23. Boito, Arrigo. Autograph letter signed with integral autograph musical quotation, in Italian, 1 page (6 x 8 in.; 152 x 203 mm.), most certainly to Giuseppe Verdi; with integral blank.

Boito sends Verdi two bars of music in an attempt to clarify an interpretation of a cadenza for harp.

The librettist writes in full: Dear Maestro, The real interpretation of the cadenza in question for the harp is as follows:

[Two musical bars here]

The first bar is in G sharp; the second in G flat. My very best wishes. Thanks again and once more: bravo! Arrigo Boito

An Italian poet, journalist, novelist, librettist and composer, Boito is best known today for his libretti. Boito provided subtle and resonant libretti for Verdi’s last masterpieces, Otello in 1887 (which was based on Shakespeare’s play Othello) and then Falstaff in 1893, the composer’s second comedy, based on The Merry Wives of Windsor and parts of Henry IV. After their years of close association, when Verdi died in 1901, Boito was at his bedside.
$1,000 - $1,500