VERDI Giuseppe (1813-1901)

L.A.S. "G. Verdi", Busseto November 16, 1870, to the singer Louis OBIN; 3 pages in-8; in Italian. Beautiful letter to the singer, while he is finishing composing Aida. [Louis OBIN (1820-1895), a famous French bass, sang, among others, the roles of Procida in Les Vêpres siciliennes and of Philippe II in Don Carlos]. Verdi had not received Obin's two letters; the last one has just been sent back to him from Genoa. He intends to stay in Busseto for some time to be able to finish the opera he is writing for Cairo [Aida] "ove mi fermer. ancora per qualche tempo, onde finire un'opera che sto scrivendo per il Cairo"). He had to send it between the 15th and 20th of December, and he worked tirelessly to avoid being late. He will go immediately afterwards to Genoa, where he will stay, as usual, until the end of the winter. If Obin comes to Genoa, Verdi will give him all the information about the theaters in Italy. If Obin comes to sing in Italy, Verdi advises him to find a theater that is not too big, so that his physiognomy can be seen without losing any of his great talent as an actor. In the theaters too big, as the San Carlo, the Scala, the Pagliano, everything is lost, it remains only the voice... ("Intanto se voi cantate in Italia cercate che il teatro non sia troppo vasto, onde si possa vedere il gioco di fisionomia e non perdere nulla del vostro grande talento d'attore. Nei troppo vasti teatri del S. Carlo, La Scala, il Pagliano tutto si perde, non resta che la voce....") Finally, he alludes to the disasters of France, which plunge him into pain. Poor France! ("Non vi parlo dei vostri disastri! Dal mio dolore arguisco quanto grande deve essere il vostro! Povera Francia!")...