ALS in French, signed “C. Saint-Saens,” two pages on two adjoining sheets, 5.5 x 8.25, August 16, 1901. Letter to a friend, most likely dramatist Victorien Sardou, in full (translated): "After hearing Ibos, I decided to ask vaguet, who has accepted the role. Ibos has stage presence and shines with a lively radiance in loud passages; but he sings flat in soft passages. Our grand duo, with the ecstatic ending, had been massacred; but there are no other tenors in view. Marchi, the new Italian phoenix, doesn't sing in French. Vaguet will sing wonderfully. As an actor, he's not bad, he's hopeless; but perhaps with your advice we will do something about him because he is full of drive. He is already a favorite with the opera audience. As for the man for the role, we will perhaps find him later…" Saint-Saens incorporates a small dragon sketch into the first word of the letter. In fine condition. This letter finds Saint-Saens discussing the casting of the principal tenor role for the premiere of his opera, Les barbares, a three-act tragédie lyrique with libretto by by Victorien Sardou and Pierre-Barthélemy Gheusi. Albert Vaguet did indeed sing the part of Marcomir, the principal tenor role, in the premiere of Les barbares, which took place at the Paris Opera on October 23, 1901.
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