Dichter und Librettist (1698-1782). Autograph letter signed to Count Giovanni Francesco Fattiboni. Vienna. 4to. 2 pp. Double sheet.
$ 5,146 / 4.500 €
(106432)
A rare and important late letter by the foremost Italian poet and librettist of the eighteenth century, written only three years before his death. Addressing Count Giovanni Francesco Fattiboni, Metastasio offers an enthusiastic appraisal of two literary volumes received from his correspondent, praising both their poetic merit and stylistic accomplishment. “Mi congratulo ... veracemente seco de’ molti visibili guadagni che le ha prodotti nella facoltà poetica l’indefessa sua applicazione, ma specialmente dell’uso magistrale ch’ella ha contratto di quel vero linguaggio del Parnaso, che sa congiungere alla nobiltà ed all’armonia, la facilità e la chiarezza in tal maniera, che non trova l’invidia ove l’emenda.” (“I sincerely congratulate you on the many evident gains that your tireless application has produced in the poetic art, and especially on the masterly command you have acquired of that true language of Parnassus, which unites nobility and harmony with such ease and clarity that envy finds nothing to amend.”) Metastasio notes that he has already read a substantial portion of the two volumes and looks forward to returning to them at greater leisure.
The letter then takes on a more personal tone as the octogenarian poet reflects on the burden of advancing age: “... ma con quell’ozio che esige ora da me la grave ed insidiosa età mia, che mi va insensibilmente scemando tutte le mie fisiche attività, e quelle particolarmente del leggere e dello scrivere.” (“... but with that leisure now required by my grave and insidious age, which is imperceptibly diminishing all my physical faculties, and particularly those of reading and writing.”) This touching self-assessment provides a rare glimpse into the final years of a writer whose libretti shaped the course of European opera for decades. As Imperial Court Poet in Vienna, Metastasio exerted an unparalleled influence on eighteenth-century musical culture; his texts were set by Hasse, Gluck, Mozart, Salieri, and countless others. Letters from this late period, combining literary criticism with personal reflections on old age, are scarce and highly desirable..
Dichter und Librettist (1698-1782). Autograph receipt signed. Wien. 01.04.1775. ½ S. Qu.-4to. Mit rotem Lacksiegel.
$ 2,859 / 2.500 €
(937913/BN937913)
Confirming the receipt of 300 guilder: "Io sottocritto a ricevuto dal Sig. Gaetano Carrara fiorini trecento, d'egli mi paga d'ordine del Sig. Giuseppe Tanzi mio procuratore in Milano: e questi sono a conto del mio soldo colà da lui esatto per l'anno corrente [...]". - Spotty.