De Reszke, Jean. (1850 - 1925)
Unpublished Autograph Memoir
An extremely interesting unpublished 95-page autograph memoir of the important Polish tenor, closely associated with the French and Wagnerian operatic repertoires during the peak of his career at Covent Garden and the Met at the end of the nineteenth century, whose storied career included the creation of the title role of Massenet's Le Cid. He was the leading tenor at the MET before Caruso and opened an important voice school in Nice where he taught many great singers, including Bidu Sayao and Maggie Teyte to name but two. The memoir is written in several inks and pencil in a lined notebook, mostly in De Reszke's own hand and partly in the hand of his wife, the manuscript detailing the tenor's memories of his childhood, early musical experiences and training, and the first years of his career, leaving off around the year 1880. On the title page, a note of provenance in the hand of French actor Guy Ferrant explains that the manuscript was given to Ferrant to publish after Reszke's death. Accompanying the manuscript are several copies of six typewritten pages, apparently the beginning of an incomplete typed transcript of the manuscript.Dated July 17, 1921, the memoir begins with a whimsical account of De Reszke's birth: "On January 13, 1850, in Warsaw, in the house of my parents, about eleven in the evening, there was a great commotion: I was about to come into the world and my mother, superstitious like all Poles, trembled at the idea that this long-awaited event might occur on an unlucky date. The doctor of the house, who, like everyone who had heard her, admired my mother's superb voice, suggested that she sing to chase away this haunting idea. It was good advice. I stopped to listen to Maman and so I did not make my appearance until the 14th of January. Thus born into singing and music, I have been their zealous and loving servant, remaining true my entire life to the art which sustains and comforts me." De Reszke recalls twice-weekly childhood visits to the opera with his musical parents, meeting Franz Liszt, and family music-making with his brother and two sisters; Edouard and Josephine de Reszke would both go on to be very successful opera singers in their own right. In 1865, De Reszke began his studies with Francesco Ciaffei, who became an important figure in shaping his career. He made his debut as a baritone in 1874, but soon retrained as a tenor and had his first tenor role in Spain in 1879. The last anecdote reported in the memoir occurs not long thereafter, when De Reszke's sister Josephine steps in for an indisposed singer in a production which already featured Jean and Edouard - "the only time when our three names appeared on a program."
Because of De Reszke's failing health in the last years of his life, the memoir is partially in his hand (in brown ink) and partially in his wife's (mostly in pencil and purple ink). Several paragraphs through the manuscript have been crossed out or changed.
Notebook with blue cardboard covers and red cloth spine; overall light toning and wear to the spine, but otherwise in fine condition. 6.75 x 8.5 inches (17 x 22 cm). Accompanied by 17 pp. typescript (several copies of six unique pages) in fine condition, 8.25 x 10.5 inches (21 x 27 cm); and an envelope addressed to Guy Ferrant and postmarked Nice, 1951. (13611)
Opera Autograph Document