Autograph letter signed.
12 mo. 2 pp.
€ 450,00
To an unnamed recipient addressed as "Dear Auntie", asking her whether she knows any Americans in Paris who would like to join one of Artôt de Padilla's musical soirées, as they would hear "compatriot voices", naming several artists who were scheduled to perform: "Je sais que vous ne sortez pas le soir, je ne vous invite pas à notre soirée musicale du Jeudi 7 Novembre - Mais si vouz avez quelques amis américains que cela intéressait - envoyez moi leurs noms et leurs adresses. Je serai heureuse qu'ils entendent quelques belles voix compatriates - J'ai Nikita, le nouveau contralto de l'opéra, Miss Patts, M.me de Tercane [?], M.lles de Korff et de Broemsen en un mot je crois que ce sera belle". Among the artists mentioned in the letter, only the American opera singer Nikita (b. 1872) can be identified.
A student of Pauline Viardot, Désirée Artôt made her successful debut at the Paris Opéra in Meyerbeer's "Le prophète" on 5 February 1858. Engagements in Milan, Berlin, London, St Petersburg, and Moscow followed. During an 1868 tour in Russia, Artôt met Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, who dedicated his Romance in F minor for piano (Op. 5) to Artôt and eventually proposed to her. Both Tchaikovsky and Artôt had second thoughts, and the marriage was not finalized. On 15 September 1869, Artôt married the Spanish baritone Mariano Padilla y Ramos without informing Tchaikovsky, who learned the news from Nikolai Rubinstein. The memory of these events was fresh in Tchaikovsky's mind when he composed "Romeo and Juliet" in 1869. They met on several occasions after the engagement and in 1887 Tchaikovsky even dedicated his "Six French Songs" (Op. 65) to Désirée Artôt-Padilla, whom he considered one of the greatest singers alive.
Minimally stained.
