Small collection of ephemera relating to the distinguished American mezzo-soprano's career, 1954-1989
1
Group of photographs from Horne's performance on Arthur Godfrey's television show Talent Scouts, 1955. 7 photographs, each 90 x 130 mm. Black and white, glossy. In a blue cardstock Kodak "Album Prints" wrapper with Horne's manuscript annotation to upper: "The Arthur Godfrey Show 1954[!]." Horne auditioned for Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts in Los Angeles, singing for radio star Goodman Ace (1899-1982). She recounts the experience in her autobiography, Marilyn Horne: The Song Continues, p. 72:
Goodman, a brusque, Runyonesque, heart-of-gold character, had had a bellyful of talent by the time I got to him.
"Okay, kid, whatcha gonna do?" he queried disinterestedly.
"I'm going to sing an operatic aria."
"Esshhh," sighed Goodman, obviously not bowled over by my announcement. He sat back with his eyes closed as I sang "Ritorna vincitor" from Aida. When I finished, his eyes were wide open.
"What else can you do, kid?" he asked enthusiastically.
This time I sang a popular song of the day, and when I finished, Goodman blasted me.
"Are you crazy to sing junk like that with a voice like yours!"
"Listen," I shot back, "I'll sing anything!"
"That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. You stick to opera, kid."
Horne was given a spot on the show in 1955 and performed "Un bel dì" from Madame Butterfly. In Horne's words: "I sang the hell out of [it] and won." It was her first appearance on national television, and her success meant that she was able to sing on Godfrey's radio show every day for a week.
2
Group of 5 role portrait photographs dating from Horne's early career in Gelsenkirchen, 1957-1960.
- From Simon Boccanegra, 1957. 122 x 91 mm. Colour, glossy.
- From Handel's Ezio, 1958. 121 x 89 mm. Colour, glossy.
- From Handel's Ezio, 1958. 138 x 90 mm. Black and white, semi-glossy, postcard.
- From Wozzeck, 1960. 138 x 90 mm. Black and white, semi-glossy, postcard.
- From La Bohème, 1960. 240 x 175 mm. Black and white, glossy.
All identified on verso in Horne's hand. After being invited by Igor Stravinsky to perform at the 1956 Venice Festival, Horne remained in Europe, performing for three seasons with the Gelsenkirchen Opera. This small city in Germany's industrial west significantly raised its artistic profile with the opening of the modernist Musiktheater im Revier in 1959.
3
Photographic colour interpositive with Luciano Pavarotti and Joan Sutherland, ca. 1975. 124 x 99 mm. With "928 Kodak Safety Film" printed to left upper margin.
4
Large broadside for a concert featuring Marilyn Horne at the Teatro Malibran in Venice, April 21, 1982 with I Soloisti Veneti conducted by Claudio Scimone in a program including works by Handel and Vivaldi. Signed by Horne. 1,000 x 350 mm. Rolled.
5
Large poster for Rossini's Stabat Mater performed at the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro, August-September 1987, with Marilyn Horne, Susan Dunn, Chris Merritt, and Simone Alaimo. 1,000 x 700 mm. Rolled. Rossini's "Stabat mater is often said to be operatic." Philip Gossett in Grove Music Online. The first version was first performed in Madrid in 1833; a revised second version was first performed in Paris in 1842.
6
Large colour poster for L'Italiana in Algeri at the Royal Opera House in London in July of 1989 featuring Marilyn Horne as Isabella, Judith Howarth as Elvira, and Gillian Knight as Zulma, conducted by Donato Renzetti. 762 x 508 mm. Rolled. Rossini's L'Italiana in Algeri was first performed in Venice at the Teatro San Benedetto on May 22, 1813. Marilyn Horne has sung the role of Isabella throughout her career, always to great acclaim.
All items with some minor wear but in very good condition overall.
"Horne had a voice of extraordinary range, rich and tangy in timbre, with a stentorian chest register and an exciting top. ... In concert she once achieved the feat of singing in a single programme Rossini arias and Brünnhilde’s Immolation Scene, proof of her exceptional versatility. Throughout her lengthy career she was an admired recitalist, singing lieder, mélodies, Spanish and American songs with equal aplomb." Alan Blyth in Grove Music Online.
Item #31898
Price: $250.00 other currencies