The Autographs and Collectible Memorabilia Blog

The Birth of the Metropolitan Opera of New York: Opening Night

THE ACADEMY OF MUSIC In 1883, the year the Met opened, New Yorkers were used to attending opera in another capacious lyric theater and enjoying performances given by a starry opera company. The Academy of Music on 14th Street boasted a flamboyant impresario, Colonel James H. Mapleson, and a roster...

Opera Singers Who Died in the Holocaust

On 30 January 1933, life changed for every German citizen and for some, very dangerously indeed. Adolf Hitler's Nazi Party was declared the only legal political entity in Germany, and they began to put their plans in place for segregating everyone who did not fit their "Aryan" ideal. These people...

Book "The Performances of Richard Strauss Operas in the 20th Century" - In 2 Volumes

During a hot weekend in August 1973 I sat on my terrace and lookedthrough old magazines not yet read and found an article which stated that one has to choose his hobby for the time after retiring at the latest at the age of forty, otherwise it will not work....

Farinelli in Madrid...and an Autograph Document

The Bourbon King, Philip V, wasn't born a Spanish royal at all. He was the younger son of Louis, The Grand Dauphin, who was heir apparent to the French throne, and as he had older brothers who were directly in line, there was little expectation that he would ever rule...

The Arturo Toscanini Tours and His Wider Repertoire

The Italian conductor Arturo Toscanini was one of the most acclaimed musical figures of the late 19th century, and through to the mid 20th century. His career included spells as director of the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, and of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra and the NBC Symphony Orchestra...

Opera Memorabilia: Tosca - The Tumultuous Premiere of a Puccini Classic

Some operas seem destined to take a firm place in the repertoire from their premiere, and Tosca can certainly be said to be one of these. Tosca opera memorabilia is widely sought-after, and a new production is something that is always guaranteed to sell well, or if cast with international...

Richard Strauss Memorabilia: Lost Photo Found - Strauss and Vienna 1929

Two years ago while antique shopping in Purcellville, Virginia, I discovered a black lacquered frame with glass, sitting on the floor of a dingy consignment shop. Its only identifying mark at the time was a raised stamp near the bottom right, Herlango, which was a photograph company of Austria in...

Enrico Caruso: The New York Years

From the golden age of opera in the early years of the twentieth century, few voices define their era better than that of Enrico Caruso. One of the first great star tenors in a time that otherwise worshiped coloratura sopranos and their music, Caruso's life - a breath-taking rise from...

Paris Sky Lavishly Sparkles After Bastille Day 2020

Bastille Day in Covid-19 stricken France was celebrated with solemnity in a public free concert in Champs-de-Mars, home to the Eiffel Tower. Usually reputed for its grand-style panache, French authorities imposed scaled down grandeur through social distancing and strict sanitary measures in an atmosphere of social unrest. Televised evening concert...

Rediscovery of “long-lost” Granados opera

Spanish composer Enrique Granados is universally hailed, alongside Isaac Albeniz, as one of the most significant and talented composers to come out of the Iberic Peninsula in the second half of the Nineteenth century. Contrary to his slightly older colleague, Granados’ works are, although highly revered, rarely performed and a...

Otello “in blackface” – a dying trend?

This past fall, the Metropolitan Opera opened its season with a new production of Giuseppe Verdi's "Otello". This production was much more widely publicized in the mass media than most operatic performances because of the announcement by the company's General Manager, Peter Gelb, that the Met would be abandoning the usual practice...

Detroit Symphony invites local residents to create a “Symphony” for their city

The Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) and composer Tod Machover are collaborating with many of that city’s residents on a very exciting new project that aims to convey the unique “sound” of the city of Detroit. Ordinary Detroit citizens are creating and collecting sounds that will become part of the "Symphony...

Met Opera on European Tour 1910 – Signed Sheet!

In 1910, the Metropolitan Opera from New York went on their first tour to a foreign country. The chosen destination was Paris. Many of the Met Opera stars and crew members boarded in May 1910, the "Norddeutscher Lloyd", a ship from a German cruise company. This was a trip...

Trapp Family Chorus Signed Program – Back 63 Years Later

The Trapp Chorus, was composed by members of the Von Trapp family which originally came from Austria in 1939. On tour around the USA and Canada, they gave well over 1000 performances of choral music by Bach, Mozart, Brahms, etc as well as traditional songs from Central Europe, English madrigals,...

Wagner vs Verdi – Brain vs Heart? You Decide

The Bayerische Staatsoper, Munich, Germany is organizing two parades on June 28th, 2013, part of the celebration of both composer´s birth bicentennial (yes, both were born in 1813, Verdi in La Roncole, near Busetto, in today´s Italy and Wagner in Leipzig (...in the Jewish quarter of the city!), Germany). This is what they say...

THE AUTOGRAPH BLOG

The Birth of the Metropolitan Opera of New York: Opening Night

Opera Singers Who Died in the Holocaust

Book "The Performances of Richard Strauss Operas in the 20th Century" - In 2 Volumes

Farinelli in Madrid...and an Autograph Document

The Arturo Toscanini Tours and His Wider Repertoire

Opera Memorabilia: Tosca - The Tumultuous Premiere of a Puccini Classic

Richard Strauss Memorabilia: Lost Photo Found - Strauss and Vienna 1929

Enrico Caruso: The New York Years

Paris Sky Lavishly Sparkles After Bastille Day 2020

Rediscovery of “long-lost” Granados opera

Otello “in blackface” – a dying trend?

Detroit Symphony invites local residents to create a “Symphony” for their city

Met Opera on European Tour 1910 – Signed Sheet!

Trapp Family Chorus Signed Program – Back 63 Years Later

Wagner vs Verdi – Brain vs Heart? You Decide

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