Verdi, Giuseppe.

announcing his intention to compose Macbeth, and listing in detail his requirements for the opera: Verdi informs him of the title, suggesting that, as the subject is neither political nor religious, there will be no trouble with censors, and then lists in detail his requirements for singers and chorus ("...La censura non puó aver niente a dire. Il soggetto non è nè politico nè religiosos. È initolato assicura..."); Verdi asks particularly that Lanari prepare a fine chorus both of men and women, mentioning especially the chorus of witches, specifies in addition to the principals Sofia Loewe and Felice Varesi, a second bass, and provision for a tenor role [Macduff] "perhaps a little more prominent than in Nabucco", and two minor parts; he urges Lanari to spare no expense on the production as, if the music is successful, the opera will play to full houses, informs him of the need for a small corps de ballet, and of the division of the opera into four acts, he explains the difficulties he has had in persuading the baritone Felice Varesi to sing five performances a week, but declares that, on the basis that Lanari has finalized arrangements with Varesi, he will start immediately to work on the pieces he has already sketched, 2 closely written pages, 8vo, with two words and flourish on a third page, with integral autograph address-panel, postmarked, with traces of seal, one annotation in another hand in red ink and pencil on first page, integral leaf inscribed by another hand on recto, two small tears, papered seal, seal-tear not affecting text, Milan 29 September 1846

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. . .In tanto prepara un buon Coro tanto d'uomini che di donne, e specialmente mi preme un coro di streghe quindi le donne buone assai i[n]oltre la Loeve e Varesi vi abbisogna un basso comprimario: un tenore dell'importanza forse un po' maggiore del tenore del Nabucco un secondo tenore ed una seconda donna di più un' altra parte per dire poche parole per cui tutto è buono. Non badare a spese nella montatura perchè se piace un po' la musica sarà tale spettacolo da fare una piena tutte le sere. . .Avrei bisogna anche d'un piccolo corpo di ballo per fare un piccolo ballabile di donne. . .Addio addio - Al più presto ti manderó lo schizzo ed il libretto Addio. . .L'opera sarà di quattro atti La durata del tempo sarà presso a poco come le altre. . .Dopo  aver corso mezza Milano ecco che ti ho finalmente trovato Varesi il quale non ha voluto saperne per fare cinque recite per settimana. Non so cosa dire in verità Egli ha da affaticare molto e non posso dargli torto. Le scritture sono peró firmate con quella restrizione che vedrai. Stà peró sicuro che, se io lo vedró neccessario, Varesi ti farà a mio riguardo una qualche recita di più - ...Varesi sarà a Rovigo il giorno 3. quindi se avessi qualche cosa [?] scrivi a Lui: in quanto a me ritengo la cosa fatta e mi metto subito a musicare giacché lo schizzo è fatto da qualche tempo ed i versi saran fatti al più presto. . .

This important letter is apparently unpublished. It is not in D. Rosen and A. Porter, Verdi's "Macbeth": A Sourcebook, Cambridge, 1984; nor in the Copialettere, edited by G. Cesari and A. Luzio, Milan, 1913/R1973; nor in F. Abbiati, Giuseppe Verdi, 4 vols, Milan, 1959.

The letter is of exceptional interest for the explicit instructions Verdi gives to the impresario concerning the production of one of his most famous operas, and for his thoughts on why "Shaksepeare" offered grand and beautiful material for an opera. Macbeth was staged at the Teatro della Pergola in Florence on 14 March 1847, and is generally judged to be the greatest of Verdi's operas before Rigoletto and La traviata. It was the first Italian opera to treat Shakespeare seriously (the play itself was not staged in Italy until 1858). Verdi's famous letter to the librettist Piave, describing Macbeth as "one of the greatest human creations", was written earlier the same month. Felice Vasari sang the title role (as later Rigoletto and Germont père), but Sofie Loewe was replaced by Marianna Barbieri-Nini. The chorus of witches is one of the most popular numbers in early Verdi.