Exhibitions

Celebrating Puccini
September 15 through January 10, 2010

+zoom	Adolf Hohenstein (1854–1924) Poster for the original production of La Bohème Milan: Officine Grafiche Ricordi, 1895 Lithograph 101.6 x 66 cm James Fuld Collection In 1874 the firm of Ricordi established an in-house printing operation to promote its music. Adolf Hohenstein, a set designer at La Scala, joined Ricordi in 1889. As its art director, he produced covers for librettos, music scores, posters, playbills, and postcards. A master of the Art Nouveau style, Hohenstein is often referred to as the "father of the Italian poster." Under his direction, a host of graphic designers emerged.

+zoom	Leopoldo Metlicovitz (1868–1944) Souvenir postcard depicting scene from Tosca Milan: Officine rafiche. Ricordi & C., 1899–1900 Lithograph 14 x 19 cm James Fuld Collection Metlicovitz joined Ricordi's lithographic workshop in 1891, working under the instruction of Adolf Hohenstein. Metlicovitz became one of Ricordi's most prolific artists and its art director after Hohenstein left the firm. Shown here is one of the twelve postcards that made up the set issued for the production of Tosca. The designs were originally created in watercolor.

+zoom	Giacomo Puccini (1858–1924) La Bohème Sketches for Act IV Autograph manuscript, 12 December 1895 The Dannie and Hettie Heineman Collection; Heineman MS 173B This 36-measure sketch begins on the reverse side with a draft of material that precedes Mimi's Act 4 "Sono andati?" followed by Puccini's signature and date: Torre del Lago / 12.99. Further down, on the page that is displayed, are the first five measures of Colline's arioso "Vecchia zimarra" (which in the opera precedes this 36-measure sketch), followed by Puccini's self-caricature, signature, and date: Torre del Lago / 12.12.90cinque (12 December 1895). It has been suggested that the 1895 inscription dates from the completion of the work, while the signature and date of 12.99 were penned when Puccini gave the leaf away. With the success of Manon Lescaut and La Bohème, Puccini became financially secure.

+zoom	Fan containing musical quotation and autograph of Puccini Germany? 1890-1912 James Fuld Collection This fan contains autographs of several musical figures. On the slat shown is the melody that begins the famous aria "Mi chiamano Mimì," from Act I of La Bohème, with Puccini's signature and the date, 1912. To the right is Johann Strauss, Jr.'s autograph with the first six measures of his Kaiser Waltz, along with a dedication to Fräulein Else London, the owner of the fan.

+zoom	Giacomo Puccini (1858–1924) Tosca Text by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa (after Victorien Sardou's La Tosca) Milan: Officine Grafiche Ricordi, 1899 First edition libretto 20 cm James Fuld Collection

+zoom	Giacomo Puccini (1858–1924) Letter dated Torre del Lago, 6 July 1911, to Carla Toscanini in Rome Mary Flagler Cary Collection; MFC P9774.T713 After the world premiere of Fanciulla in New York, Puccini worked with Toscanini to make revisions to the score before its Roman debut, under Toscanini's direction, at the Teatro Costanzi on 12 June 1911. In this letter to Carla, Toscanini's wife, Puccini comments on Fanciulla's good reviews and sends his affectionate greetings to both Arturo and Carla. He also refers to preparing for the ardita navigazione (perilous voyage), possibly meaning a trip to Buenos Aires for the Fanciulla premiere on 25 July. Though he did not make this journey, Puccini devoted much of his time to attending and supervising performances of his works so as to ensure their quality.

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