WOLF-FERRARI, ERMANNO. (1876-1948). Composer of Italian comic operas. ALS. (“E. Wolf-Ferrari”). 2pp. Small 4to. Venice, December 28, 1910. To a male friend. In Italian with translation.

“My dear and noble friend,

This time, instead of a good wish, pure and simple, I am obliged to add not only one request but to reinforce it with another; not to deny me the pleasure of asking you. The fact is that Sig. Liebstöckl of Vienna has been entrusted with the translation of my new opera, I Gioielli della Madonna, into German: he knows so little Italian that he has to have the libretto translated first of all by a friend of his into German prose from which he can then do the poetic translation which is to be sung. You can understand how important it is that the ‘friend’s’ translation into prose, the ultimate foundation, should be accurate, and bring over the ideas and the spirit of the original libretto, which is hard for a German to understand because it is essentially southern in character. So, I beg you, on my knees, to take the trouble to check over this prose translation when it is done, and to correct it, or at least comment on it. If you are so good and kind as to accept, would you be able to telephone the publisher Weinberger (Maximilianstr. 11), who will be able to put you in touch with Liebstöckl if you do not know each other already. I would not like to burden you, were I not so busy with the orchestration work, which is massive and already slightly behind schedule. You are on the spot, and have all the required qualifications, for what I am asking you to do; and you are so helpful – and this is such a defect that it must be punished; I know, it is human. So... – when the translation in prose has been corrected by you, this should be copied in typescript and sent to me. Then, at Munich, where by that time I shall have returned, there should be an interview with Liebstöckl to play him the music, without the impediment of rhyming, so as to get as much as possible of the character of the original out of it. That translation, corrected and adjudged right by you would still be the ultimate foundation. Please gratify me, hear my prayer, comfort me – say ‘yes.’ I look forward to hearing from you (even a very short note) here in Venice where I shall be for a few more days. If you accept, let me know, soon, at Weinberger’s and make the acquaintance of Liebstöckl. I shall be so reassured if I know that you are in some measure the godfather of my work, while I am so much in need of peace to work and finish the musical part. Thank you, thank you, thank you; ask your good wife to intercede also for me.

Greetings and best wishes to both of you for 1911! And also on behalf of my wife. Your aff[ectionate]…”

Born in Venice to a Venetian mother and German father, Wolf-Ferrari studied art in Venice, Rome and Munich before focusing on music. His first opera, a flop when it premiered in Venice, was revised and found appreciative audiences in Germany. Although it was his cantata La vita nuova which brought him international renown, his adaptations of Venetian farces into comic operas brought him popularity and success.

Wolf-Ferrari departed from that genre with his Verismo opera I Gioielli della Madonna (Der Schmuck der Madonna/The Jewels of the Madonna), premiered in German in 1911 at the Berlin Kurfürstenoper, followed by an American premiere of the Italian version in January 1912 in Chicago, after which it toured throughout the United States including performances at the Met. Surprisingly, its Italian premiere occurred only in 1953, five years after the composer’s death. The opera’s themes, which Wolf-Ferrari anxiously hopes the translator will capture, include criticism of the church, incest and an orgy.

Josef Weinberger (1855-1928) founded his Vienna publishing business in 1885, licensing and publishing the work of Johann Strauss II, Oscar Straus, Gustav Mahler, and Bedrich Smetana. In 1902, he obtained the rights to Wolf-Ferrari’s catalogue which helped establish his firm as a leading publisher of light theatrical music. As Wolf-Ferrari himself explained, because he had a German-language publisher, his works were performed first in German and then in Italian.

Austrian journalist and writer Hans Liebstöckl (1872-1934) studied violin at the Vienna Conservatory before becoming a journalist and theater critic for leading Austrian publications such as Neues Wiener Tagblatt, Die Reichswehr, Illustriertes Wiener Extrablatt, and Bühne, of which he was editor. The Italian libretto for I Gioielli della Madonna was provided by Enrico Golisciani and Carlo Zangarini while the German translation, as our letter discusses, was written by Liebstöckl.

Boldly penned on the recto and verso of a single folded sheet with a minor fold tear not affecting the text; in fine, fresh condition.