Archive of Letters, Telegrams, and Ephemera from the Teatro Opera Roma, 1945-1980s

London: Opera. November, 1977. An intriguing large collection of materials from the archives of Teatro Opera Roma, the majority consisting of correspondence (letters, many of them autograph, and copies of sent telegrams) between the theater management and contracted artists, most documents dated from between 1945 and 1952, smaller part, including self-promotional material from singers applying for a contract, from the 1960s. There are also a few letters from the 1970s and 1980s. Except for printed promotional materials, which come in a variety of languages, all documents are in Italian. Included in the well over a hundred page archive, of particular interest are the following items:

Two letters from Maria Callas's husband and manager Giovanni Battista Meneghini (1896-1981), both dated 1952, one of them autograph and signed. Both letters discuss Callas's contracts and schedule.
Typescript letter signed by mezzo soprano Fedora Barbieri (1920-2004), dated 1952.

Autograph letter by soprano Giuseppina Arnaldi (1921-1983), dated 1949.
Autograph letter by composer Umberto Berrettoni (1890-1953), dated 1952.
Contract with soprano Maria Caniglia (1905-1979).
Correspondence and contract with soprano Antonietta Stella (1929-2022).
Correspondence and contract with mezzo soprano Lucia Danieli (1927-2005).
Correspondence with composer Lodovico Rocca (1895-1986) about his opera Uragan (1950), then unperformed.
Two telegrams (no dates) to conductor Herbert von Karajan (1908-1989).

The Teatro dell'Opera di Roma originally opened in November 1880 as the 2,212 seat Costanzi Theatre, and has since undergone several changes of name as well modifications and improvements. The present house seats 1,600 and is widely celebrated for its extraordinary acoustics.  (21640)

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Program, unsigned

Opera

$1,500.00

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