Verdi, Giuseppe

to the impresario Alessandro Lanari at Florence, explaining that he wishes to create a drama and not merely a concert of pieces, so he needs Lanari to sign the baritone Varesi for his opera and not the unnecessarily expensive tenor Fraschini, and not be forced to write a prominent tenor role which has no place in the drama, explaining how disastrous this would have been in Nabucco; he tells him that he has written to Varesi, and that once Lanari has heard back from Fraschini, only then he will tell him what the subject of the opera will be [ie Macbeth], assuring him that it will be full of fantasy (provided he doesn't sign up Fraschini, otherwise it will be something like Ernani), requiring very careful staging, an excellent chorus of both men and women,

2 pages, 8vo (c.20.5 x 13.5cm), completed with one line on a 3rd page, integral autograph address panel, postmarked, typed transcription, Milan, 27 August 1846, seal tear to the address-leaf, traces of red seal, tiny holes affecting one word

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate
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...Per l'amore del cielo non venitemi fuori colle prestese d'un primo tenore.  Intendi bene che io voglio fare un'opera non un' Accademia di pezzi, e che pezzi intrusi per servire l'esigenza d'un cantante non voglio farne.  Non voglio guastare il mio dramma:  E se la Direzione vuole un tenore scelgano le opere col tenore, oppure dammi Fraschini ed allora cambierò suggetto.  Nei Drammi non bisogna mai ingrandire le piccole parti, nè impicciolire le grandi altrimenti si guasta tutto.  Per esempio prova a mettere o un aria o un Duetto al tenore nel Nabucco e tu guasterai l'opera...

Not recorded in D. Rosen & A. Porter, Verdi's 'Macbeth' A Sourcebook (1984).   Verdi's setting of Shakespeare's Macbeth (“un argomento fantastico”) was his greatest opera before Rigoletto and La traviata.  Verdi wanted to create a true drama and not a series of concert arias composed for the convenience of the management and star singers.   Felice Varesi was the outstanding high baritone of his day and created the role of Macbeth at Florence on 14 March 1847; Gaetano Fraschini was a strong heroic tenor, who later created leading roles in Stiffelio and Il ballo in maschera, but Verdi was not prepared to write a prominent tenor role merely to to accommodate him in Macbeth.  If he has to have him, then he would rather write a Romantic opera on a more conventional subject like Ernani.  Lanari was the leading impresario in Florence and Rome: Verdi had written to him about the genere fantastico of the opera (without naming it) in May and explained why Varesi was “the only artist today” suitable to lead it on 19 August.  He wrote to Varesi himself on 25 August telling him the name of the subject (before announcing it to the impresario), and the singer agreed to sing for Verdi in his reply of 2 September.