Lot 61
  • 61

Rossini, Gioachino

Estimate
3,000 - 4,000 GBP
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Description

  • Rossini, Gioachino
  • Autograph letter signed (“Gioacchino Rossini”), to the tenor Zenone Cazzioletti, 30 October 1818
  • Paper
Informing him that Barbaja is happy for him go to Florence this carnival season, so that he might succeed there and save on travel costs, but pointing out that his demand for 250 ducats per month is very steep, all the more so since he has offered him unlimited funds to appear at Naples, not just to have him in his cast but because it serves both their interests; he tells him that Signor Tedeschi, Barbaja’s representative, will draw up the contract immediately he arrives, and trusts that the conditions will be such that he will not refuse them (“...La domanda che tu fai di 250 ducati al mese e forte molto più perché le risorse Infinite che il paese offre te le mostrai non già per invogliarti ad abbracciare il partito ma per amar i tuoi come i miei interessi…”),

1 page, 4to (25.3 x 20.9cm), integral autograph address leaf ("Il Sr Zenone Cazzioletto [sic] / Primo Tenore al Teatro / Treviso"), postmarked, Naples, 30 October 1818

Literature

Gioachino Rossini. Lettere e documenti. edited by B. Cagli & S. Ragni: Volume 1 (1992) no.155 (p.342); for more on Cazzioletti, see also letter no.114 (p.240n).

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

LETTERS DATING FROM THE TIME OF ROSSINI’S ITALIAN OPERA CAREER ARE RARE, AND SELDOM SEEN ON THE MARKET. Apart from the remarkable volume of autograph letters to his parents, sold in these rooms on 7 December 2001, lot 175 (now at the Fondazione Rossini, Pesaro), only forty-seven Rossini letters from the years 1812-1822 are recorded in the first volume of the Lettere e Documenti (1992). 

This letter shows Rossini negotiating with a tenor to sing at Naples, rather than leaving it to the impresario there, Domenico Barbaja. It is not clear for which opera Rossini hoped to secure Cazzioletti’s services, as he did not appear in the premieres of Ricciardo e Zoraide in December 1818, or the revised Armida in January 1819, but instead sang Don Ramiro in La Cenerentola in Venice. Rossini did on rare occasions sign himself "Gioacchino": see the letter to his mother of 27 February 1816, and another letter to Cazzioletti of 20 January 1818.  Although known as Gioachino, he more often signs these early letters just "Rossini" (or, to his parents, "V[ostro] F[iglio]").  Rossini was evidently close to the singer, addressing him in the familiar "tu" form.