MENOTTI, Gian Carlo 1911-2007

the telephone or L'Amour à Trois opera buffa in one act words and music by Gian-Carlo Menotti French Version by Léon Kochnitzky. [Piano-vocal score]

New York: G. Schirmer [PN 41735], [1947].

Octavo. Original publisher's ivory wrappers illustrated by Steinberg and printed in black. [i] (title), [i] (copyright), [i] (introduction), [i] (characters and scene), 49, [iii] (blank) pp.

Wrappers slightly worn and soiled.

First Edition.

"Critical appraisal of Menotti’s works has ranged from sincere appreciation (Sargeant) to bitter denunciation, later retracted (Kerman). There are signs that Menotti’s legacy in future will be more complex and wide-ranging than anticipated. In deftly side-stepping the Second Viennese School he has provided an alternative model, that of the rigorously trained classical musician whose prime motivation has been to communicate with his audience. To that end, he invented both the first opera for radio and for television and had hopes for composing an opera expressly for film. Like Gershwin before him and Lloyd Webber after, he fused together music and theatre. Whether we decide to define the results as opera, music theatre or musical does not detract from the achievement of creating new audiences for one of the oldest of genres." Bruce Archibald and Jennifer Barnes in Grove Music Online.

Item #27482

Price: $60.00  other currencies