzig: Breitkopf & Härtel. [ca. 1874]. Title, vb; Cast and List of Scenes; Libretto by the composer: p. 1-10 (1st sequence) [Lithographed]; 3 - 237 pp.[PN] 21500. Engraved reprint of the first edition, with the price 8 Thlr. Mk. 24, and "Richard Wagner's Werke. Band IV" on the front board. Contemporary red textured cloth with decorative titling in gilt to upper boards. In very good condition. Read More...
Rare original cabinet photograph by Hans Brand of Wagner's funeral at Bayreuth, 1883. Chipped around the edges of the mount, small bend to the lower left corner of the photograph, overall fine. Read More...
208. [Wagner, Richard. (1813–1883)]. Original Lead Engraving Plates from First Edition of Die Meistersinger ["Am Jordan St. Johannes"]
Rare heavy lead negative engraving plates from the first publication of "Am Jordan St. Johannes" from Die Meistersinger. Pages 322 and 323, including the text "Am Jordan Sankt Johannes stand, all´Volk der Welt zur Tau-fen kam auch ein Weib aus fernem Land, aus Nürnberg gar gelaufen.... " The plates with the plate number 18469, used by B. Schott's Sohne in 1868 to issue the first publication of the orchestral score (see Fuld p. 449). 21.5 x 31.5 cm, each weighing approx. 3 lbs.
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Bronze portrait medal by Anton Scharff. 29 mm. The obverse with a right facing bust portrait of the composer, signed "A. Scharff" beneath, and encircled with the text "Ehrt eure deutschen Meister, dann bannt ihr gute Geister!" ["Honor your German masters and you will then conjure up kindly spirits!" a quotation from Sach's final address in Die Meistersinger]. The verso with a scene from Parsifal, with the text beneath "Erlösung dem Erlöser" ["Redemption for the redeemer”]. Andorfer and Epstein 313, dating the medal to 1876 though the quotation from Parsifal, the text largely complete by that year but mostly uncomposed, would suggest a somewhat later date.
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Relief bust portrait plaque of the composer in white plaster on a black velvet mount, set in an oval black wood and gilted frame with a brass hanger at top. Unsigned and undated, probably ca. 1900. Hairline crack visible at the neck, frame unsealed on the back. 10 x 12 cm.
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Bonn: E. W. Fritzsch. 1872. First edition. 8vo. 86 pp. Inscribed by Wagner to Graf Doenhof on the first free endpage. Finely bound in full tan calf, with ornamental gilt and dry stamping to boards. Edges bumped and scuffed, overall a very fine copy. While Wagner was a prolific letter-writer, we know of comparatively few signed presentation copies of his literary achievements. This volume was likely prepared in this deluxe binding by the publisher for the composer to give to important friends and patrons. Wagner had met the Count Doenhof [Donhoff] in Paris in 1860/61. Read More...
Wooden conductor's baton, apparently used by the composer to conduct in Berlin, 1875, inscribed in brown ink: "Sonnabend 24 April, 1875. Aufführung der Bruchstücken der Götterdämmerung in Berlin. R. Wagner's Taktstock." The stick measuring 37.4 cm long and approx. 1 cm in diameter. From a Wagner collection in the United Kingdom. Read More...
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Autograph letter from the daughter of Cosima Wagner and Hans von Bulow, to conductor Arturo Toscanini, signed by Daniela von Bülow and by Eva Wagner ("Daniela"; "Eva"), waiting for him with affectionate impatience, 1 page, 8vo, on a postcard depicting Richard Wagner, Lucerne, 27 June 1938; together with a note in an unidentified hand concerning the final date of the original score of Wagner's Parsifal.
An interesting pair of letters from the great tenor, both on letterhead of the Hotel Touraine in Boston, MA. The first is addressed to the opera manager, [Ernest] Goerlitz, dated 7/3/1905, obtaining tickets for Parsifal on behalf of his friend, the important tenor, Paul Schmedes. The Second letter is addressed to Schmedes and his wife, emphatically thanking them for a gift, apologizing for being unable to thank them "a vive voix" on account of his being sick and confined under doctor's orders to his hotel room while in Boston. Each signed in full, "Enrico Caruso" and in fine condition, together with the original transmissal envelopes.
Amusing original cartoon drawing executed in pencil on a sheet measuring 22 x 28 cms. It depicts a man laden with many instruments, drum on back reading "Prof. Bellof's One-Man Band." The two ladies passing by on the street exclaim "Ah! Brunhilde's Immolation From 'Gotterdammerung!'"
New York: The Seabury Press. 1976. First English language edition. Hardcover in dustjacket. 23 x 15 cm. 232 pp. Fischer-Dieskau's discussion of Wagner's intense 16 year friendship with Nietzsche which ended when the philosopher published "The Case of Richard Wagner." Signed in black ink on the title page by the great German baritone, lieder specialist beyond compare. Protected in mylar and in very fine condition.
D.S., Dr. W. Furtwangler, three pages, folio, n.p., 3rd February 1937. The partially printed document is issued by the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, for the Season 1937, and is a contract between the London and Provincial Opera Society Ltd and Furtwangler, engaging his services as a conductor from 3rd May - 1st June 1937 for eight performances at a tax free fee of £150 each, his repertoire to include the Wagner operas Rheingold, Walkure, Siegfried and Gotterdammerung. Boldly signed at the conclusion. Some light age wear, else fine.
Leipzig: Verlag von Edwin Schloemp. [1882]. First edition. Large oblong folio, a black and gilt-stamped beige portfolio containing nine mounted plates depicting the original set designs from the first production given in July, 1882. 1 portfolio ([4] p., 9 cards) : 9 mounted heliogravure plates ; portfolio: 30 x 39.5 cm, cards: 28.3 x 37.1 cm, image: 16.2 x 21 cm. Rare. Worldcat records only three copies in the United States. Read More...
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Superb original ink and blue pencil caricature by André Gill, one of the most famous and celebrated of all musical caricatures, first published as a print in L'Eclipse, 1869. This is a preliminary, though highly detailed, study for the final version. Approx. 18 x 24 cm. Unsigned, trimmed to just outside the image, partially mounted to a rigid backing and in fine condition. Reference: Wagner a Documentary Study, No. 165. (Bert, Mack and Voss) Read More...
Autograph letter from the important German Jewish conductor, best remembered as a close friend of Richard Wagner and the conductor of the first performance of Parsifal at Bayreuth in 1882. 1 page. Munchen, 16 Mai, 1899. "Dear Sir, The humbly undersigned requests Your Excellency to name a time when Your Excellency could grant him and Mr. Friedrich Schön a brief audience in the matter of the Bayreuth Festival. Respectfully,
A very scarce and unusual Vienna Hofoper broadside (single sheet flyer, 9 x 12 inch) from an November 1, 1897 performance of Tristan, conducted by Gustav Mahler. The performance featured some of Mahler's favourite singers including Hermann Winkelmann, Sofie Sedlmair, Franz Neidl, Luise Kaulich etc. and while the conductor's name is not printed - as was the custom - Mahler is confirmed as the conductor of this performance in the Hofoper archives. Usual folds, otherwise fine.
Hilarious original 1960 print ad for Old Hickory Bourbon, with a photo of an opera singer, her thought balloon betraying a desire to finish singing "Only three more Ho-Yo-To-Ho's ... then home and Old Hickory"! It measures approximately 5.5" x 5" overall.
Show all available items in this catalogue matching:EphemeraOpera