Autograph letter signed "J. Massenet" to his "dear illustrious friend.
- SIGNED
- 1903
1903. 1 page. Octavo. Dated Paris, December 8, [18]87. In French (with translation).
Relative to rehearsals of Marie-Magdeleine, etc.
"It would be too late now, the night before, to tell you that on Friday I will be rehearsing "Marie-Magdeleine" all evening from 8 o'clock on, so... how annoying!" Massenet goes on to tell his correspondent that it is a rehearsal "in case of colds... and it's the prudent thing to do," asking him to keep that just between themselves.
From the collection of Marilyn Horne (b. 1934). "[Massenet] was the most prolific and successful composer of opera in France at the end of the 19th century and into the beginning of the 20th." Annegret Fauser, Patrick Gillis and Hugh Macdonald in Grove Music Online.
His Marie-Magdeleine was first performed as a 3-act drame sacré to a libretto by L. Gallet in Nice on February 9, 1903 with Lina Pacary as Méryem, Mlle. Hendrickx as Marthe, Verdier as Jésus, and Lequien as Judas. Irvine pp. 247-248. It was originally performed as an oratorio at the Odéon in Paris on April 11, 1873. Loewenberg col. 1246.
A distinguished American mezzo-soprano, "Horne had a voice of extraordinary range, rich and tangy in timbre, with a stentorian chest register and an exciting top... In concert she once achieved the feat of singing in a single programme Rossini arias and Brünnhilde’s Immolation Scene, proof of her exceptional versatility. Throughout her lengthy career she was an admired recitalist, singing lieder, mélodies, Spanish and American songs with equal aplomb." Alan Blyth in Grove Music Online.
Relative to rehearsals of Marie-Magdeleine, etc.
"It would be too late now, the night before, to tell you that on Friday I will be rehearsing "Marie-Magdeleine" all evening from 8 o'clock on, so... how annoying!" Massenet goes on to tell his correspondent that it is a rehearsal "in case of colds... and it's the prudent thing to do," asking him to keep that just between themselves.
From the collection of Marilyn Horne (b. 1934). "[Massenet] was the most prolific and successful composer of opera in France at the end of the 19th century and into the beginning of the 20th." Annegret Fauser, Patrick Gillis and Hugh Macdonald in Grove Music Online.
His Marie-Magdeleine was first performed as a 3-act drame sacré to a libretto by L. Gallet in Nice on February 9, 1903 with Lina Pacary as Méryem, Mlle. Hendrickx as Marthe, Verdier as Jésus, and Lequien as Judas. Irvine pp. 247-248. It was originally performed as an oratorio at the Odéon in Paris on April 11, 1873. Loewenberg col. 1246.
A distinguished American mezzo-soprano, "Horne had a voice of extraordinary range, rich and tangy in timbre, with a stentorian chest register and an exciting top... In concert she once achieved the feat of singing in a single programme Rossini arias and Brünnhilde’s Immolation Scene, proof of her exceptional versatility. Throughout her lengthy career she was an admired recitalist, singing lieder, mélodies, Spanish and American songs with equal aplomb." Alan Blyth in Grove Music Online.