Singers - Autograph Manuscripts

German baritone (1843-1905), later director of the Opera House in Konigsberg. Autograph letter in German (untranslated) signed by him, dated December 4, 1867, addressed to a gentleman, refusing to sing for three nights because of too little pay offered. Size is 5.1 x 7.9 inches, 1 written page, some creases, in very good condition.

German baritone (1843-1905), later director of the Opera House in Konigsberg. Set of 2 presentation cards handwritten by him, one signed on verso as Max.

Austrian bass (1807-1861), prominent in the mid-nineteenth century with an active international career, especially in London.  Autograph musical quote signed in Liverpool, dated in 1847. Quote is on a well preserved 4.5 x 7-inch page, mounted on a larger album page of 7 x 11 inches, in excellent condition.

Italian soprano (1844-1915). Autograph letter signed, 2 pages of text on four-page folded document, written in Italian, sold untranslated, signed as "Elisa Donzelli". Each page is 5.25 x 8.25 inches, small page on the top right of back 2 pages (no text), otherwise in excellent condition.

Italian soprano, also known as Bina Steffanone or Steffenoni, (1825-1896), sang throughout Europe and in the United States between 1842-1862. Autograph letter signed, 3 pages of text on 4 sided folded document, embossed on the front page, composed in Italian, sold untranslated. Each page is 5.25 x 8 inches, very slight tear at top of last two pages, otherwise in excellent condition.

Hungarian tenor (1824-1911), great performer in operas of Rossini, Donizetti, and early Verdi. Autograph letter in Italian signed by him as “Fr. Stéger”, dated in Barcelona, Feb. 20, 1872, to his impresario Giuseppe Lamperti (1834-1898) in Milan, about his conditions for singing in Odessa: “...cinquemila franchi in oro mensili, ed una mezza serata netta di spese. Se potrai arrivare al viaggio [travel refund] mi farai cosa grata...”. This amount seems justified to him, as an impresario from Bucharest having offered him “...20.000 franchi per 5 mesi, con serata e viaggio da Pest 2 persone ; io ne volevo 25.000...”. Barcelona's musical season is looking good, despite a terrible organization,”...un caos da perdere la testa...”. He mentioned the success achieved in Valencia by the opera troupe led by Costantino Dall’Argine, etc. Size is 5.25 x 8.1 inches, 2 written pages in one sheet (front and back), creases, dust stains, in overall very good condition. Four lines of text below his signature, written by another unidentified hand, with signature.

American contralto (1850-1904), autograph letter signed, 1 page, 5 x 8 inches, in excellent condition.

American contralto (1841-1904). Autograph note signed, signed as "Antoinette Sterling MacKinlay", reflecting her 1874 marriage to John Mackinlay. 4-page folded document (each page is 3.5 x 4.5 inches, unfolded item is 3.5 x 8.75 inches) written in English, in excellent condition.

American contralto (1841-1904). Signature cut, written in English, size is 2.25 x 5.5 inches, in excellent condition.

German-born tenor (1820-1868) who sang in the world premieres of Pacini's "Berta di Varnol" (1867), and Mercadante's "Virginia" (1866). Rare autograph letter in German (untranslated) signed by him, dated in Prague, July 10, 1843, where he addresses the writer Adolf Bäuerle (1786-1859), asking to write about him in his newspaper. Open size is 11.2 x 8.4 inches, 3 written pages in one folded sheet, central fold, light creases, wax seal, overall age toning, in very good condition.

Baritone (1847-?), signed album page, written in English at the American Opera Company, dated in 1886. Bold signature (signed as "A.E. Stoddard"). Size is 8 x 11 inches, vintage item in excellent condition.

German tenor (1871-1940), autograph letter signed by him, dated in 1935, with nazi salutation at the end. One sheet, with two handwritten pages with his own letterhead, with signature on the second. In German, sold untranslated. Size is 8.25 x 11.75 inches, has folds, in excellent condition.

Italian baritone (1875-1955), who had a very successful and prolonged career interpreting Italian operas. His most memorable roles were Figaro (by Rossini) and Rigoletto (by Verdi).  Signed contract with Teatro La Scala, detailing what operas he will sing, salary, conditions, an interesting document. This is a carbon copy of the contract, four pages, Stracciari signs at the end of page 4, each page is 8.25 x 11.75 inches, folds, in excellent condition.

Austrian-Swedish soprano (1868-1952). Autograph letter in French (untranslated) signed by her, dated in Lisbon, January 8, 1902, to the impresario Fano: “…je vous ai envoyé les journaux sur Lohengrin et mon père vous enverra ceux sur Fedora qui sont également magnifiques (…) Mon succès ici est immense au sensible et il n’ya a même pas de discussion quant à qui est la seule comme disent ici…”. Open size is 10.7 x 8.6 inches, four written pages in one folded sheet, printed letterhead, some rust stains, in very good condition.

Czech-born American impresario (1825-1887). Autograph note signed in English, including Maria Piccolomini’s handwritten text at the top, dated 1859. One page, sized 4.75 x 8 inches, in excellent condition.

Canadian soprano (b.1938), a major star of the Met Opera and other international houses from the 1960s to the 1990s, sang a very broad range of repertoire. Autograph letter in English signed by her, dated Dec 16/91, to professor Patricia Lee: “...sorry for the delay. This was the first weekend in seven weeks that we were not rehearsing...”.  Size is 6.2 x 8.9 inches, in excellent condition.

Siberian-born soprano (1920-1987), one of the most admired coloratura voices of the post-WWII period. Set of 2 typed letters signed by her, with the letter head from the Vienna State Opera and dated in 1967 and 1968, plus a smaller page with her signature. In German, sold untranslated, each one is 8.2 x 11.5 inches, smaller page is 8 x 7.6 inches. Crack on one of the letters, storage holes in the smaller signed page, otherwise in very good condition.

Autograph music quote signed by the Austrian tenor (1858-1937), who focused mostly on operetta. Music quote from The Gypsy Baron, signed by him. Streitmann wrote under the quote "Friendly memories from the 1000th representation of the Gypsy Baron", Vienna 1909. One page, 8 x 8 inches, dated in Vienna in 1909, in excellent condition.

Austrian tenor (1858-1937), who performed in the world-premieres of several operettas by Lehar, Johann Strauss and other composers. Signed card, dated in 1886. Bold handwriting and signature. Size is 3.5 x 4.5 inches, in excellent condition.

Austrian tenor (1858-1937), who world-premiere several operettas by Lehar, Johann Strauss and other composers. Autograph note signed, dated in 1888. Size is 4.5 x 7.25 inches, in excellent condition.

Italian soprano (1815-1897), second wife of the famous Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi. Her original vintage visiting card with a short greeting in Italian written by her (probably addressed to pianist Ferdinand Hiller's wife). Size is 4.1 x 2.1 inches, mounting traces on the margins, in overall very good condition.

German bass (1900-1987).   Fine card signed by him with a short message in German, attached with a  photo of him. Size is 4.1 x 5.8 inches, in excellent condition.

German bass (1900-1987). Fine card signed by him in 1980 with a short message in German, attached with a half-tone photo of him. Size is 5.8 x 4.1 inches, in excellent condition.

German soprano (1847-1927). Autograph letter signed, written in Berlin, dated in 1896. Item consists of 2 sets of 4 folded pages, text is on the first 5 of these 8 pages. Written in German, sold untranslated. Size is 5.25 x 5.75 inches, in excellent condition.

Signed album page containing multiple signatures - those of the British soprano Elsie Suddaby (1893-1980), English contralto Muriel Brunskill (1899-1980), the tenor John Adams, and the English bass-baritone Keith Falkner (1900-1994), dated from a performance of the Nottingham Sacred Harmonic Society in March, 1928. The album page is 3.75 x 4.25 inches mounted onto a larger page of 6 x 6.5 inches, in very good condition. 

Belgian soprano (1874-1940), autograph note signed with embossed seal on top left, 1 page written in French, sold untranslated. Size is 5.5 x 7 inches, small ink stain to the left of the text, otherwise in excellent condition.

Star Spanish mezzo-soprano (1895-1936), very popular in her time. Autograph letter in French (English translation included) signed by her, to a critic, thanking him for a favorable review. On one folded sheet, handwritten on two pages, signed as "Conchita S.". Total sheet size is 11 x 7.5 inches (unfolded), in very good condition.  Autographs of Supervia are extremely rare

Superstar Australian soprano (1926-2010), signed envelope with the embossed image and name of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, in London, one of her primary artistic homes. Size is 4.75 x 7.25 inches, attractive item in excellent condition. 

Italian soprano (1860-?). Autograph letter signed, written on a postcard, postmarked in 1895. Written in Italian, sold untranslated. Size is 3.5 x 5.5 inches, slight stain near the bottom, otherwise in very good condition.

Austrian tenor, actor, and director (1836-1901), associated with the "Golden Age" of Viennese operetta, appeared in world premieres of operettas by Offenbach, Johan Strauss and Von Suppe. Signature cut, sized at 1.75 x 4.5 inches, vintage item in excellent condition!

Belgian-born mezzo-soprano (1875-1957), with a long career in both opera, musical comedy and operetta. Album page signed by her. Size is 5 x 6.5 inches, in very good condition. ALSO INCLUDED is a fine photo postcard signed by her on verso (not shown), shown as Manon in Massenet's opera. Size is 3.3 x 5.25 inches, in excellent condition.

French bass-baritone (1821-1900), and also a creator of songs, and a regular performer at the famous Theatre Italien in Paris. Set of 2 autograph letters signed, first of them is 1 page, size is 5.25 x 8.25 inches, some paper loss at bottom left and several bullet holes, otherwise in good condition. The second letter is 3 pages, 5.25 x 8.25 inches which also contains several bullet holes and tears but is otherwise in good condition. Both written in French and sold untranslated. Not sold separately. 

French bass-baritone (1821-1900), and also a creator of songs, and a regular performer at the famous Theatre Italien in Paris. Autograph letter signed, 1 page, written in French, sold untranslated. Each page is 4.5 x 7 inches, in excellent condition. 

Italian baritone (1845-1921), husband of famous pianist Teresa Carreno. Autograph letter signed, written in New York, dated in 1897, 1 page written in English on his personal business letterhead. Size is 5.75 x 9 inches, in excellent condition.

Famous Italian tenor (1913-1995), known for Italian lyric roles. Typed letter signed, 1 page in English, dated in 1947. Size is 8.5 x 10.75 inches, small creases on bottom left and top right, otherwise in good condition. 

Japanese tenor, signed card, written in Japanese and sold untranslated. There is a beautiful wintertime image taped to the front of the card, with his handwriting inside the folded card. Size of each page is 5.5 x 7 inches, in excellent condition.

French tenor (1851-1896), strongly associated with the French repertoire, and creator of the main tenor roles in Les Contes d´Hoffmann, Lakme, and Manon. His personal card signed by him with a short sentiment in French. Size is 4 x 2.3 inches, mounting traces on verso, in very good condition.

French tenor (1851-1896), strongly associated with the French repertoire, and creator of the main tenor roles in Les Contes d´Hoffmann, Lakme, and Manon. Autograph note on a card signed by him with his initials. Size is 4.4 x 3.5 inches, letterhead, in excellent condition. ALSO INCLUDED is an unsigned colorized cabinet photograph of him as Romeo by photographer Benque (Paris).

American soprano (1906-1983), who had a very quick rise to fame as she was the youngest prima donna to debut in the Metropolitan Opera of New York in 1926.  Album page signed by her with a short sentiment dated 1927. Size is 5.4 x 6.9 inches, in excellent condition.

Star Italian tenor (1850-1905), chosen by Verdi for the title role in the world premiere of Otello in 1887. He also was one of the first Italian tenors to have left recordings. Set of 1 autograph letter signed, 2 pages on both sides of a 5.25 x 8.25 inch sheet, written in Italian, sold untranslated, and 1 unsigned half-tone 4 x 5.25 inch photograph, shown as himself, a photo by E. Fontana. Both in excellent condition and not sold separately. 

Star Italian tenor (1850-1905), chosen by Verdi for the title role in the world premiere of Otello in 1887. He also was one of the first Italian tenors to have left recordings. Autograph letter signed, dated in Milan in 1901, signed as "Tamagno" and to an unknown recipient. In French language, sold untranslated. Two pages in one folded sheet, each page is 4.5 x 6.5 inches, in excellent condition.

Star Italian tenor (1850-1905), chosen by Verdi for the title role in the world premiere of Otello in 1887. He also was one of the first Italian tenors to have left recordings. Autograph letter signed, dated in Venice in 1902, signed as "Tamagno" and to an unknown recipient. In French language, sold untranslated. Two pages in one folded sheet, each page is 4.25 x 7 inches, in excellent condition.

Star Italian tenor (1850-1905), chosen by Verdi for the title role in the world premiere of Otello in 1887. Fine small card signed by him and dated in New York, 1899. size is 3.6 x 2.4 inches, mounting traces on verso, in excellent condition.

Italian baritone (1800-1876) who became one of the finest singers of his age with a beautiful, smooth, and flexible voice. 2-bar autograph music quote of Riccardo's duet from I Puritani signed by him in Paris, 1844, a role he created in the opera world premiere. Size is 8 x 3.75 inches, in very good condition. ALSO INCLUDED is an unsigned lithograph depicting Tamburini. Size is 6 x 9.25 inches, some rust stain by the borders.

Ukrainian baritone (1860-1923). Autograph note signed written on a postcard, written in Russian, sold with an English translation. Postcard also contains a half-tone photo image of Tartakov, shown as himself. Size is 3.5 x 5.5 inches, in excellent condition.