VERDI Giuseppe (1813-1901).

Lot 69
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2000 - 2500 EUR
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Result : 1 977EUR
VERDI Giuseppe (1813-1901).
L.A.S. "G. Verdi", Busseto February 4, 1865, to Gilbert DUPREZ; 2 1/2 pages in-8; in Italian. About the French adaptation of Macbeth. [The letter is addressed to the great tenor Gilbert DUPREZ (1806-1896), whose brother Édouard (1804-1879), who had already provided the French translation of Rigoletto (858) and La Traviata (1864), had been asked to write the much-revised French version of Macbeth (1847) for the Théâtre Lyrique; but Édouard Duprez would be rejected by Léon Escudier, in favor of Charles Nuitter and Alexandre Beaumont. Verdi will regret it, in a letter to Escudier of January 1865: "Is it true that Duprez is not supposed to translate Macbeth anymore? I am sorry, because it will be difficult to find someone who is not only a musician, but who also understands singing and knows Italian as well as he does. Macbeth will be given at the Théâtre Lyrique on April 19, 1865, without success]. Verdi begs to be forgiven for his delay in answering Duprez's letter. He knows the world in general, and the theater in particular; he is thus surprised neither by the small nor by the big perfidies that people commit. He is absolutely convinced that Duprez's brother would have done a very good job on the translation of Macbeth, just as he did for the other operas; and if Duprez had approved this version, and taken the time to adjust it to the music, he, who is a Great musician (in French in the text), a great artist and a man of conscience, would have done this job excellently. Verdi does not need to examine these translations to be absolutely convinced. He can only feel sadness when he thinks of the evil that has been done to Duprez and his brother, but all their enemies (if they have many) will not be able to change the esteem that Verdi has for them... "... Conosco il mondo in generale, ed il teatro in particolare, motivo per cui non mi sorprendo nè delle piccole nè delle grandi perfidie che ce si possono commettere. Sono certissimo che vostro fratello, come ha fatto le altre, avrà fatto benissimo questa traduzione del Macbet, e se voi l'avete approvata, e se ne siete occupato per aggiustare alle note ; voi che siete un Grand musicien, un grand' artista, ed un' uomo di coscienza, avrete fatto questo lavoro eccelentemente; nè ci è bisogno che io esamini questa traduzione per averne la più certezza. - Io non posso in quest' affare che dolermi che si faccia a voi, ed a vostro fratello questo torto, ma tutti i vostri nemici (ammettendo che ne abbiate molti) non ramanno ad attenare d'un filo la profonda stima che io sento per voi sotto ogni rapporto "...
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