(Richard, composer, theatre director and conductor, 1813-83) Autograph Letter signed to the bass singer Rudolf Freny, 1p. in German, 8vo, Bayreuth, 25th October 1872, regarding his performance as Beckmesser in Wagner's opera Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, ("You are proceeding quite correctly with Beckmesser. Only do no exaggerate the foppishness; it emerges quite spontaneously . Show great earnestness throughout . Take any famous critic as your model. Unbounded vehemence, without the power to give it vent, a voice that cracks when he becomes angry. The topmost notes are of course no more than violent or ridiculous accents of speech, not song. Please pay great attention to every written direction and be in total accord with the orchestra during its performance"); and Freny's autograph calling card, letter tears repaired, folds, browned, both items laid down and mounted. Rudolf Freny (1825-93), bass singer of the Hamburg Opera. Provenance: Reproduced as the frontispiece of Piero Weiss, Letters of composers through six centuries, 1967.