Item #23322 Autograph letter signed "J. Massenet," mostly probably to the tenor Francesco Tamagno dated August 17, 1902. Jules MASSENET.

Autograph letter signed "J. Massenet," mostly probably to the tenor Francesco Tamagno dated August 17, 1902

2 pp. Octavo. In French (with translation).

Massenet thanks his correspondent lavishly for a gift, and fondly remembers the latter's 1879 performance of Il Re di Lahore at La Scala.

"It is to the admirable, celebrated artist... that I address this lovely recompense! Your gift has been a joy for me, who has kept the memory of Il Re di Lahore at Milan!"

Very slightly soiled; creased at folds.

Massenet was "the most prolific and successful composer of opera in France at the end of the 19th century and into the beginning of the 20th... [His] place in the history of French music is secure, for although he is not to be bracketed with Berlioz or Debussy or even Bizet, he generously satisfied the tastes of the 'belle époque' and retained his standing as a master of the lyric stage for well over a generation." Hugh MacDonald in Grove Music Online.

Tamagno (1850-1905) was the foremost heroic tenor of his time. After his first appearance at La Scala, in 1877, he created the title roles in Verdi's Don Carlos (1878) and Otello (1887), among other operas. He sang Alim in the first La Scala production of Massenet's opera Il re di Lahore (Le Roi de Lahore) in 1879, to which this letter most likely refers, first performed at the Palais Garnier in Paris on April 27, 1877.

Item #23322

Price: $260.00  other currencies

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