Wagner, Richard.

Wagner's fair copy of the opening of the libretto, containing significant differences from the first edition, here with a Scottish setting and characters, including Donald and Georg, and the format of a single continuous act ("...Romantischer Oper in einen Act u. drei Aufzügen...");  the manuscript comprising the title, characters, description of the setting, and the text of the opening scene as far as the first line of the Dutchman's great aria ("Die Frist ist um, u. abermals verstrichen[...]")



2 pages, 8vo (c.20.5 x 13.5cms), written in brown ink, with underlining in red ink, fine paper with some see-through, numbered at the head by another early hand ("139"), [Meudon, near Paris, 1841], some staining, traces of guard

WWV 63 (Text) VIa

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."

"...Personen
Donald,  ein schottischer Seefahrer    Baß
Senta, seine Tochter                Sopran
Georg, ein Jäger                      Tenor
Mary (Senta's Amme)             Alt
Der Steuermann Donald's      Tenor
Der Holländer,                       Baß
Matrosen des Schotten, die Mannschaft des fliegenden Holländers
Mädchen...

Die schottische Küste..."

This manuscript has been untraced since 1936, and has not been fully described by Wagner scholarship. The libretto retains the original Scottish setting and characters and Wagner's conception of the work as an opera in one act.

Der fliegende Holländer was Wagner's first mature work. He based the plot on Heinrich Heine's version of an old seafaring legend, set in Scotland, originally intending it for Paris and sketching the libretto in French. The manuscript is a fair copy of the opening, after the complete version in German, written in May 1841. The division of the work into three separate acts was made late in 1842, when Wagner retrieved his score from the Berlin Opera. Wagner only changed the setting to the coast of Norway during the rehearsals for the premiere on 2 January 1843, when the characters Donald and Georg were altered in his full score and the printed libretto to Daland and Erik.