MEYERBEER, Giacomo 1791-1864

[L'Africaine]. L'Africana Opera in 5 atti di E. Scribe Traduzione italiana di M. Marcello ... Per Canto e Pianoforte Fr. 50 Per Pianoforte a 4 mani _ Fr. 40 Per Pianoforte solo _ Fr. 30. [Piano-vocal score]

Milano: F. Lucca [PNs 15501-15533], [ca. 1865].

Folio. Full contemporary brown cloth with decorative blindstamping gilt to upper, spine in blindstamped compartments with titling gilt. 1f. (recto title printed in mid-brown, verso blank), 1f. (fine bust-length frontispiece portrait of Meyerbeer by F. Perrin lithographed by Fli. Doyen in Torino, verso blank), 1f. (recto table of contents with plate and page numbers for individual pieces, verso named cast list), 5-370 pp. Engraved. Each number with secondary pagination.

Named cast includes singers from the premiere performance at the Paris Opéra on April 28, 1865 (Saxe, Battu, Naudin, Warot, Faure, Castelmary, Belval, David, Obin, Levielly, Grisy, Aimès, Mechelaere, Freret, Cleophas, and Koenig), and for a later performance in Bologna on November 4, 1865 (Ferni, Galli, Graziani, Boetti, Cotogni, Manfredi, Fiorini, Trivero, Manfredi, Stecchi, and Galletti).

Florence music seller's handstamp to lower outer margin of title.

Binding slightly worn, bumped, and shaken. Moderately foxed; slightly browned; occasional light soiling; publisher's stamp slightly cropped.

First Italian edition of the first version of the opera. OCLC 9673483.

Begun in 1837 and worked on intermittently over the years, the opera went into rehearsal shortly before Meyerbeer's death. "The premiere of L'Africaine, Fetis having taken charge of the final revisions, became a brilliant posthumous tribute to its composer." The New Grove Vol. 12, p. 251.

Item #25820

Price: $200.00  other currencies