Lot 137
  • 137

Verdi, Giuseppe, (1813-1901)

Estimate
100,000 - 150,000 GBP
Log in to view results
bidding is closed

Description

  • Verdi, Giuseppe
  • Autograph working manuscript of a scene from Ernani
  • ink on paper
the Conspiracy scene (No.11, 'Congiura') in Act 3, where Silva (bass), Ernani (tenor) and Don Iago (bass), supported by a male chorus, draw lots to decide who will kill the King of Spain ("Viva augusta chi va là?"), with stage directions ("sale sopra una tomba") and ending with Silva's proclamation ("Ernani è [desso!]"), the vocal parts and the bass lines notated in dark brown ink on eleven systems in all (three or four staves each), with some smudged deletions and a few corrections, comprising 63 bars music in all, with Verdi’s name added in another hand

2 pages, folio (c.33 x 24.5cm), 20-stave laid paper, watermark of part of a wreath, [probably Venice, January 1844], some light spotting, creasing along horizontal fold, untrimmed,  

Literature

C. Gallico, 'Critical Commentary', The Works of Giuseppe Verdi, I/5, Ernani (1985), p.101.  

Condition

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Catalogue Note

UNRECORDED. "No formal sketches are known to survive for Ernani": (C. Gallico). The primary source for Ernani is the autograph full score housed in the Ricordi Archives, Milan. A single movement survives in the Pierpont Morgan Library and Museum, New York. There are no other documented drafts or sketches. 

AUTOGRAPH OPERATIC MANUSCRIPTS BY VERDI ARE OF THE GREATEST RARITY AT AUCTION. While album-leaves are not uncommon, composition drafts seldom appear for sale. Short drafts of Giovanna d'Arco (1845) and I due Foscari (1844) were sold in these rooms in 1989 and 1990 and a sketch of La battaglia di Legnano (1849) at Christie's in 1992. Since then nothing has appeared from any of Verdi's operas from the 1840s, although important drafts for Otello (1887) and Falstaff (1893) were sold respectively in 1995 and 2012.

Ernani was staged at the Teatro La Fenice, Venice, on 9 March 1844 and was Verdi's first great international success, eclipsing even Nabucco. Julian Budden writes “...[the] first opera to qualify as a repertory piece for the international stage... Ernani has all the sureness and sense of purpose of Nabucco, fortified by an improved technique".

It was the complexity of the Conspiracy Scene in Ernani that led Verdi to make this preliminary draft. Simpler forms, such as arias and duets, could be composed directly into the autograph score without trial sketches.  It is significant that one of the very few surviving working drafts that has survived for any of Rossini's Italian operas is also a concerted number, the 'Terzettone' from Maometto Secondo (see Sotheby's sale 28-29 May 1992, lot 635).

Verdi notates the opening for bass voices, although in the final version there are two choruses of tenors and basses.  Here, the text is "Viva augusta chi va là?", which Verdi maintained in his complete autograph manuscript.  However, at Piave's request, the libretto printed for the premiere, Ricordi's first edition and all subsequent editions read "Ad augusta chi va là!" instead.