Verdi, Giuseppe

the quotation by Verdi comprising four bars from the dramatic high-point of the opera, "Amami Alfredo", signed and inscribed ("Traviata...Genova 26 aprile 1890 GVerdi"), written in brown ink directly into the album;  together with further quotations by Mascagni, Grieg, Massenet (2), Ambroise Thomas, Viardot, Chaminade, Sardou, Heyse, George Ebers, Sarah Bernhardt, Christine Nilsson, Campanini, Battistini, Materna, J.-B. Faure, Plunket Greene, Bispham, Albani, Wachtel, d'Ardelot, Artôt de Padilla, Alboni, Brema, Paderewski, Meilhac & Halévy, Coppé and drawings by Israel, Kaulbach (a fine watercolour of a harpist, dated Munich, 20 November 1895), Willesdag, Brozig and Rosen

55 pages, small 4to (c.19 x 14.5cm), hand-made paper, deckle edges, late nineteenth-century brown morocco, gilt turn-ins, silk doublures, Paris, Genoa, London and elsewhere, 1888-1902

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."

This is an unusually rich and important album, collected by a famous operatic soprano during the 1890s.  Sigrid Arnoldson (1861-1943) appeared regularly at Covent Garden and the Metropolitan Opera in New York, singing in the first productions there of Massenet's Werther and then Carmen at Covent Garden in 1903.  Many of the entries are by composers celebrating Sigrid Arnoldson's performances in their own operas.  The quotation by Verdi comes from the dramatic crisis of one of the best-loved of all operas:  Violetta sings this famous lyrical outburst as an expression of despair, the expansive phrase transcending the normal rhythmical and metrical limitations of contemporary vocal writing 

1) Verdi, from La traviata: 'Amami Alfredo', written in black ink on two staves, signed and inscribed, 1890
2) Johann Strauss II, from Frühlingsstimmen ("Voices of Spring"), op.410: the opening theme from the coloratura waltz song, 1895
3) Delibes, from Lakmé:  "Tu m'as donné le plus doux rêve", notated on four staves and inscribed "à la charmante Lakmé, bien sympathetique souvenir, Paris, April 1890
4) Massenet, from Le Cid: "Alleluia! Alleluia!", inscribed by the composer "un admirateur: J Massenet", Paris, 1890
5) Gounod, from Philémon e Baucis: "O riante nature!", (Sigrid Arnoldson made her New York début in the rôle of Baucis in 1893)
6) Mascagni, from I Rantzau: the "Cicaleccio" chorus, London, 28 June 1893
7) Thomas, from Mignon: "Connais tu le pays où fleurit l'oranges?", notated on four staves and inscribed "à ma charmante Mignon...", Paris, 1 January 1888

The quotation by Alexandre Dumas fils, is from his father's poem "Sous les yeux du seigneur et dans sa foi tranquille";  its entry in Sigrid's Arnoldson's  album was recorded by Le Figaro on 23 June 1891, who described her as "la délicieuse Mignon de l'Opéra-Comique".