Amazing archive of handwritten drafts and fragments by Giuseppe Adami for the libretto of Puccini’s last opera, Turandot, totaling about 585 pages, circa early 1920s. The substantial collection comprises all three acts of the opera in various forms and stages. In overall fine condition.
Amazing archive of handwritten drafts and fragments by Giuseppe Adami for the libretto of Puccini’s last opera, Turandot, totaling about 585 pages, circa early 1920s. The substantial collection comprises all three acts of the opera in various forms and stages. In overall fine condition.
Puccini began working on Turandot after meeting with Adami and fellow librettist Renato Simoni in March 1920. Adami had previously collaborated with Puccini on the operas La rondine (1917) and Il tabarro (1918), and Simoni shared the writing responsibilities for Turandot. By March 1924, the opera was complete up until the final duet. However, he was unsatisfied with the text and Adami submitted four revisions between March and October, when Puccini finally accepted one. It was at this same time that Puccini was diagnosed with cancer, and he was never able to complete the opera. Puccini had left behind some musical sketches as to his ideas for the piece, and these were used by Franco Alfano to complete the end of the opera. In attempts to make the transition as seamless as possible and produce the work as Puccini intended it to be heard, some portions of Adami’s text were scrapped because Puccini had not indicated how he wanted it to sound. A fascinating archive embodying the complicated process behind this famous work.
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